Ethiopian Airlines, ASKY sign Management Contract

Ethiopian Airlines and ASKY signed a management contract which enables Ethiopian Airlines to manage ASKY for a period of five years. The Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Mr. Girma Wake and Chairman of ASKY Mr. Gervais Koffi Djondo signed the agreement at Ethiopian headquarters in Addis Ababa January 16, 2009.

This management contract is an important move marking a historic intra-African co-operation in the airline business. The agreement helps the two carriers to develop a West African hub in Lome, Togo for the regional and inter-continental routes. The West African region is one of the highest growing economies in the world.

ASKY is a multinational private airline initiative geared to meet the growing demands for safe, reliable and competitive air transportation services in Central and West Africa. Its equity ownership includes the private multinational ECOBANK and the two major development banks of the region, namely EBID, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bank of Investment and Development, and BOAD, West African Development Bank and South African investors. Ethiopian Airlines will also own a 25% stake in the start-up airline, ASKY.

In 1960 Ethiopian, for the first time and single-handedly, pioneered air services to Ghana and Nigeria, thereby cementing the cornerstone for Africa’s uninterrupted East- West connections. The establishment of a hub in West Africa through the signing of the current partnership agreement marks the beginning of yet another milestone in the history of commercial aviation in Africa. It is also a proud testimony for Ethiopian’s dedication and commitment to its customers and Africa.

Ethiopian Airlines inaugurated its operations to Togo in 1989. At present, it flies to Lome four times weekly.

Source: Nazret.com