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An
Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner Jet at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. AFP
Photo | Simon Maina
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Ethiopian Airlines, which
is Africa's most profitable carrier, is negotiating with the Nigerian
government to take over management of the recently bankrupted Arik Air, a
senior Addis Ababa official has confirmed Wednesday.
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From
Left, Esayas Weldemariam, director of international service at Ethiopian
Airlines Group, Troy Damian Fitrell, deputy chief of mission at the United
States Embassy in Ethiopia and Greg Gilchrist, senior vice president of Sabre
on August 30, 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo | Andualem Sisay | NMG
|
“Following
the bid opened by the Nigerian government, we are negotiating to secure
management contract of Arik Air,” Esayas Weldemariam, director of International
Service at Ethiopian Airlines Group said this morning.
If
successful, the deal would see Ethiopia's national carrier expand its presence
in western Africa.
It
already has codeshare arrangements with Lome-based Asky Airlines that allow the
carrier to give convenient connections to west African travellers.
“Based
on the terms and conditions set by the government of Nigeria, Ethiopian
Airlines has summited its offer to take over the management of Arik Air…We are
bidding with other airlines, if we agree on the negotiations we are ready to go
and take over the management,” he said.
Reports
show that Arik Air, which is the region's largest private airline by passenger
numbers, has been serving as Nigeria's de-facto national airline.
Following
failure to service its debts and pay employees’ salaries, the government of
Nigeria took over Arik Air in February.
Ethiopian
Airlines, which began operations in 1946, is the largest airline in Africa by
revenue according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Currently,
it has a total of 92 aircrafts flying to 104 international 19 local
destinations.
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