Alliance Express, the regional arm of East African multi-national carrier Alliance Air, has taken over the operations of Government-owned Air Rwanda.
Meanwhile, completion of the planned merger of Alliance with the two national airlines of its shareholders, Uganda and Tanzania, is now looking unlikely.
Alliance Express Rwanda will replace Air Rwanda on all flights from Kigali to Entebbe, Kinshasa, Johannesburg and Nairobi. New routes to Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Lubumbashi could be introduced in 1998. The Rwandan Government holds 51%, with the remainder owned by Alliance Air.
The deal represents the first step in what is expected to be rapid growth for the airline throughout East and Central Africa. The original Alliance Express concept had involved the merging of Air Tanzania and Uganda Airlines operations. Both countries have stakes in Alliance Air, along with South African Airways (SAA), but local sources say that over-staffing and poor utilisation of aircraft have contributed to Uganda Airlines' precarious financial position.
The carrier is known to be deeply in debt and is having difficulty meeting its commitments to creditors. One of the airline's two Boeing 737s is due to be returned to its lessor.
Air Tanzania is in the middle of a bitter dispute over the proposed merger - a debate driven by dissenting senior airline executives. Although consultants brought in to advise on the merits of a sell-off are thought to be broadly in favour, they are not due to complete their work until early in 1998. The merger issue is therefore at a standstill.
Alliance executive director John Murray says that the airline will base two wet-leased Boeing 737s at Entebbe, Uganda, from early 1998. These aircraft will be operated on key trunk routes within the region in direct competition with Uganda Airlines.
Although he does not rule out an eventual merger with Air Tanzania, Murray also reveals that Alliance is in talks with Tanzanian independent carrier Precision Air.
Discussions are understood to be at an advanced stage, which could result in Alliance Express becoming the de facto flag carrier for the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
Since its launch in 1995, Alliance Air has operated a single Boeing 747SP, wet leased from SAA, on the London-Entebbe-Dar es Salaam-Johannesburg trunk route. Two wet-leased Boeing 767-200ERs will replace the SP early in 1998.
Murray says that, despite the high cost associated with the start-up of the airline, it is operating within budget, but will require an extra $4 million to fund expansion. This will be made available by SAA parent company Transnet.
Source: Flight International
