Qatar Airways buys stake in South African airline
Qatar Airways has acquired a 25% stake in South African regional carrier Airlink as part of its ambitions to expand operations further across Africa.
The investment in Airlink, which flies between 15 African countries, will improve a code-sharing partnership between the two airlines.
It added that the acquisition will boost its desire to be a key driver to the continent’s economic success.
“Our investment in Airlink further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business future,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
“This partnership not only demonstrates our confidence in Airlink, as a company that is resilient, agile, financially robust and governed on sound principles, but also in Africa as a whole, showing huge potential, and I am delighted we are able to help start realising it.”
“Having Qatar Airways as an equity partner is a powerful endorsement of Airlink and echoes our faith in the markets we currently serve and plan to add to our network,” added Airlink Chief Executive Rodger Foster.
“This transaction will unlock growth by providing efficiencies of scale, increasing our capacity and expanding our marketing reach. By bolstering Airlink and its business, this investment will strengthen all of the existing airline partnerships Airlink has nurtured over the years.”
The partnership also aims to align both carriers’ loyalty programs – Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Airlink Skybucks.
Qatar Airways currently flies to 29 destinations in Africa, and nine new destinations, including Abuja, Accra, Harare, and Kinshasa, have been added to the network since December 2020.
Airline push
The move from Qatar Airways comes amid a host of major international flight operators expanding their offerings in South Africa.
German Airline Lufthansa will launch a direct flight between Johannesburg and Munich in September, and seasonal flights between Cape Town and Munich will also be available in November.
Lufthansa will thus offer two direct flights to Germany from Johannesburg, as it already offers a flight to Frankfurt. Its sister airline, Swiss, also offers direct flights to Zurich.
Low-cost Norwegian airline Norse Atlantic Airways also announced that it will launch a new route connecting London Gatwick Airport with Cape Town International Airport in October.
“We are thrilled to introduce our new route between London and Cape Town,” said Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO of Norse Atlantic Airways.
“By breaking the duopoly (Virgin Atlantic and British Airways) on this route, we are not only expanding travel options for consumers but also driving down costs and putting the customer back in the pilot’s seat.”
South African Airways (SAA) also started flying to Perth, Australia, in April of this year. The group is planning to increase the number of its aircraft by 50% to 21% by March next year.
The state-owned company said it has the cash to fund the expansion despite the failure of its private equity deal with the Takatso Consortium.
Interim CEO John Lamola said that SAA also plans to open routes to Frankfurt, Munich, London, and cities on the east coast of the US. However, these new routes will only be considered in the year ending March 2028.
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