Air Mauritius, 3 African airlines in talks to form alliance

South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius and RwandAir are in talks to create an alliance, as they face mounting competition. “Air Mauritius took the initiative to join forces with 3 other African airlines in a bid to create an alliance that would develop air connectivity in the region,” CE Somas Appavou said Wednesday. “In a highly competitive environment, this alliance would allow the potential partners to create a consolidated network using the individual strength of each airline to offer passenger better choice and flexibility.” The talks come at a time when Kenya Airways is going through a restructuring after reporting loses for 3 consecutive years. And SAA received an unsolicited US$1.4b loan offer in return for a 51% stake in the cash-strapped carrier, it was reported Dec 23. <br/>