That will give Ethiopian a new hub in Lusaka serving southern Africa alongside Malawian Airlines, in which it has a stake. Parallel discussions are underway in Chad for the establishment of a new national carrier there, Tewolde said. Startup OptionNigeria has separately appointed advisers including Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s consulting arm to evaluate the business case for setting up a new national airline, Reuters reported in May. That plan may provide opportunities for Ethiopian Air in the future, though there have been no talks, Tewolde said. The European planemaker was able to provide direct funding for 10 A350-900 jets worth more than $3 billion that Ethiopian agreed to buy at the Paris Air Show, Tewolde said.

Source: Ethiopian News September 15, 2017 17:03 UTC