Today, Ghana. Tomorrow, the world? A fledgling "Chafrican" airline sets its sights on the horizon Hainan Airlines is putting Chinese cash and a Chinese boss into Ghana's Africa World Airline. To say nothing of Chinese know-how..One of China's leading airlines is teaming up with a new low-cost African carrier, which is due to take to the skies on September 21.Hainan Airlines (HNA), China's fourth-largest carrier and the first to receive a five-star award from Skytrax, will be spearheading Africa World Airline (AWA), which is based in Ghana. News of the fledgling "Chafrican" carrier comes in the wake of the demise of Ghana International Airlines, which ceased operations in 2010.AWA, which has a reported start-up capital of US$50 million, hopes to spell an end to frequent flyer frustration in Africa.The fleet will start out with a brace of 50-seat Embraer ERJ145LR aircraft leased from Tianjin Airlines.According to The Ghanaian Times, AWA will fly domestic routes at first -- to Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi -- then gradually expand to regional destinations, such as Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Abidjan in Ivory Coast and Lagos in Nigeria.Fares have yet to be announced and the carrier plans to head overseas by 2017.Haikou-based HNA is reported to be the controlling stakeholder of AWA. The top management of the Ghanaian carrier will be drawn from different affiliates of the Hainan Airlines Group.Zhang Jiuhua, currently vice president of Tianjin Airlines (a carrier under Hainan Airlines Group), is likely to be the chief executive officer.AWA is funded by three partners apart from HNA -- the China-Africa Development Fund, the Ghanaian Social Security and National Insurance Trust, and Strategic African Securities.Hainan Airlines told Air Transport World (ATW) that the main motivation for its investment was the "big market demand for air transport industry in Ghana and other parts of West Africa triggered by the backwardness of ground traffic."Source: CNNGo
Gravity always wins!