LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fastjet Mozambique (Maputo) regarding future long-term commercial cooperation between the two parties.
A press release said the agreement was signed in Maputo on Tuesday, March 20, and lasts for six years and enters into force immediately. It covers code-share and interline agreements between the two carriers, the development of optimized network synergies, as well as cooperation in other commercial fields including cargo, engineering, and aircraft maintenance.
LAM chief executive António Pinto said that the “areas of cooperation will not only further strengthen Mozambique’s flag carrier as a regional air-services provider but contribute significantly to initiatives that promote tourism, economic development and trade.”
For its part, Fastjet Mozambique was launched in late 2017 and charters two E145s from technical partner Solenta Aviation Mozambique (FW, Maputo) to run regular flights throughout Mozambique connecting Maputo, Beira, Nampula, and Tete.
Its entry into the market was as a result of the Mozambican government's eagerness to improve connectivity throughout the expansive southern African state given LAM's operational woes. As such, this MOU comes as both parties prepare for the entry of Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) into the domestic Mozambican market, tentatively due next month. Ethiopian has already incorporated a company in the country - Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines Lda - ahead of the launch of flights.
