Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) has rejected comments made by the Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir (WB, Kigali), John Mirenge, linking the Emirati carrier to talks over the possible purchase of a 49% stake in the Rwandan national airline.
On Saturday, Mirenge was quoted by The Reporter as saying his airline had narrowed down the list of potential suitors to Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) and Etihad Airways.
However, in a statement to ch-aviation, an Etihad spokesman said the airline had 'declined any offer of a potential investment in RwandAir'.
"Etihad Airways is however constantly fostering and developing commercial relationships with airlines around the world, including RwandAir, in order to offer its guests a wider choice of travel options," he noted.
For its part, Ethiopian's CEO Tewolde Gebremariam earlier this year confirmed his airline's interest in RwandAir but has yet to officially comment on the progress of talks.
In all, Ethiopian is seen as the strongest contender given its existing MRO contract to service RwandAir's Boeing (BOE, Washington National) and Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) fleet. RwandAir management also incorporates a number of ex-Ethiopian personnel including CEO Girma Wake (CEO of Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 to 2011) and General Manager Gobena Mikael Imru (former CCO of Ethiopian between 2011 and 2013).
