JAMES HOGAN will be vacating his CEO position at Etihad (EY) in late 2017. While he is noteworthy for having placed Abu Dhabi (AUH) on the global airline map, his departure underscores the dangers linked to over-investing in debt-ridden carriers. Did Etihad sense smoke signals after learning from Swissair's (SR) late 1990s failed acquisition strategy, which sent it running into the arms of Lufthansa (LH)? In the Middle East, aviation relevancy follows a go-big-or-go-home formula. Airlines will self-categorize as either entirely low-profile or ostentatiously grandiose. In the latter case, one must pursue a vision that involves plunking down an air transportation megalopolis in the middle of the desert, anchored around sorting humans between all corners of the earth.
展开▼
