![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/zimbabwe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2019\/03\/Zimbabwe-777-300x183.png\")
<\/p>\nEthiopian Airlines is almost unarguably Africa\u2019s most successful airline. They\u2019ve built a global route network and have grown profitably and sustainably. This is in stark contrast to many other major airlines in Africa, which are perpetually on the brink of liquidation (like Kenya Airways, South African Airways, etc.).<\/p>\n
One of the cool things that Ethiopian Airlines has done is that they\u2019ve invested in some other African airlines and have also created strategic alliances. They act as a great mentor to some other airlines in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are now rumors that Ethiopian Airlines is considering investing in what\u2019s possibly Africa\u2019s most troubled airline, Air Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
This allegedly came about when Ethiopian Airlines\u2019 CEO contacted Zimbabwe\u2019s president during a recent visit to Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n
As Zimbabwe\u2019s Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister explains:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is movement on that front and we are expecting a team from Ethiopian Airlines next month where we are going to have meetings with regards to how the deal can be undertaken. We invited them so that we can talk and chart a way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, for those of you not familiar with the recent history of aviation in Zimbabwe, let me briefly summarize:<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe\u2019s national airline, Air Zimbabwe, was about $300 million in debt (despite being a tiny airline, which is sort of unbelievable)
\nThen Zimbabwe decided they\u2019d launch a new national airline, Zimbabwe Airways, so they acquired some 777s, which never ended up operating a single commercial flight
\n$140 million went missing
\nThe government of Zimbabwe decided that it made sense to merge the two national airlines
\nAs of today there\u2019s no airline and no planes flying, so suffice to say that the plan wasn\u2019t exactly a huge success<\/p>\n
So yeah, if there\u2019s an airline that has the expertise to turn around aviation in Zimbabwe, it\u2019s Ethiopian Airlines\u2026 but even this may prove too much of a challenge for them.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be curious to see if any sort of a deal is reached. While there\u2019s obviously big potential for aviation in Zimbabwe, I question to what extent Ethiopian Airlines could come in and actually lead the airline without interference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ethiopian Airlines is almost unarguably Africa\u2019s most successful airline. They\u2019ve built a global route network and have grown profitably and sustainably. This is in stark contrast to many other major airlines in Africa, which are perpetually on the brink of liquidation (like Kenya Airways, South African Airways, etc.). One of the cool things that Ethiopian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":5253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,8,35],"tags":[178,83,174,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-5249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-economy","9":"category-head-lines","10":"category-homepage-english","11":"tag-airplane","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-finance","14":"tag-investment"},"yoast_head":"\n