A report from Kenyan online business news service businessdayafrica.org says that discussions have resumed between Kenya Airways and South African Airways on the creation of a Pan-African airline group, following the collapse of the agreement with the Takatso consortium which was to recapitalise SAA in return for a 51% share in the airline.
The article says that executives from Kenya Airways came to South Africa during March at the invitation of SAA to chart a new course and establish fresh timelines for the long-anticipated Pan-African airline group’s formation.
The news service quotes an unnamed representative of Kenya Airways saying: “We went to South Africa to chart a new path after Takatso’s withdrawal. We are commencing negotiations anew.”
The envisioned Pan-African airline group began in November 2021 as a collaborative initiative between Kenya Airways and SAA.
The two carriers started taking steps into a strategic alliance, and later voiced the desire to eventually take in other African carriers and create a Pan-African airline group and scale up. The partnership aimed to leverage assets, flex combined buying muscle, and create a formidable air transport connection in Africa, benefiting from at least two attractive hubs - Johannesburg and Nairobi.
But in July 2023, plans were shelved as SAA was awaiting its capital injection from the Takatso Consortium and Kenya Airways underwent restructuring. The East African carrier has subsequently received government bailouts to enable it to restructure and service its debts while it seeks an investor to buy up to 49% of the airline.
