Etihad has accused Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, of attempting to deflect attention from the Australian airline's ''own issues'' after he attacked Etihad's profitability and the viability of its alliance with Virgin Blue on the Australia-Europe route. Etihad's chief executive, James Hogan, said Joyce was ''trying to deflect attention from Qantas's own issues''. He also said that he was surprised to hear Joyce commenting about Etihad's profitability because it was a private company that did not publish its financial results. Joyce had claimed that Etihad was ''losing a fortune''.
''I was not aware that Alan had been through our books - but if he had, he would know that Etihad is on track to achieve its financial targets," Hogan said. He also added that ''the numbers [for the Virgin alliance] not only stack up, they are compelling''.