Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has confirmed it turned down an offer for an equity stake in African carrier RwandAir.
On August 10, RwandAir’s CEO, John Mirenge, confirmed he was in talks with a number of carrier, including the Abu Dhabi carrier.
“Currently, we are in talks with Ethiopian Airlines, but we are also talking to Etihad Airways,” Mirenge said in a statement to Panapress. “This step will help us to select the right airline that would fit in.”
However, an Etihad spokesperson confirmed an approach had been made but Abu Dhabi executives had declined the offer: “Etihad Airways confirms that it has declined any offer of a potential investment in RwandAir, the national airline of Rwanda. Etihad Airways is however constantly fostering and developing commercial relationships with airlines around the world, including RwandAir, in order to offer its guests a wider choice of travel options.”
Etihad has pursued a policy on investing in a number of airlines around the world, including Italy’s Alitalia, India’s Jet Airways, Germany’s Air Berlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Switzerland’s Darwin Airways, which operates as Etihad Regional.
The Rwandan government owns a 99 percent stake in the loss-making airline, which serves African destinations such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and Accra, while also operating a direct route to Dubai.
http://m.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-s-etihad-airways-turns-down-stake-in-rwandair-602323.html
