BA plans to take an 18% stake, worth around R168 million ($28 million) in Johannesburg-based Comair, which signed as a BA franchise partner nearly four years ago.
Amanda Ryles, BA's newly appointed area commercial manager for South Africa, brushes off suggestions that this is an attempt to strengthen the oneworld alliance's presence in Africa, or to play catch-up with Lufthansa and the rival Star Alliance. That already has access to an extensive network of sub-Saharan destinations through its codeshare agreement with South African Airways (SAA).
"We bought into Comair to cement an excellent relationship and to invest in a highly profitable airline, although this obviously has spin-off benefits for oneworld," says Ryles.
Comair already carries BA's passengers to local and regional destinations in southern Africa and admits it is looking to expand its regional network. The carrier, which last year reported sales revenues of R608 million, operates 15 Boeing 737-200s and 727s.
Bert van der Linden, Comair's commercial director, says Africa has opened up to foreign carriers in the last few years and that new treaties in the pipeline between various countries would shortly allow for second-carrier operations which will increase competition between the BA franchise and SAA to sub-Saharan destinations.
Among those being eyed by Comair are Luanda, Maputo and Nairobi, to complement established services to Windhoek, Lusaka, Harare and Victoria Falls. These destinations are served by SAA, to which Star Alliance passengers have direct access through Lufthansa's codeshare alliance with SAA.
Van der Linden says: "We are always looking for new opportunities and intend to capitalise on the probable demise of single-carrier restrictions on routes that serve more than 50,000 passengers a year."
He admits Comair is challenging SAA in sub-Saharan Africa, and adding the strengthened BA partnership could open up routes for Comair because it offered the promise of bringing in affluent leisure and corporate travellers off BA flights to South Africa.
Source: Airline Business
