Qatar Airways to acquire 25% stake in South African airline Airlink

Regulatory approval for deal is under way, group chief executive Badr Al Meer says

Qatar Airways said the acquisition of a stake in South Africa's Airlink is in line with its Africa strategy. Photo: Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has signed an agreement to acquire a 25 per cent stake in South African carrier Airlink as part of plans to expand its route network and boost passenger numbers across the continent to tap into rising travel demand.

The stake in southern Africa's regional carrier aligns with Qatar Airways' business strategy in Africa, the Doha-based airline's group chief executive Badr Al Meer said during a live-stream broadcast of a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.

“As a financially robust airline that is renowned for its resilience, agility and extensive connectivity across southern Africa, Airlink represents a strategic partner that shares our commitment to unlock in Africa vast business and tourism potential,” Mr Al Meer said.

However, he declined to put a value on the acquisition but said that regulatory approval for the deal is under way and that the commercial operations teams at both airlines are working on a joint strategy to “pave the road forward”.

The airline's latest deal in Africa adds to Qatar Airways' portfolio of minority shareholdings in global airlines, including British Airways' parent company International Airlines Group (IAG), Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines and Latam Airlines Group. The Doha-based airline has also agreed to buy a 49 per cent stake in the East African airline RwandAir and in 2019 took a 60 per cent share in the new $1.3 billion Bugesera International Airport, south-east of the Rwandan capital Kigali.

Qatar Airways currently flies to 29 destinations in Africa, including Cairo, Alexandria, Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Kano, Luanda, Lusaka and Port Harcourt.

State-owned Qatar Airways' investment in Airlink will build on the codeshare partnership the two airlines currently have. A codeshare agreement allows an airline to carry passengers whose tickets have been issued by another. The aim is to provide passengers with a wider choice of destinations than any individual airline might offer alone.

Privately owned Airlink flies to more than 45 destinations in 15 African countries, the company's website says.

"Having Qatar Airways as an equity partner is a powerful endorsement of Airlink and echoes our faith in the markets we currently serve and plan to add to our network," said Rodger Foster, Airlink's chief executive.

"This transaction will unlock growth by providing efficiencies of scale, increasing our capacity and expanding our marketing reach. By bolstering Airlink and its business, this investment will strengthen all of the existing airline partnerships Airlink has nurtured over the years.”

Airlink also has a codeshare agreement with Emirates that was activated in June 2022, the Dubai-based airline's website says.

Africa has a population of about 1.4 billion people but currently carries only 2 per cent of global air traffic, making it an underserved market with major opportunities for African and international airlines to tap into demand.

In June, African airlines recorded a 16.9 per cent year-on-year increase in demand, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said. Capacity was up 5.8 per cent on an annual basis, while the load factor rose to 77 per cent. This was the largest improvement in load factor among all regions.