ON OUR #ECOBIZ RADAR: #ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Reports reaching the research desk of Ecowas Business News indicate that, Ethiopian Airlines is making waves on the continent in the rapid manner in which it is combining strategic partnerships with ailing African national carriers with audacious calls by its Managing Director, Tewolde Gabemariam, for African governments to consider owning part of the minority shares of the airline.

The latest acquisitions and partnerships include a 49% stake in Guinea Airlines; 51% stake in Chad Airlines, which will commence operations on 1 October; and 45% stake in Zambian Airways. We already know how well-ensconced Ethiopian Airlines has been in the de facto (and de jure) ECOWAS airline, ASky, where it owns 40%, and is on contract to manage and technically-service the airline from the hub in Lome, Togo.

In January this year, 23 African countries signed the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), an initiative by the African Union, which consists of all 55 countries on the African continent. The SAATM, it is hoped, will help airlines grow and regulate competition to avoid ruinous air trade battles between countries.

Ethiopian Airlines decision to help buy some airlines, and invest strategically in fledgling ones remains an idea whose time has come!