Kenya Airways issued an invitation to merge to Ethiopian Airlines and South Airways. The Kenyan airline extended the invitation in a bid to become more competitive on the global market and to face the challenge from large non African airlines.
The invitation was issued at the 44th African Airlines Association Annual General Assembly held in Johannesburg last week. The idea of the sub-Saharan allies merging to create a union to withstand the current global competition was suggested by Titus Naikuni, CEO of Kenya Airways speaking at the conference.
The proposal was accepted in principle by Tewolde GebreMariam CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. Size is an important factor in the aviation sector which depends on economies of scale he noted. As far as Ethiopian Airlines is concerned the idea of a major pan-African Airway is considered positively said Tewolde.
It is noted that the global aviation sector is currently dominated by non-African Airways which control as much as an estimated 80 percent of the market. In light of this African airlines will benefit from uniting explains the proposal presented by Kenyan Airways. The three airways, Ethiopian, South African and Kenyan Airways, can create a large airline to allow them to grow, deliver better service and to improve their safety and performance according to the proposal.Source: The Reporter
