In a current tackle at an aviation summit in Johannesburg, SAA’s Interim CEO John Lamola mentioned he’s on the lookout for a associate that may respect his airline’s mission.
South African Airways (SAA) has dismissed rumours about getting into into an fairness partnership with Qatar Airways.
Hypothesis started after Qatar Airways introduced earlier this month its intention to put money into an airline positioned within the southern area of Africa.
Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Al Meer revealed on Might 15 that the Gulf provider is “within the remaining levels” of finalising an fairness funding in an airline in “the southern a part of Africa,” with an announcement anticipated to happen inside two or three weeks of the time of his announcement.
“This airline will assist us and complement the operation of Kigali,” Al Meer advised a panel on the Qatar Financial Discussion board on the time.
Nonetheless, in a current tackle at an aviation summit in Johannesburg on Might 22, SAA’s Interim CEO John Lamola dismissed these speculations.
“We’re South Africa’s nationwide provider… and we’re on the lookout for a associate that may respect the mission of SAA,” Lamola said, as reported by Tourism Replace.
Lamola emphasised that SAA is certainly looking out for a strategic associate following the collapse of its non-public fairness take care of the Takatso Consortium.
The important thing requirement for any potential associate, he famous, is a dedication to protecting SAA state-owned and devoted to serving South Africa.
The airline’s board can be insisting on a capital injection to help within the recapitalisation and modernisation of its fleet, aligning with international decarbonisation requirements.
In the meantime, Qatar Airways, which presently operates flights to 31 African locations, is eager on increasing its footprint on the continent.
This features a important fairness funding in one other southern African airline, complementing its current operations with RwandAir and enhancing connectivity throughout East, West, and North Africa.
Qatar Airways has been rising its presence in Africa since 2019 when it expressed curiosity in buying a 49 % stake in RwandAir.
This long-term funding is a part of a broader plan, which features a $1.3bn funding in Rwanda’s new Bugesera Worldwide Airport, geared toward creating a serious aviation hub within the area.
Between 2022 and 2023, either side operated about 156 flights between Doha and Kigali. Throughout the identical interval, the airline witnessed a ten % month-on-month progress, leading to greater than QAR 7 million ($1.9m) in revenues.
In Might final yr, Qatar Airways Cargo launched its first hub, in partnership with RwandAir, for its cargo dealing with.
The transfer aimed to develop the African air cargo community and meet the three-to-five % of its annual financial progress forecast for the continent inside a decade.
Qatar Airways community in Africa contains Lusaka, Harare, Abidjan, Algiers, Accra, Cape City, Abuja, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Zanzibar amongst others.
