Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways will pick up a 40 per cent stake in Air Seychelles, the Abu Dhabi carrier said Wednesday, as it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Seychelles.
By the way of this, Etihad said it will “invest to acquire a 40 per cent stake” in Air Seychelles Ltd as part of a strategic partnership alliance initiative between the two carriers.
“Etihad Airways’ investment of $20 million will be matched by an equal capital injection from the Government of Seychelles,” the carrier said in a statement, adding that it will also provide a “shareholder’s loan of $25 million” to meet working capital requirements and support network development.
As a part of the agreement, Etihad Airways stated that it will seek to increase frequency of flights between Abu Dhabi and Mahé from four per week to daily, as well as providing new services to the islands.
Natural step
“The investment in the national carrier of Seychelles is a natural next step towards growing our operations in the increasingly important leisure markets of the Indian Ocean and Africa,” James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said in a statement.
He added that the integration of the networks will give Air Seychelles greater opportunity to tap into key tourism feeder markets across Europe – such as Germany, France, Italy and the UK – where Etihad Airways has a strong presence.
