Etihad management accused of toxic culture by staff, blogger says

Etihad Airways is facing claims of a toxic management culture, according to travel blog One Mile at a Time, which published its account on 11 October 2026. The blog's author says he has heard from current and former Etihad management employees since reporting on the sudden departure of Chief Commercial Officer Arik De. The claims are one writer's account of anonymous and private conversations and have not been independently confirmed in the source.

What the report says

One Mile at a Time reports that, after publishing its story on De's exit, the author messaged with more than a dozen current and former Etihad employees in three days and spoke to three of them by phone. The author says he has covered the airline industry for 18 years and has never heard such a negative view of a senior management team. He also points to the reader comments on the earlier post.

The article stresses that many hard-working people at Etihad are not the subject of the complaints. Instead, it says, a number of very senior figures have shown disregard for employees' dignity and surrounded themselves with people who normalise that behaviour.

Focus on Arik De and the leadership

The author describes De as a significant problem but not the only one, and says he is almost universally disliked among the sources he spoke to. He notes that De was accused a couple of years ago by another airline executive of running a fake LinkedIn account to compliment himself. According to the blog, De's farewell LinkedIn post showed a large group of staff and a cake, while the author says he actually left with a tote bag and no fanfare. The author also says only three Etihad employees commented among nearly 100 responses to that post.

The report notes that most of Etihad's senior team are expatriates, led by CEO Antonoaldo Neves, who joined in 2022 after leaving TAP Air Portugal. The author says he does not feel able to assess Neves personally, but argues that allowing the situation to continue reflects poorly on him, and that Etihad's owner, ADQ, should take note if nothing changes.

Comparisons with past management

The author says that, from what he has heard, the culture was not like this under previous CEO Tony Douglas, now CEO of Riyadh Air, or under James Hogan before him. He describes the problems as specific to the current team. He also says he has never heard employees at American Airlines, which he calls a "broken" airline for some years, make claims anywhere near as severe.

What this means for travellers

The source does not describe any change to Etihad Airways flights, schedules, fares or onboard service, and it offers no evidence that passengers have been affected. The claims concern management employees rather than cabin or airport crew. Low morale can affect service quality over time, but that link is not demonstrated here. Travellers do not need to change bookings. It is not yet known whether Etihad, Neves or ADQ will respond, or whether any leadership changes will follow.

Sources: One Mile at a Time.