SAA and Nigerian Airline
From Business Report
SAA still in the running for Nigeria bid
July 22, 2004
By Audrey d'Angelo
Cape Town - SAA was still part of the bidding process to become the strategic equity partner of a new Nigerian national airline, Alec Erwin, the minister of public enterprises, said yesterday after a meeting with Mallan Issa Yaguda, the Nigerian minister of aviation.
Erwin was reacting to a Reuters report last week quoting Bismarck Rewane, the head of Nigeria's project advisers, as saying that talks with SAA had "come to nothing". Rewane added that talks with Virgin Atlantic were far advanced.
But a spokesperson for the UK airline said it was too early to say where talks would lead.
Building Lagos as SAA's west African hub is a key part of its plan to build a route network connecting all main destinations in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria is by far the biggest regional market.