Plans for a close partnership between SAA and Kenya Airways appear to have stalled, but this could be a temporary setback.
The two carriers have been taking steps into a strategic alliance since November 2021 and have voiced the desire to eventually take in other African carriers and create a Pan-African airline group at a larger scale.
The target date for achieving the final agreement between the two carriers had been the end of 2023, but this now looks unlikely.
Kenya Airways' Group CE Allan Kilavuka has told ch-aviation it's a matter of strengthening both airlines before going ahead.
Kenya Airways is being restructured, undergoing a re-evaluation and concurrently seeking strategic equity investors. According to Bloomberg, in June, it had debt of US$1,35 billion (R24,35 billion) owed to government, lenders and suppliers. The Kenyan government owns 48,9% of the airline, Air France-KLM 7,8% and the balance is held by private investors.
Meanwhile, SAA’s restructuring after its December 2019 entry into business rescue (well before the COVID crisis struck South Africa) has crept slowly along a hurdle-filled course towards the privatisation of the carrier. The much-vaunted investment transaction of the purchase of a 51% stake in the airline by private equity investor the Takatso Consortium, is still to be completed, having dragged along into its third year. The process is presently with the Competition Tribunal.
