Piyush Gupta has joined Etihad Airways as head counsel in Abu Dhabi, bringing more than two decades of sector experience with him. He left his role as senior corporate counsel at Singapore Airlines, which he held for three and a half years.
“After a long and fulfilling tenure [at Singapore Airlines], I found Etihad is at a critical juncture in its growth trajectory, and my role is specially catered as a pivotal stakeholder to help bring the company’s several global initiatives to fruition,” Gupta told India Business Law Journal.
Gupta has worked with domestic and foreign airlines as well as law firms, including stints with Rajah & Tann, Kochhar & Co, Indigo Airlines, RHT Law Asia and Singapore Airlines. He was also vice chair of the aviation law committee at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
He believes that his strategically positioned job in the UAE will be good for Etihad’s business with both Europe and Asia, and he will be working with a culturally diverse team.
Having developed a “robust network with his vast experience and domain knowledge”, Gupta said, “I intend to deliver strategic advice to Etihad to navigate the complex legal and regulatory landscape within Asia and progressively to other regions and extensively engaging domain-specialist external counsel.”
Gupta acknowledges the aviation industry’s fair share of issues. “The airline industry is a very challenging industry to work in, replete with numerous (and strict) regulatory and operational challenges in addition to low margins and high overhead expenses,” he said.
Recognising Etihad’s rapid growth trajectory, Gupta adds that “for any airline to grow and expand at such a pace, [it] requires not only precise decision-making from senior management, but also the buy-in from internal stakeholders”.
Given his broad industry experience, Gupta says he understands the “legal challenges faced by airlines and has been advising and mitigating such legal and regulatory risks for a long time”.
“I expect no less at Etihad,” adds the head counsel, “as it continues to be among the world’s fastest-growing airlines while at the same time, supporting Abu Dhabi’s long-term strategy to streamline global trade, enhance regulatory compliance with international standards, and reinforce the emirate’s standing as a leading aviation and logistics hub.”
On the ever-evolving aviation landscape, he attributes the rapid changes to globalisation. “Gone are the days,” he says, “when aviation law was just about public international law, applicability of international conventions and IATA/ICAO regulations.
“Now aviation lawyers need to consider so many different and varying areas of law – data protection and cyberthreats, mobile wallets, competition law, sustainability and environmental protection, digitalisation and technological advancements in AI.”
All of these underscore the need for knowledge of regulatory requirements and changes in these new areas as he terms them, “not only beneficial, but critical for any airline’s long-term vision and prospects”.
