Etihad IPO not the end goal but a natural progression, says airline CEO

20/03/2025 06:04 AST

The highly anticipated Etihad Airways initial public offering (IPO) "is not the end goal but a natural progression" for the UAE national carrier, the company CEO told Khaleej Times, noting Etihad is ready for public listing from a governance and financial result standpoint.

Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad Airways CEO, however, underscored "no decision has been made on IPO, as it is the shareholder's decision." Etihad, established 2003, is owned by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, which had not made any comment yet on the matter.

There have been talks about Etihad's plans to make its stock market debut this year, following a record performance in 2024 and robust growth in passenger numbers over the past two years.

Etihad posted a record Dh1.7-billion profit after tax last year - driven by Dh20.8 billion in passenger revenue and Dh4.2 billion in cargo revenue, alongside significant operational efficiency improvements. Also in the full year of 2024, the UAE national airline carried more than 18.5 million passengers, up by 32 per cent from 2023, or an 80 per cent increase when compared to passenger numbers in 2022.

With its balance sheet and corporate governance ready for an IPO, Neves said Etihad's focus at the moment is not on the IPO but on expanding its global reach.

Speaking to Khaleej Times during a flight to Addis Adaba, where Etihad announced its latest destination in Ethiopia, Neves said: "The IPO is not a necessity but an option - a means to expand (Etihad) in a very capital-intensive business."

Neves, however, did not hide his elation over repeated speculations on Etihad IPO, noting that constant talks about going public mean the airline "is doing good." "Because if we're doing bad, there would never be speculation on any IPO, right?," he added.

"We have expanded our margins and improved profitability. But there's still a lot of things that we need to do and, thankfully, we have the right support from our shareholders. We have a great board and we have great people working for the company," he continued.

The Brazilian CEO, who previously served CEO and board member of TAP, the national airline of Portugal, noted offering shares to institutional and individual investors would be "a natural progression" for Etihad as it ramps up effort to become a global travel hub. "It's (IPO) natural, right?," he added, noting ADQ itself is a listed company.

Neves reiterated running an airline is a highly capital-intensive business, where you need to have flexibility and access to a number of strong foundation instruments such as IPO.

He assured from a transparent corporate governance perspective and financial result standpoint, Etihad has met all criteria to offer an IPO. "The airline is doing great, but the decision to do it (IPO) remains with the shareholders. If we're gonna do it or not, only time will tell," he added.

Expanding routes
Meanwhile, Neves said Etihad's focus at the moment is expanding its global network. Addis Adaba is its 15th new destination for 2025 and the national carrier will start its daily nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi to Addis Ababa on October 1. This was made possible following the signing of a Joint Venture (JV) agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.

Neves underscored Etihad "is working hard to expand partnerships" globally. He said: "We earlier announced a partnership with China Eastern to improve connectivity to China. (Partnerships) are crucial for Etihad because they enable us to offer customers more travel options to various destinations worldwide."

Early this week, Etihad announced its third daily flight to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO), as well as a new service to Sochi, Russia's premier resort destination on the Black Sea coast, starting May 29.

Last week, Etihad also announced a new direct route to Indonesia's popular island destination of Medan commencing on October 2.

Khaleej Times