Qatar Airways is reportedly close to announcing investments in two different African airlines, which could have some interesting implications for aviation on the continent…
Qatar Airways’ creative plan to expand in Africa
Africa is one of the trickier continents for aviation, especially when it comes to long haul connectivity. You have some airlines in North Africa that do reasonably okay, and then you have Ethiopian Airlines, which is Africa’s most successful global airline. But beyond that, Africa lacks global players, with much of the intercontinental connectivity provided by foreign airlines.
While the “big three” Gulf carriers all have a respectable presence in Africa, airlines are always trying to find a competitive advantage. Along those lines, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer has just shared some updates about two investments that the airline has planned in the region.
As he explains, Qatar Airways currently flies to over 30 destinations in Africa, and the carrier’s network in North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa, is growing organically. However, he notes that the airline is struggling with growing in Central Africa and Southern Africa, but the airline has plans to address that.
By the way, before we discuss the actual substance of what’s said, can I just note what a breath of fresh air Al Meer is, compared to his predecessor? He’s smart, he’s to the point, and he’s no drama. He doesn’t provide the same viral soundbites that Al Baker did, and I’d say that’s a good thing.
Qatar Airways plans RwandAir investment
Qatar Airways already has a partnership with RwandAir, and the airline soon plans to take this to the next level. The plan is for Qatar Airways to acquire a 49% stake in RwandAir, which is Rwanda’s national airline. This is part of a much bigger play, as Qatar also owns a 60% stake in the country’s new international airport, which is expected to take aviation in the country to the next level.
Currently RwandAir is a small airline with just over a dozen aircraft. I imagine that once Qatar Airways invests in RwandAir, we’ll see the airline grow its fleet and network. For that matter, I imagine Qatar Airways will considerably increase service to Kigali, and possibly even add fifth freedom tag flights from the airport.
Really there’s nothing here that’s terribly surprising, as this investment has been in the works for years. However, it’s expected to be finalized soon.
Qatar Airways plans investment in Southern African airline
Here’s the interesting new development. Qatar Airways’ CEO states that the airline is in the final stages of an equity investment in an airline in Southern Africa. As he explains it, this airline will be complementary to RwandAir, allowing a hub in Southern Africa, in the same way Kigali will be a hub in Central Africa.
Al Meer stopped short of revealing which airline Qatar Airways is investing in, though pointed out that there are only two or three airlines in Southern Africa that would be considered, and it should be easy to guess from there.
I could be missing something, but it seems like there are only two potential airlines that this could refer to — either South African Airways or Airlink. There aren’t any other major airlines in the region. I suppose some might argue that Air Mauritius or Air Seychelles are in Southern Africa (though they’re more in East Africa, in my opinion), but either way, those airlines don’t have good geography for a strategic regional hub.
So let’s talk about those two airlines a bit. We know that South African Airways has struggled financially. South Africa’s government has been trying to privatize the airline with no luck, though perhaps that’s finally changing. I’m curious how Qatar Airways would position South African Airways, though.
Presumably the primary goal would be to have strong regional connectivity to feed into Qatar Airways’ global network via Doha. I hope Qatar Airways’ plans aren’t too ambitious beyond that, because we’ve seen over and over that running South African Airways as a global carrier doesn’t work.
Airlink is another interesting option, as it’s an airline with a huge regional network in Southern Africa, and it has historically performed a bit better than South African Airways. That being said, I’m not sure what exactly Qatar Airways would gain by investing in the airline, rather than just having some sort of partnership for connectivity? The airline can provide Qatar Airways with feed in Johannesburg and Cape Town, though I’m not sure what more there could be to this?
Bottom line
Qatar Airways is planning on expanding its connectivity in Africa, with investments in two African airlines.
We know that Qatar Airways is betting big on Rwanda, between Qatar’s 60% stake in Kigali’s new airport, plus Qatar Airways nearing a 49% equity investment in RwandAir.
The latest development is that Qatar Airways also plans to take a stake in an airline in Southern Africa in the near future. I have to imagine that South African Airways or Airlink are the airlines being considered, though it’s possible that I’m missing something.
What do you make of Qatar Airways’ Africa strategy?
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