By Rajesh Kumar Singh
CHICAGO (Reuters) -Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways CEO Antonoaldo Neves said on Tuesday the Gulf airline has no timeline for going public as it enjoys enough resources to "self-fund" its $20 billion growth plans for the next decade.
In an interview, Neves said while the carrier is ready for an initial public offering, the final decision rests with its shareholder, sovereign wealth fund ADQ.
"Any decision about an IPO is much more a broader decision from the shareholder rather than any
specific decision related to Etihad," he told Reuters. "The time has not come yet."
Etihad, which started operations in 2003, spent billions of dollars buying minority stakes in other carriers to create a larger network through its Abu Dhabi hub and better compete with Gulf peers Emirates and Qatar Airways. However, many of those airlines ran into financial trouble and ADQ took over Etihad in October 2022.
Neves, who was appointed as CEO at the same time, said the United Arab Emirates' national carrier is focused on organic growth as M&A is not part of its strategic mandate.
Etihad has plans to bolster Abu Dhabi's role as a travel hub connecting Asia and Europe. Neves said the airline does not need an IPO to fund its growth plans, which he estimated would cost more than $20 billion for the next 10 years. "We believe we can self-fund that," he said.
Neves also shrugged off growing global economic uncertainty, geopolitical and trade tensions. He said the carrier remained steadfast in its network expansion strategy as the Middle East's growth prospects would underpin air travel demand.
Etihad's passenger traffic is up 17% year-on-year this year, and its load factor — a measure of how full its planes are — had increased to 88% from 86% a year ago.
While bookings slowed down during the Israel-Iran conflict, Neves said sales fully recovered by the end of July.
"People postponed their plans, but they did not cancel their plans," he said.
Etihad's fleet has more than 100 aircraft, with a mix of Airbus and Boeing models. In May, it confirmed an order for 28 wide-body Boeing aircraft, including 777X.
Neves said the 777X order is expected after 2030 and will replace Etihad's Airbus A380 planes. More aircraft deals are in the offing as the airline is looking to tap into the secondary market, including lessors for additional jets, he added.
"It's not necessarily with OEMs. It can be with lessors, it can be secondhand planes."
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Richard Chang)
