Ethiopian Airlines is the frontrunner to set up and manage a new national carrier for Nigeria, its chief executive has said.
“We are among a small group with an interest in establishing a national carrier (in Nigeria) ...we do not know the results (of the tender), though we are frontrunners,” Chief Executive Tewolde Gebremariam told a news conference.
The state-owned carrier has outpaced regional competitors Kenya Airways
and South African Airways to become Africa’s largest airline by revenue and profit, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The airline has been buying shares in other African airlines, a strategy aimed at gaining a competitive advantage against rivals such as those in the Gulf.
Maintenance work
Ethiopian Airlines already has contracts for maintenance work with two Nigeria-based carriers, Arik Air and Medview Airline, he said.
In May, Tewolde told Reuters that the airline was in talks with Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea to set up carriers through joint ventures.
It aimed to create a new airline in Mozambique that it will fully own, the chief executive said at the time.
In June Ethiopia said it would open Ethiopian Airlines and other companies including the telecoms monopoly up to private domestic and foreign investment, but details have not yet been made public.
Tewolde also said that net profit in the 2017/18 financial year rose to $233 million from $229 million the previous year. Ethiopia’s 2017/18 financial year ended last month.
The airline’s operating revenue rose by 43 per cent to $3.7 billion in the 2017/18 financial year.
Latest Stories
-
Let’s live peacefully and shame our saboteurs – Savannah executives of NPP, NDC
3 hours -
Reconstruction of Agona-Nkwanta-Tarkwa road 80 per cent complete
3 hours -
Internet penetration: 10.7 million Ghanaians offline – LONDA Report
4 hours -
USC cancels grad ceremony as campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continue
4 hours -
Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned in New York
4 hours -
US Supreme Court divided on whether Trump can be prosecuted
4 hours -
There’s enough justification for Affirmative Action Bill to be passed – Minka-Premo
4 hours -
Don’t allow people to manipulate you into vaccine hesitancy – Dr Adipa-Adappoe
4 hours -
Suspend implementation of Planting for Food and Jobs 2.0 for 2024 – Stakeholders
4 hours -
Parkinson’s disease no longer confined to the elderly – Public Health Physician, Dr Momodou Cham warns
4 hours -
Persons living with Parkinson’s disease appeal for support as they face stigmatization
4 hours -
36-year-old-trader sentenced for stealing employer’s money
4 hours -
9 signs you’re falling in love with someone who thoroughly enjoys emotional manipulation
4 hours -
Catholic Diocese of Keta Akatsi hosts Parkinson’s support group meeting
5 hours -
Wa Naa appeals to Akufo-Addo to audit state lands in Wa
5 hours