Protectionism in bilateral rights not good for anyone: Etihad CEO

Indian carriers are doing very well and have no reason to fear competition, says Antonoaldo Neves

Protectionism in bilateral rights is not good for anyone in aviation, and Indian airlines need not fear competition as they are doing “very well”, said Antonoaldo Neves, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, on Wednesday.

 

India is reluctant to expand bilateral flying rights with the UAE and Qatar, as West Asia hubs such as Dubai and Doha largely function as transit points for Indian passengers travelling onward to North America and Europe — a concern echoed by Indian carriers as they induct wide-body aircraft and expand non-stop long-haul flights.

 

On the other hand, airport operators such as Adani Airports Holdings have told the government that expanding bilateral rights is necessary to fully utilise the large capacities being added at major Indian airports as well as new greenfield airports such as Navi Mumbai and Noida.

 

Neves, in an interview with Business Standard at Wings India 2026 summit, said: “Indian carriers are doing very well. I know there were some challenges recently but IndiGo is still one of the most valuable airlines in equity markets in the world; Akasa Air is growing a lot. Air India is investing a lot. I think this mentality that Indian airlines fear competition is an old mentality from the days when the Indian airlines were not doing well.”

 

A bilateral air services agreement between India and Abu Dhabi allows 50,000 weekly seats for airlines from each side. Abu Dhabi-based carriers have fully utilised their allocations, while 10,000 seats available to Indian carriers remain unused.

 

“If the Indian carriers go to Abu Dhabi’s airport operator today and they say, look, ‘I want to use the remaining 10,000 seats left in bilateral rights’, Abu Dhabi airport operator is going to say welcome. And Etihad is going to say welcome as well. Because we have a view that the more, the better...We don’t believe that protectionism is good for anyone,” Neves said.

 

Etihad, he said, has been partners with various Indian carriers in one form or another for quite some time. “We train IndiGo pilots at Etihad’s pilot training facility. If I feared IndiGo, why would I be training their pilots? I have an interline agreement with Air India. We sell tickets together. We have a codeshare agreement with Akasa. We are all partners...I don't think the Indian carriers are in a situation where they need to be protected.”

 

When asked about his discussions with Indian airport operators, he replied, "We do talk to them. They want us to fly more here. And it is going to happen. Currently, we bring more than 1.9 million people to India (many of them tourists) every year. I don’t know of any developing country that does not want more tourists."

 

Neves said that until about two years ago, his airline was not fully utilising its allotted traffic rights and therefore did not seek additional access. He noted that those rights have since been fully used, while Indian carriers still have around 10,000 seats available under existing bilaterals. According to him, the question of opening up additional traffic rights is likely to arise only after Indian airlines exhaust this remaining capacity, possibly as early as next year.

 

“Etihad is not in a rush. We’re growing 20 per cent per year. We have a lot of opportunities all over the world. We want traffic rights to India. But while we don't get it, we are increasing flights to Bangkok, Phuket, Hong Kong etc.”

 

“Last year, we could have added Goa if Goa was open for us, but we could not. I could have added more flights to Hyderabad or Delhi or Navi Mumbai airport. But I need traffic rights to do that. I think it [more rights] is going to happen,” he said.