Ethiopian Airlines is in talks to take a stake in Eritrean Airlines and a study will be conducted to determine the size of the acquisition, the Ethiopian carrier's CE said Thursday. "We are assessing the situation of Eritrean Airlines right now," Tewolde GebreMariam said. "I spoke with the CEO yesterday. They have one leased airplane, a (Boeing) 737. We have started discussions." Tewolde travelled to Asmara Wednesday with an Ethiopian delegation on the first commercial flight from Ethiopia to Eritrea in 20 years. The CEO said that based on the demand and bookings he had seen, starting in a couple of weeks Ethiopian Airlines would fly twice daily to Asmara. "We plan (also) to fly to Massawa and Assab. We have not assessed the market (in the two towns), so we will send market research people," he said. "The demand is heavy not only because of Eritrea and Ethiopia but also demand from Eritreans living in Europe, America and so on who are eager to visit friends and relatives in Asmara,” he added. "Connections were (previously) not smooth for them to come back home. They have (had) to go through Dubai or Istanbul and it is not convenient. Now they will have direct flights from the US, Canada and Europe."<br/>
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EgyptAir is expected to return to Hong Kong with twice-weekly flights from Cairo, from September. The carrier first touched down in Hong Kong from Cairo via Karachi, Bombay and Bangkok, on its way to Tokyo in 1962, when it was called United Arab Airlines (UAA). In July that year, one of its de Havilland Comet jet airliners (Flight MS869) crashed on the way from Hong Kong to Bangkok, killing all 26 passengers and crew. Another UAA Comet went down further along the same route while approaching Bombay almost exactly a year later. All 63 people on board were killed. UAA was consequently forced to abandon its only East Asia route owing to a lack of long-haul aircraft. The carrier was back in Hong Kong by 1971, with a new name – EgyptAir – and maintained flights throughout most of the 1970s. EgyptAir’s new Cairo service will be coming and going via Bangkok, with an extension of its long-established MS960 and MS961 Cairo-Bangkok-Cairo flights. <br/>