Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise is emerging as the flag bearer of plans by Africa’s fastest-growing economy to open up to foreign investors after decades as a closed shop. While new PM Abiy Ahmed’s ruling politburo has said a minority stake in the continent’s largest carrier could be up for grabs, CEO Tewolde GebreMariam now adds that related assets such as airports and a five-star hotel could also be sold off. That would give investors an opportunity to take ownership in businesses that were nationalised in the 1980s under the former Communist Derg regime. Story has list of assets highlighted by Tewolde as ripe for sale.<br/>
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Air China will suspend its Beijing-Brisbane flights from 24 August to 31 December due to a shortage of aircraft stemming from the ongoing issues with the Trent 1000 engines that power its fleet of Boeing 787-9s. The carrier flies thrice-weekly on the route using Airbus A330s, FlightGlobal schedules show. Air New Zealand codeshares on the route. Air China said that it has had to divert its A330s onto other routes that are usually operated by 787-9s, which has led to the temporary suspension of the Brisbane route. Its services from Beijing to Panama and Zurich, as well as the Shanghai-San Jose service, have also been disrupted due to the Trent 1000 issue. Air China operates 11 787-9s, 30 A330-200s and 29 A330-300s.<br/>
South African Airways has met with its partner airlines during a six-month roadshow and held discussions over placement of excess crews. The troubled African carrier has been working on a network and route rationalization program since November as part of a turnaround strategy, which SAA said is making “steady progress.” Over the past six months, SAA has met with major codeshare partners and potential commercial partners, including Air Mauritius, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and United. SAA said the meetings were aimed at revitalizing commercial delivery under existing agreements and exploring opportunities to expand the network. “These discussions have been purely about commercial agreements such as interline, codeshare, cargo, as well as possibilities of these airlines taking some of our excess flight deck and cabin crew staff,” SAA said.<br/>