Emirates doesn’t want to invest in SAA
Gulf carrier Emirates has ruled out investing in South African
Airways, narrowing the number of potential saviors of the
loss-making state airline.
While Emirates and SAA are working closely to enhance their
code-sharing agreement, there are no plans to invest, an
Emirates spokesperson said in an emailed statement Monday.
The Dubai-based company commented after Johannesburg-based
newspaper City Press reported both Emirates and Etihad were in
talks with SAA about a partnership, citing the UAE’s ambassador
to South Africa.
SAA is in the throes of a financial crisis that has led CEO
Vuyani Jarana to call for an aviation-industry investor to help
it return to profit and avoid further government bailouts.
Gulf airlines have been muted as candidates, given their routes
linking major African cities with Middle Eastern hubs and other
Asian and European destinations.
Etihad declined to comment, while SAA didn’t respond to
requests for comment.
Expensive Alliances
Any move by Etihad to invest in SAA would reverse its policy to
scale back a past strategy of sealing alliances through equity
investments, which saw the Abu Dhabi-based airline spend cash
on struggling carriers including Air Berlin Plc, which filed
for insolvency last year.
Etihad CEO Tony Douglas is reigning in the carrier’s reach by
cutting jobs, routes and working to freeze plane orders.
SAA and Etihad briefly had a code-sharing agreement, but it was
scrapped when the South African carrier ended direct flights in
2016 between its home base in Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi.
Nigeria is competing with SAA for attention from Gulf carriers
after announcing a new national airline at the Farnborough Air
Show last week. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika tweeted a picture
of himself with Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker, referring to
airline boss as a potential partner or investor.
Read: Gulf giants in talks
with SAA: report
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