► SOUTH AFRICA: Ethiopian wants more 787s as SAA eyes 25+ A350s or 787s for delivery from 2017 on.

During the ongoing International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 69th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Cape Town, South Africa,  two of Africa's heavyweights, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and South African Airways (SA), have hinted at their proposed future fleet acquisition plans with Ethiopian looking for more 787s and SAA considering either the 787 or its rival Airbus' A350 offering.

In interviews with Reuters, Ethiopian's CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam said his company was very pleased with the Dreamliner's performance thus far. He said his airline was looking to buy or lease up to six more 787 Dreamliner passenger jets by 2018 as it adds routes to Asia and South America.

"We are looking at another five or six by 2017/18. We always maintain a 60/40 percent balance, with 60 percent owned and 40 percent leased," Tewolde Gebremariam said on the sidelines of a global airline industry conference.

Source [Reuters]

SAA's Acting CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout, meanwhile, stated that his airline had considered both the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 as part of its long term expansion plans and turnaround strategy. He said SAA plans to spend "between USD4billion to USD7billion" for 25-30 long-haul aircraft set for delivery from 2017 on. SAA is understood to have presented its Turnaround Plan #9, in which fleet renewal plays a critical role, to the South African cabinet for scrutiny..