Etihad Airways has grounded its five Airbus freighters, and is asking its pilots to take unpaid leave as it continues to rethink its strategy, according to a Reuters report.
The state-owned Gulf carrier has been reviewing its business since 2016 after billions of dollars spent buying stakes in other airlines failed to deliver substantial returns. This contributed to a US $1.87 billion loss in 2016, its first loss since 2010.
It declined to comment on whether it had offered pilots unpaid leave.
Etihad is encouraging pilots to take unpaid leave for periods as short as one week or as long as 18 months as it reviews its fleet requirements with the intention of retiring some aircraft, according to three sources.
Pilots are being asked to take leave on a voluntary basis, one of the sources said.
Etihad employed 2,225 pilots for a fleet of 122 jets as of February 2017, according to the most recent data on its website.
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