Ethiopian Airlines puts in an ambitious bid for Arik Air in quest to built massive African carrier

ETHIOPIAN Airlines has put in an audacious bid to purchase Nigeria's largest carrier Arik Air as part of an ambitious plan to build Africa's largest airline that would serve all parts of the continent and link it with the rest of the world.

 

Arik has been in serious financial difficulty over recent years and in February this year, it was taken over by the federal government via the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amcon) having chalked up huge debts, which totalled over N300bn ($833m). In contrast, Ethiopian Airlines, 100% owned by its government, is a hugely successful operation, flying to 101 destinations.

 

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria's finance minister, had confirmed that the country was speaking to several potential buyers about taking over Arik and it now appears that Ethiopian Airlines is one of the suitors. Ranked as Africa's best carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has a passenger fleet of 68 aircraft and already flies to Nigeria.

 

Esayas Mariam, Ethiopian Airline’s managing director of international services, said that the airline had made an offer and was just waiting for the response of the Nigerian government. She did not specify details of the offer but added that he expects to face competition for Arik from international airlines.

 

Ms Mariam said: “We have outlined our terms and conditions to the Nigerian government and we are waiting to see if they agree. We are capable and desirous of handling the airline.” she said.

 

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Ethiopian Airlines is now number one in Africa and 37th in the world in terms of revenue. It is ranked 18th in the world in terms of operating profit with revenue topping $2.3bn in 2013.

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