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Ethiopian Airlines Group is ready to provide aircraft, pilots and maintenance services to its beleaguered rival South African Airways as part of a joint venture with the government of that country.
Africa’s largest airline is offering operational assistance, Ethiopia’s CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said in an interview in Addis Ababa.
The airline is not interested in helping pay the debt or the cost of reducing the workforce, he said.
“We don’t want to deal with the legacy issues – debt, labor claims, etc., because that’s very difficult for us, not just in terms of financial outlay, but also in terms of managing the restructuring,” said the CEO.
“We want to make it much easier for them to start the airline by providing aircraft, providing experience, pilots, technicians and leadership.”
Ethiopian could provide more modern Airbus SE 350 and Boeing Co. 787s, it said, compared to SAA’s Airbus 340 jets.
South Africa Seeks Sponsors for Insolvent State Airline
The South African government needs more than R10 billion ($ 600 million) to resurrect an airline that has been under bankruptcy protection since December.
The cash is needed in part for ticket refunds and severance packages for nearly 4,000 workers who agreed to leave as part of a rescue plan drawn up by administrators and backed by labor groups.
The Department of Public Enterprises has repeatedly said that it is analyzing various offers from private investors, but nothing concrete has materialized. Bloomberg News reported a month ago that Ethiopian was among the parties holding talks.
Tewolde called on African governments to be more aggressive in reopening borders after months of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ethiopian flights are busy on average 40%, the CEO said.
While Boeing plans to get its 737 Max model back in the sky by the end of the year, Ethiopian is still in talks with the aircraft manufacturer about compensation for a deadly accident in March 2019 that caused the plane to remain grounded around the world. .
It is not yet clear whether the airline will fly the model again, Tewolde said.
Read: SAA suspends all operations with immediate effect
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