12 June 2014 And more on South Africa, this time with the news that South African Airways is working to jumpstart the West African arm of its business by investing in Togo based airline Asky. The airline plans to partner with Ghanaian investors, buy a stake in the airline and then move it to Accra, Ghana. Now remember that we’d told you a little while ago that Airpots Company SA signed an agreement with the Ghanaian airport authorities to upgrade Ghana’s airports. Well guess what, Airports Company SA is a subsidiary of South African Airways, so it is making the airline ponder whether it mightn’t be easier to go on and make Ghana its regional hub. Chief Executive of South African Airways Monwabisi Kalawe has shared that West Africa is under-served by airlines and so if the deal goes as planned, the region will account for 10 percent of SAA’s operations compared to the current 2 percent.
There’s a possible spanner in the works though. Ethiopian Airlines is also a strategic shareholder in the airline and so it might go all out to make sure South African airlines doesn’t seal this deal. Both airlines are members of the Star Alliance but where African airspace is involved, they’re definitely rivals. We’ll keep you updated.