Ghanaian startup Africa World Airlines (AWA) has entered into a joint venture with Haiku based Hainan Airlines (HU) which will see the Chinese carrier taking a controlling stake in the soon-to-be launched Low Cost Carrier, the third of its type to launch in Ghana after
Starbow Airlines, fly540 Ghana and
CTK CiTylinK.
Under the deal, management for AWA will be sourced from HNA Carriers, Hainan Airlines' parent company.
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| An Africa World Airlines (AWA) advertisement. |
Other shareholders in the joint venture in addition to Hainan Airlines will be the China-Africa Development Fund, Ghana SAS Financial Group and Ghana Social Security and National Insurance Trust of Ghana.
"The Chinese carrier said that “big market demand for air transport industry in
Ghana and other parts of West Africa triggered by the backwardness of
ground traffic” is the main reason it decided to launch AWA. But
industry analysts also pointed out that “instability of political
situation and harsh natural environment in Africa” would present some
challenges for the successful operation of the new Joint Venture."
Founded by Ghana's Togbe Afede XIV, a king from eastern Ghana's Asogli state, Africa World Airlines aims to
launch in September with two Embraer ERJ145LR aircraft from Tianjin Airlines, with its initial route network set to focus on its Accra, Ghana hub and domestic destinations, before expanding into the region, pending regulatory approval. Should it be feasible, AWA's international expansion would only likely occur after five years, a sufficiently long-term date to quell any immediate concerns about 'over-reaching' - a major mistake that has been the undoing of many African carriers in the past, mostly due to its allure and prestige.
new Low Cost Carrier will commence operations in Nigeria in 2014 with former Camair-Co (QC) CEO, Alex Van Elk, one of the project's coordinators. According to Mr Van Elk, the carrier is a joint partnership between Nigerian and European investors.
Zambia's first LCC, Mukuba Airlines, set to be operate out of the Victoria Falls town of Livingstone, has outlined its intended route network with flights set to range in cost from USD35 to USD50.
The launch of JamboJet, Kenya Airways' (KQ) planned Low Cost Carrier wing, has been pushed back to "sometime later this year", Kenya Airways CEO, Titus Naikuni has said.
As previously reported by The African Aviation Tribune, the original founders of defunct South African LCC 1Time have indeed revealed that they are planning to launch a brand new low-cost carrier, called Skywise, in South Africa during the first 3 months of 2013.
Backed by EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Lonrho-related "Rubicon Diversified Investments", Ghana's soon-to-be LCC FastJet plans to lease 15 aircraft of type and size unknown as of this writing, though co-shareholder Rubicon has insisted that aircraft are maintained to a "European standard".
South African Airways (SA) says it is optimistic that its request for ZAR6billion (USD$733million) from the South African Government will be granted, thereby allowing it to proceed with its planned fleet renewal as reported previously by The African Aviation Tribune.