Qatar Airways announced today that the Doha based carrier has purchased a 25% stake in South African regional airline Airlink. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Qatar states that the deal is part of the airline’s ambition to further develop its operations across the African continent.
Qatar Airways already has a codeshare agreement with Airlink, which flies to more than 45 destinations in 15 African countries, and this investment is expected to enhance that agreement.
For those not familiar with Airlink, it is a privately owned regional airline headquartered in Johannesburg. It operates a fleet of over 65 Embraer regional jets and serves destinations throughout Southern Africa as well as Madagascar and a very unique route to St Helena Island. The airline worldwide connections through its partners, including Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, had this to say about the announcement:
“Our investment in Airlink further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future. This partnership not only demonstrates our confidence in Airlink, as a company that is resilient, agile, financially robust and governed on sound principles, but also in Africa as a whole, showing huge potential that I am delighted we are able to help start realising.”
As part of the announcement both airlines indicated that they “seek to align” their two loyalty programs, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Airlink Skybucks, though no additional information was provided. I would assume that Airlink would move to the Privilege Club loyalty program and possibly use Avios as its currency.
Qatar Airways currently flies to 29 destinations in Africa and it’s increased partnership with Airlink should provide additional feed to Southern Africa. While I’m not surprised to see Qatar purchasing stakes in other airlines, this seems like a fairly small regional carrier for them to go after. Southern Africa must be key to the airline’s long term growth plans.
Summary
Qatar Airways has taken a 25% stake in regional carrier Airlink. The South African company operates over 65 regional jets to destinations across Southern Africa and will help provide feed to Qatar’s flights to and from the continent. Airlink is also expected to adopt Qatar’s loyalty program though details haven’t been finalized.
(Images courtesy Qatar Airways)
