Kumar’s corporate downfall is done.
Now let's all UNFOLLOW him on LinkedIn
No title, no spotlight, no audience. Back to square one
Enjoy the silence!
Not withstanding the fact that the entire Etihad leadership team are utterly atrocious human beings, the biggest thing to think about concerning the demise of Etihad under Antonoaldo and Arik’s strategy is the move away from being a luxury carrier to a cheap airline and the overall lack of any strategy.
Prior to 2022 the airline was running a very good amount of routes and the focus was on premium experiences regardless if you were in economy or the residence. This all changed with over expansion and targeting of the Indian market. There was an absolute obsession that the only way to make money was to have everything and anything connected to India. Maxing out cities, making sure they could connect to the rest of the world and much more. This ultimately meant that lower fares became the norm, and our own standards dropped with the level of reduced expectation. Then the strategy evolved further to one of sheer randomness.
In HQ we have a giant screen showcasing a rotation of videos on loop all day every day. They are typically of new routes or lavish events in outstations. But when you stop and look at these events over the last few years all of these events have proved really bizarre. At the start of 2024 there was an absolute mega event in New York because the A380 was flying there. Half of my department were seemingly on that first flight to attend the ceremony. It made no sense, the A380 was being phased out in most airline strategies and we were celebrating it! And within a year it was removed from New York, and since more lavish parties for the A380 have taken place in Paris, Singapore, Toronto, Bangkok and others. It became an open talked about thing within Revenue and Commercial that was the A380 being moved to different locations was absolutely nothing to do with strategy but solely about Arik being able to have locations of his choice to have all expenses paid parties in expensive glamourised locations and naked cuddle after parties with men of his choice (you know who you are) from the department. And Dr Nadia’s team were sanctioning this all by organising and paying substantial amounts for these events. But to the rest of the industry these events and everything else was just another reason of how we became a joke. I’d talk to revenue colleagues at industry events and they’d openly ridicule our strategy, which again just goes to show the real worldview of etihad.
And to really drive this home just look at our current flight list. Luxembourg and Calgary are the last two routes. A tiny city in Europe and a 15 hour flight away to a city in Canada too cold to be worth visiting most of the year. The next one is the Saudi Red Sea, which is largely AI generated and worthless at this stage. No plan, no purpose, just a load of nonsense. There was a time when having Etihad on your CV would be a badge of honour, now it’s an embarrassment and a real source of shame for most employees.
Etihad needs more than just a leadership change in getting rid of Arik, it needs a miracle to ever recover its reputation.
Who is Next!!!!
Hhhhhhhh
Another Purge ..... Is coming
This is comment #500. To Arik Kumar: We're still watching, and your silence won't make us disappear. The pressure isn't going away, and we're far from finished.