Etihad not planning to use cash pile for new planes
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan on Tuesday dashed Boeing and Airbus’s hopes of a spending spree by the Abu Dhabi airline following its success in raising $700 million in investment capital.
Etihad said last month that some of the cash raised from institutional investors would go on investment in fleet for itself and the string of partner airlines in which it has acquired share stakes.
But it now seems that meant investment of the kind Alitalia is now undertaking to fit out its first class cabins with leather from luxury furniture maker Poltrona Frau – rather than new planes.
Hogan told a Press conference in Rome that the company was focusing on ensuring its own and its partners’ fleets were used as efficiently as possible.
And he dismissed speculation about possible deals at next month’s Dubai Air Show. Details
