The most unfortunate directive under him was the stopping of confirmed Annual tickets for retired staff like me, who had served Etihad for nearly 20 years. One really looked forward to finally travel once a year on a confirmed ticket after working the best years for Etihad….but sadly that entitlement was stopped for all who had left Etihad.
Surely a distinction could have been considered between staff who left on their own accord and those who worked till the last day before retirement.
That was a bitter disappointment and realisation that it didn’t matter to him. Loyalty of staff who remained till the end was considered the same as someone who left EY for better prospects.
Of all the things to criticise Arik for (and there are hundreds), this is low down the list in my view.
An airline needs to be profitable and cannot hand out cut price tickets to all, even though with long tenure. Many airlines don't grant any confirmed tickets at all to staff; staff travel is purely on standby basis. So giving confirmed tickets to ex staff is an easy way to sell more seats at the real price.
This could be the biggest scandal in airline industry history, with Etihad’s reputation suffering unprecedented damage.
AN, Nadia, Karen, Andrew, and all of Arik’s direct reports without exception must be held accountable and step down. Leadership cannot escape responsibility when trust has been shattered and the company’s reputation is at stake.
To Arik’s direct reports: please stop pretending that everything is fine and carrying on as if nothing happened. You’ve lost credibility, and people are no longer taking you seriously. Instead of acting like everything is normal, take accountability and step back. Your silence and attempts to maintain appearances are not fooling anyone.
I will never forget that day in November 2025, at the very end of Accelerate. In front of 500 people, Arik and Javi came so close to kissing on the lips on stage that the entire room was left shocked
It’s disappointing to see 300+ negative comments about someone like Arik. You average people just don't get his vision.
First of all, if you didn't know he holds 87 passports and he’s been to every country that ever existed on planet earth, probably twice. He is extraordinarily talented and he's been the brightest person in every room he’s ever walked into in his entire life. Pure commitment to the grind, he has absolutely no life or hobbies or anything outside of work and this is what we call true dedication :)!
Etihad was directionless and in a straight decline before he came along, and he single-handedly turned everything around. Anything straight isn’t really his thing, you know. He turned EY into a profitable airline and it had nothing to do with post-covid travel booms or higher fares. Just his pure genius mind. The guy could probably generate profits just by staring at a spreadsheet. Let's also not forget how handsome he is and what a great showman he is with such a phenomenal sense of humor, bless him.
What a visionless move for Etihad to fire him with immediate effect and escort him out of the building with security. I am now waiting for them to go downhill so badly without the only incredible great mind behind all their success. Look what happened at TAP, Air Asia X and other companies after he left. MCT, IKA, MRU all these routes were doing terrible at Air Asia X after he got fired, whose idea were those stupid routes anyway?
And now that he is #OpenToWork, I think all the airlines should hurry up and stop wasting time with all the tedious background checks and stuff and hire him as a CEO asap, instead of some white middle aged man ;).
What a legendary leader he is. Sometimes I just think about his visionary decisions and simply whisper “Just wow.”
Ivander
Arik Kumar, stop such moves and try being professional for once in your life
For a second I thought Ivander was back lol. The funniest part is that these are probably all things he genuinely believes about himself.
He was fired from TP and AM, now EY. He has a pretty consistent track record of getting fired.