Airlines

Qatar Airways Acquires 25% Stake in Airlink, Strengthening African Presence

Qatar Airways Group has announced a significant move in its expansion strategy by acquiring a 25% stake in Airlink, Southern Africa’s leading independent regional airline.

This investment marks a pivotal step in the multi-award-winning airline’s ongoing efforts to bolster its presence across the African continent. Airlink, which serves over 45 destinations in 15 African countries, will see its code-sharing partnership with Qatar Airways significantly enhanced through this acquisition.

This deal is set to accelerate Qatar Airways’ growth strategy in Africa, reinforcing its role as a vital contributor to the continent’s economic development.

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Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways Group, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “Our investment in Airlink further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future. This partnership not only showcases our confidence in Airlink as a resilient, agile, and financially robust company governed by sound principles but also in Africa as a whole. We are excited to help unlock the continent’s vast potential.”

Rodger Foster, Chief Executive of Airlink, welcomed the investment, noting its significance: “Having Qatar Airways as an equity partner is a powerful endorsement of Airlink and reinforces our belief in the markets we currently serve and those we plan to expand into.

This partnership will enhance our growth by creating efficiencies of scale, increasing our capacity, and expanding our marketing reach. It will also strengthen the existing airline partnerships that Airlink has developed over the years.”

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The new partnership will align the loyalty programs of both airlines, integrating Qatar Airways Privilege Club with Airlink Skybucks, thereby offering enhanced benefits to frequent flyers of both carriers.

Qatar Airways has been actively expanding its African network, currently operating flights to 29 destinations across the continent. Since December 2020, the airline has introduced new destinations including Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Kano, Luanda, Lusaka, and Port Harcourt, and resumed services to Cairo and Alexandria.

Airlines

US DOT Approves Merger: Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines Finalize Deal

In a significant development for the aviation industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued an order granting an exemption for the transfer of international route authorities in the merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

The merger, which is expected to be completed in the coming days, represents a major consolidation in the airline sector. Under the terms of the exemption, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are required to adhere to several key public-interest protections.

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These stipulations are aimed at preserving service quality and consumer benefits as the merger progresses. Specifically, the airlines must protect the value of rewards, maintain existing service levels on crucial Hawaiian routes to the continental U.S. and inter-island routes, and support rural services.

Additionally, they are required to ensure competitive access at the Honolulu hub airport, offer fee-free family seating, provide alternative compensation for controllable disruptions, and lower costs for military families.

This proactive approach by the DOT marks a new phase in the Department’s merger review process. For the first time, airlines are required to agree to binding, enforceable public-interest protections as a condition for closing their merger.

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This move highlights the DOT’s commitment to safeguarding public interests and ensuring that mergers do not undermine service quality or competition. As part of the merger agreement, Alaska Airlines will assume approximately $900 million in Hawaiian Airlines’ debt.

Despite this substantial financial responsibility, Alaska plans to retain Hawaiian as a separate brand, which will negate the need for repainting aircraft. To secure approval from the DOT, the airlines agreed to maintain current service levels on key routes where competition is limited.

The exemption granted by the DOT allows Alaska and Hawaiian to finalize their merger while remaining separate and independently operated until the Department completes its review of the transfer application. If the transfer is approved, the public-interest protections will remain in effect for six years.