News reports suggest that a rumoured partnership between South African Airways and Kenya Airways - both of them already struggling financially pre-COVID - will come to fruition.
In a New Year's Eve address to the nation, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the airlines will combine operations to form a new carrier, Pan-African Airline, with operations expected to begin in 2023.
The Kenyan leader said the partnership will help "boost tourism, trade, and social engagement; and to bolster continental integration."
Like airlines around the world, both carriers have endured massive losses during the pandemic, but neither was seen as financially healthy even prior to the global health crisis.
Kenya Airways reported losses of $425 million in 2020 and more than $127 million in the first half of 2021. South African Airways recently resumed operations last September after grounding all commercial and cargo flights since September 2020. Since 2018, it has marked losses topping $1 billion.
South African Airways is part of Star Alliance, the biggest international alliance of airlines, while Kenya Airways belongs to SkyTeam. There's no word yet on which network the new airline will seek to join.
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