Tony Douglas has served as Group CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways since January 2018.
A British national, Douglas has spent over 20 years working in aviation, transportation, infrastructure, and government.
At Etihad, Douglas’ tenure as Group CEO has been focused on cutting the airline’s losses. Despite the pandemic, stymieing this plan – Eithad reported a $476 million loss in 2021 – the business’s bottom line has significantly improved. In 2018, the airline had reported a $1.28 billion loss.
On Thursday, Arabian Business revealed that Douglas has been approached for the CEO position at Saudi Arabia’s new prospective airline RIA.
Prior to joining Etihad, Douglas served as CEO of the Defence Equipment and Support department at the UK’s Ministry of Defence. During his role, Douglas was responsible for procuring and supporting all the equipment and services for the British Armed Forces, while managing a budget of $20 billion per year.
Etihad was not Douglas’ first role in the UAE, with the airline chief previously serving as the CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports Company and Abu Dhabi Ports Company. During this role, Douglas was responsible for the successful delivery of Khalifa Port – Abu Dhabi’s flagship deepwater port that handles all of the emirate’s container traffic.
Prior to Abu Dhabi Airports, Douglas held senior positions in the UK as Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Executive designate of Laing O’Rourke at British Airports Authority (BAA). His roles under BAA included Managing Director of Heathrow Terminal 5 project, Group Supply Chain Director, Group Technical Director, and CEO of Heathrow Airport.
Douglas holds an MBA from the UK’s Lancaster University.
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