Chris Yates/LONDON
Doubts are rising over whether Uganda Airlines will survive to see its eventual planned privatisation. The airline, which operates a single leased Boeing 737-500, is being propped up by a government subsidy as it attempts to stave off creditors seeking payment for mounting unpaid debts.
The situation has renewed urgency in the race to find a potential investor for the ailing carrier. British Airways, Sabena, Air Mauritius and Alliance Air/South African Airways (SAA) are all understood to be in the running. An announcement on a preferred bidder had been expected in September but was held up after the Government prevaricated about going ahead in the wake of problems with other privatisation programmes in Uganda.
The programme is now substantially back on track with the "-final processes involved in the privatisation issue in motion, with the four bidders who made qualification having been asked to bid again," says Alliance Air senior marketing manager Fanie Brand. That process is, however, not expected to be completed until mid-February at the earliest, and with the Government reported to be increasingly unwilling to continue subsidies, sources in Uganda suggest the airline may not keep going until then.
Officially, a 49% stake in the carrier's operations is on the table. Unofficially, the word is the Government may opt to divest itself of its interest completely. Although a preferred bidder announcement is awaited it is widely believed that Alliance Air/SAA is the natural choice.
Entebbe-based Alliance Air, in which SAA has a 49% stake with the remaining shareholding divided between the governments and flag carriers of Uganda and Tanzania, operates long-haul services to London Heathrow from Entebbe and Dar Es Salaam. Its Alliance Express subsidiary provides regional links.
Source: Flight International
