Etihad and the Seychelles government will each invest $20 million in the state-owned airline, Etihad said on Wednesday. The Abu Dhabi airline will also provide a $25 million loan to help Air Seychelles meet working capital requirements and support network development.
“The investment in the national carrier of Seychelles is a natural next step towards growing our operations in the increasingly important leisure markets of the Indian Ocean and Africa,” Etihad's Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said.
The agreement also includes a five-year management contract for Etihad Airways to encourage Air Seychelles' long-term growth.
Last month, state-owned Etihad acquired a stake of around 30% in Germany's Air Berlin.
Middle East carriers such as Etihad, Qatar Airways and Dubai-based Emirates have been aggressively expanding route networks, provoking fears that Gulf-based superjumbos would draw traffic from European carriers' hubs.
Qatar Airways recently acquired a 35% stake in all-freight carrier Cargolux, while the Air Berlin stake buy was the first time a Gulf carrier has bought an equity stake in a European passenger airline.
Etihad owns a fleet of 64 Airbus and Boeing aircraft with another 100 aircraft on order.
Source: Reuters
