South African Airways: still got friends
It may be having a rough time at home, but South African Airways still has friends overseas – and the latest is Etihad Airways. The airlines announced a strategic partnership on Monday, including a route-sharing partnership on flights to Abu Dhabi and beyond.
SAA and Etihad will also look at joint procurement and maintenance opportunities, according to the statement. In return, Etihad gets access to 10 cities in South Africa and other parts of Africa. Continue reading »
Jet-Etihad deal: Air India the loser
After months in the pipeline, a deal has finally been announced between India’s Jet Airways and Etihad.
The UAE’s national carrier will pay Rs754.74 per share for a 24 per cent stake in Jet, valuing the deal at Rs20.6bn ($380m). It’s good news for both parties in the deal. But it’s very bad news for Jet’s main competitor – the state-owned Air India. Continue reading »
Jet-Etihad deal: too good to be true?
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways appears to have developed a taste for Indian airlines. Just last month, there were rumours that the state-owned airline was considering investing in Vijay Mallya’s grounded airline, Kingfisher.
Then on Thursday, Jet Airways announced on the Bombay Stock Exchange that it is in discussions with Etihad regarding a possible investment in the Indian carrier. Continue reading »
Kingfisher / Etihad: a brave investment
If Vijay Mallya pulls this off it will be a moment of magic and/or poor judgement.
Etihad Airways, the Gulf carrier, is on the cusp of buying a stake in the debt-encumbered Kingfisher Airlines – the airline that has been grounded since October. Continue reading »
Jet Airways circles Gulf deal
Jet Airways shares soared 7 per cent in Mumbai on Monday on a report that the airline was getting close to finalising a proposed tie-up with Etihad Airways, the Gulf carrier.
Mint newspaper said Jet would soon seek regulatory approval to alter its ownership structure to permit a stake sale to Etihad. If it goes ahead, the deal would be India’s first big foreign investment to come from prime minister Manmohan Singh’s recent economic reforms, which include a move allowing foreign carriers to buy 49 per cent of an Indian airline. Continue reading »
India: Jet and Spice in talks – official
Shares in Jet Airways and SpiceJet soared on Monday by nearly a fifth after an Indian government official confirmed the worst-kept secret in Mumbai – the two carriers are in talks with potential foreign investors.
Jet is discussing selling a stake to Etihad Airways and SpiceJet is having similar discussions with Malaysia’s AirAsia, said the official. These are the first deal plans to be made public since New Delhi liberalised investment by foreign carriers in September. Continue reading »
Emirates: next stop, Warsaw
By Nicholas Watson of bne
Emirates, the Gulf carrier, is preparing a new route from its Dubai hub to Poland and upgrading its connection to Russia by putting Moscow on its Airbus 380 superjumbo flight list.
While such an expansion by the world’s largest airline is a vote of confidence in emerging Europe, it’s less good news for the region’s struggling flag carriers that are desperately looking to be rescued by such global airlines. Continue reading »
Budget airlines: criss-crossing the Gulf
A Gulf-based budget airline might sound like a contradiction in terms. But as Camilla Hall reports, Flydubai is one of several carriers rapidly making low-cost travel a reality in the region.
It may have only 22 planes, but Flydubai has weathered the global financial crisis and is now expanding. Even among some of the world’s richest fliers, there are those who don’t mind a spot of cut-price flying – though without the bargain basement feel of some of the industry’s stalwarts. Continue reading »
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