It’s been a hot minute since Qatar revealed plans to invest in a Southern African airline – a quarter of a year, to be precise. Since the investment was revealed in May, Qatar Airways has hinted that the Farnborough Airshow would be where we could find out more.

But the airshow has come and gone, and there’s still no confirmation of which airline Qatar is targeting (although we can all have a good guess). We caught up with the airline’s new-ish CEO during the airshow to find out more.

In the final stages of signing an agreement

In post since November, Badar Al Meer hasn’t been the most forthcoming with international media. Aside from a brief Q&A at the Gulfstream G700 delivery in Doha, the world’s press has been largely kept at a safe distance, so an invitation to a roundtable with the new chief was an offer we couldn’t refuse.

In addition to asking about the future of the Airbus A380, Al Meer was pressed on the details of the airline’s proposed new Africa investment. With an air of genuine disappointment, he said that he was unable to make the announcement at the show, but that the two sides were in the “final, final stages of signing all the documents.”

Is it the airline you think it is?

Speculation has gathered around the undisclosed southern African airline and who it might be. The obvious going concern in the region is South African Airways; with a recently collapsed privatization deal, the carrier is keenly looking for new potential investors.

Photo: Airbus

But the smart money is on another airline in South Africa, which has been doing rather well for itself in recent years. Regional carrier Airlink has increased the number of flights it operated by 600% between 2020 and 2023 since it broke away from SAA and became independent. It has grown its fleet, particularly with Embraer aircraft, and rapidly became South Africa’s largest airline.

Photo: J de Reuck | Airlink

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Recent reporting from the Financial Times suggests people ‘in the know’ have claimed Airlink is in conversation with Qatar. The official lines from both sides neither confirm nor deny such claims, but given Airlink is already a strategic codeshare partner, it would make sense if Qatar were looking to deepen its ties.

Why Southern Africa?

Al Meer noted Qatar Airways’ strong coverage in many parts of Africa. Qatar currently flies to 31 destinations on the continent, with healthy growth notable in West and East Africa. With oneworld partner Royal Air Maroc in the North, that leaves Central and Southern Africa as key targets for building the network.

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Never has it had so much capacity to Africa.

In Central Africa, Qatar stuck its flag in the ground in Rwanda. The long-running negotiation for an equity deal with the airline is ongoing, but rumored to complete ‘within weeks.’

Work has started on the $2bn hub airport in Kigali, funded, in part, by Qatar Airways. But the recently announced pushback to the completion date from 2026 to 2028 is a blow to the airline’s plan to become a bigger player in the African market.

For the relatively new CEO Al Meer, the south of the continent is the final piece of the puzzle.

“The last missing part of the equation is the south part of Africa. This is why this airline in the southern part of Africa is important for us to create this network and cover every city in the continent.”

Qatar’s communications have carefully only alluded to ‘southern Africa,’ as opposed to South Africa. In theory, this could include airlines in Seychelles, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and many others, but if the investment is indeed in South Africa, this presents another issue for Qatar.

Current regulations in South Africa restrict foreign airlines to a maximum stake of 25% in any national carrier. If this is the deal being inked, Qatar would only hold a quarter of the voting rights, and its stake would not be controlling. That doesn’t mean it’s not doable, but is perhaps not as easy as QR would like.

If it turns out it’s not SAA or Airlink, there are a number of other contenders that could be suitable for Qatar’s expansion. TAAG Angola, Air Tanzania, Air Mauritius are just some examples.

Photo: Thiago B Trevisan | Shutterstock.

More than two weeks have passed since Al Meer promised more information at the airshow. But these deals are notoriously slow – the Rwandair stake acquisition was announced back in 2020 and is still not finalized today. Nevertheless, investment in Southern Africa by a big player like Qatar is very welcome to see.