For several years now, the imminent arrival of Qatar Airways on the African market by taking over an airline on the continent. This has now happened withhe Qatari carrier has acquired a 25% stake in Airlink.
This independent regional airline is based in Johannesburg and has become, with the restructuring of South African Airways, one of Southern Africa's leading airlines. This announcement is part of the multi-award winning airline's ambition to continue expanding its operations on the African continent.
Airlink, a complementary network to Qatar Airways
Airlink has a fleet of around fifty aircraft. They serve some sixty routes to 45 destinations in 15 African countries. Airlink is also the only carrier landing on the airport on the British island of St Helena. The company offers a product compatible with Qatar Airways' high quality standards. All flights include business class.
Qatar Airways' investment in Airlink will strengthen the codeshare partnership between the two airlines. It will also support Qatar Airways' growth strategy in Africa and will consolidate its role. Qatar Airways currently serves 29 destinations on the continent. The airline now serves Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Kano, Luanda, Lusaka and Port Harcourt. It has also resumed services from Doha to Cairo and Alexandria.
During this announcement, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways Group, said: " Our investment in Airlink is a further illustration of the extent to which we see Africa as a key part of our future. This partnership demonstrates not only our confidence in Airlink as a resilient, agile, financially strong and principled company, but also in Africa as a whole. This continent has immense potential, and I'm delighted to be able to help make it a reality. "
For Rodger Foster, CEO of Airlink, " Qatar Airways' entry into the capital of our airline is a strong sign in favour of Airlink. This operation will make it possible to unlocking growth opportunities achieving economies of scale, increasing our capacity and expanding our marketing reach ".
In concrete terms, the partnership between Qatar Airways and Airlink will result in a rapid harmonisation of loyalty programmes. These are Qatar Airways' Privilege Club and Airlink's Skybucks.
