How Etihad Lost $7.7 Billion Buying Airlines

Etihad vs Emirates: why did Abu Dhabi's airline lose $7.7 billion buying stakes in Air Berlin, Alitalia and Jet Airways, then post a record $698m profit in 2025? The full story, from the airlines' own numbers. Two cities, one country, about an hour and a half apart by car. Dubai built Emirates from two leased planes in 1985. Abu Dhabi's Etihad took a shortcut: buy stakes in other airlines. Between 2016 and 2021 it lost about $7.7 billion, and its partners went bankrupt one by one. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:47 Part 1: The Neighbour 2:18 Part 2: The Shortcut 3:47 Part 3: Why They Were For Sale 4:58 Part 4: The Dominoes 6:49 Part 5: Shrink to Survive 8:04 The Numbers Now SOURCES Etihad Airways results press release (Feb 2026) Bloomberg, 'Etihad Has $1.87 Billion Loss in Worst Blow to Gulf Carriers' (27 Jul 2017) Arab News (2017, 2020, 2021) AJOT (2019) on Etihad's fleet and order cuts Gulf News (2013) on the partner-airline strategy and Emirates' 1985 start Aviation Week (Jun 2021) on Emirates' FY2020-21 loss Emirates media centre, FY2025-26 results (May 2026) Travel Weekly (2017) on Alitalia's cost to taxpayers Wikipedia: Etihad Airways (stake dates, results table) All figures are from company filings unless noted. Fiscal years end in March. CREDITS Narration: AI voice (Kokoro). Script, research and animation: Groundtruth. Music (YouTube Audio Library): "Drifting Memories" by The Mini Vandals; "Nebula" by The Grey Room / Density & Time; "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" by The Grey Room / Density & Time; "Way Back Home" by Simon Herody; "Turn In The Sun" by Simon Herody Stock video (Pexels): 정규송 Nui MALAMA / Pexels, Joolsmagools ®️ / Pexels, Glenn Langhorst / Pexels, Abid Ali / Pexels, Magda Ehlers / Pexels, K / Pexels, E CG / Pexels, Site Engine / Pexels, Alexander Bobrov / Pexels, CoolPlaces4K JC / Pexels, norbert yanzon / Pexels, Alberto Escalona / Pexels, Ivan Chumak / Pexels, Werner Pfennig / Pexels, Aamir Somewhere / Pexels, Rafael Minguet Delgado / Pexels, Sayyed Shakeel Haider / Pexels, Toàn BDS / Pexels Images via Wikimedia Commons: Photo: DaHuzyBru / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Julian Herzog (Website) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Photo: Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Wadiia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Robert Bock / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Photo: Ralf Roletschek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 Photo: Kiefer. from Frankfurt, Germany / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Aeroprints.com / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: byeangel from Tsingtao, China / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: 4300streetcar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Photo: Kambui / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Photo: World Economic Forum / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Quintin Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Photo: Travelarz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: EditQ / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Photo: Валерий Дед / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 Photo: Aheilner / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: ECWiki1 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Photo: Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Travelarz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl Photo: Cogsy21 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Alessandro Ambrosetti / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Photo: © Ra Boe / Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de Photo: CedarGlen86 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Photo: Rossographer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Shishirdasika / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Pinakpani / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Photo: Andrew Harvey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Photo: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: flowcomm / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Mozzihh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Rickmaj / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Dana Energy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Crescent Petroleum/Icethorn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 #Etihad #Emirates #Business