Ethiopia Airlines, RwandAir mull strategic partnership
Plans are at an advanced stage for a strategic partnership between Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir comings months after Rwanda national carrier picked Ethiopian Airlines as its future strategic partner.
Taking delivery of a brand-new Airbus A330 aircraft in Toulouse, France last week, John Mirenge, CEO of RwandAir, said that the two airlines have established a joint team that is working on the details of the formation of the strategic partnership. “The joint team is working on the details on a permanent basis. Strategic partnership is like marriage. If you rash it, it might not last too long. Or it could go over a span of years while every partner is studying and trying to understand the other better. I think that is where we are. We chose that path,” Mirenge said.
The CEO said that the two sides will continue working together and look at each other more carefully. “We need to understand each other’s way of doing things, and grow organically from the kind of partnership we already have. Ethiopian supports us technically. They train our pilots, they train our technicians and engineers. We already are in a relationship. Over time we need to grow to strategic partnership,” he told The Reporter.
The joint team is looking at the possibility that Ethiopian will invest in RwandAir and have a 49 stake on the airline. It will be represented in the board and management and continue providing technical services.
Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said that the two airlines are already cooperating in various fields. “We have technical and commercial cooperation. We have a code share agreement,” Tewolde said. The CEO said that currently the two sides are working on the details of the strategic partnership. “We have our own business strategy and they have their own. The joint team has to look at the business strategies and possible ways of synchronizing them.”
The carriers in principle agreed to forge a strategic partnership in January 2016. The joint team is working on all modalities and the rest of the details are to come out of the ongoing negotiations.
RwandAir would be the third African airline to partner with Ethiopian following ASKY and Malawi Airlines. And Kigali will be Ethiopian’s fourth hub after its main hub in Addis Ababa, Lome and Lilongwe. As part of the 15-year development road map Vision2025 Ethiopian is implementing a multi-hub strategy in Africa.
Based in Kigali, RwandAir is a fast-growing airline in East Central Africa. The Rwandese government established RwandAir in 2009. The airline serves 16 domestic and international destinations with eight aircraft – two Bombardier Q400, two Bombardier CRJ900, Boeing B737-700 and B737-800.
On September 28, RwandAir took delivery of its first wide-body modern aircraft Airbus A330-200. The aircraft has 244 seats – 20 business class, 21 premium economy – a new product in Africa-203 economy class seats. It will receive the second A330 aircraft direct from Airbus in November, 2016.
Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Since the country is landlocked, the government is paying due attention to air transport development. Paul Kagame’s administration is transforming the aviation, tourism, and ICT sectors. The government has built a modern convention center and first-class hotels that help the country attract international conferences. The government has unveiled a plan to build a new international airport 50 km out of Kigali at a cost of 600 million dollars. By making the visa process simple, building modern convention centers and hotels, the country is developing conference tourism. It has already managed to host major international conferences in recent years.
