Ethiopia’s flag carrier is in talks with Rwandan and the Republic of Congo over purchasing stakes and also managing their carriers. This was disclosed by the Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group, to Reuters.

The discussions are made following the similar deals Ethiopian Airlines secured with Malawi and South Sudan. It operates and manages Malawi Airlines after signing a deal in 2013. It also concluded a memorandum of understanding with South Sudan for the setting up of a national carrier.

Commenting on the matter Tewolde said, "Right now, we have a technical agreement with Rwandair and we manage the technical maintenance of their fleet. We are going to expand that to a commercial and equity partnership". "We are also in discussions with the Democratic Republic of Congo."

The Chief Executive Officer also noted the firm is looking for opportunities in Uganda. Nonetheless, he refrained from mentioning names.

In addition to the deals Ethiopian has with Malawi and South Sudan, it has agreement with ASKY, the West African airline, whose shareholders also include the ECOWAS regional bloc of countries and a number of banks.

According to Reuters, currently Ethiopian has a fleet of 77 jets, including 10 787-8 Dreamliners. It was the first airline to fly the Dreamliner commercially, has three more on order and wants to order more, including a larger version of the 787.

Source: Reuters