Etihad posted its first loss in six years in 2016 and began a strategic overhaul. Last month it pulled its Airbus freighter fleet from service and asked some pilots to take unpaid leave. None of the potential solutions are straightforward, the sources said, but Etihad could reach one over the next few weeks and one idea being considered, two sources said, is that Etihad could buy Alitalia's mini-bond within EAP. Etihad agreed at the end of 2016 to repay the principal of Alitalia's portion of debt issued by EAP, equivalent to $235 million. But this was signed before Alitalia's workers rejected a restructuring plan for the Italian carrier in early 2017, leading the company to bankruptcy. With Alitalia now under administration, it is not clear whether the agreement would succeed in repaying Alitalia's debt in the EAP bonds, as it could be used by the administrator to repay Alitalia's more senior creditors. Copyright Reuters, 2018