Kenya Airways (KQ) officials have said plans to form a pan-African airline in partnership with South African Airlines (SAA) are being reassessed; the key issue is getting strategic investors to catalyse the two loss-making airlines, according to Africa Report.

KQ’s net loss more than doubled between December 2021 and December 2022, reaching KES38.26bn ($29.4mn), but the airline has forecast profitability by the end of 2024, while SAA closed the first three quarters of FY2022/23 with a ZAR50mn ($2.75mn) net loss. The two airlines are also highly indebted.

“Plans to create a pan-African airline with SAA will also need to be reassessed. [We need to make sure] that the structure will create genuine mutual benefit,” said Githae Mwaniki, an aviation information consultant, as reported by Africa Report.

The partnership between the two airlines is in the form of a joint venture (JV) whose formation was laid out in a joint strategic partnership framework signed earlier when negotiations began in 2021.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka said the process of identifying investors should be completed by the end of this year, terming interest from investors in the airline as “very high” because of its strong revenue position.

“We have formalised the processes and very soon we will be announcing the lead, who will help us to give a proposal to potential investors.”

It remains to be seen if the promise will be met, especially at a time when some of its creditors including JPMorgan Chase and Citibank and some Kenyan banks. The airline's recapitalisation and debt levels – which stood at $1.34bn as of 31 May – will be a top concern to potential investors