Star Alliance member Ethiopian Airlines has been selected by the government of Ghana to create a new national carrier for the country.
“Ethiopian partners with the government of Ghana to establish a new home-based flag carrier,” Ethiopian Airlines announced on Dec. 6 via its official Twitter page.
An Ethiopian spokeswoman was unable to immediately give further details and the Ghana government did not immediately reply to ATW’squery.
However, local media reports said Ethiopian will take a minority stake in the venture, which is expected to launch in 2019. They added the MOU is expected to be finalized before the end of the year.
Ghana has been without a national carrier for a while, following the demise of Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airlines.
Ethiopian already has two JV carriers—Togolese airline ASKY in West Africa and Lilongwe-based Malawian Airlines in southern Africa.
In addition to these projects, Ethiopian is working on joint-venture airlines in Chad, Guinea and Zambia. Preparations are also underway for the launch of Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines.
Gebremariam previously told ATWthe model for the startups is similar: They all start with two to three aircraft each, with a fleet made up of Bombardier Q400s and Boeing 737s sourced from Ethiopian’s core fleet.
