Reuters: "Qatar Airways" plans to buy 49% of "RwandAir" and is looking for a greater stake in "Latam"

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Bakr announced today, Wednesday, that the company is in talks to buy 49% of the shares of the airline, "Rwanda Air", and that it is interested in raising its stake in the group "Latam Airlines" to 20%.

The acquisition of a stake in an African airline will expand the scope of Qatar Airways' business in one of the fastest growing aviation sectors in the world.

"We are strong negotiators ... we will take our time to negotiate," Al-Baker told reporters in Doha.

RwandAir flies to 29 destinations, mostly in Africa, but also to Dubai, Mumbai and Brussels.

Its chief executive Yvon Manzi McCullow confirmed to Reuters that talks were under way to sell a stake, but declined to provide further details.

Qatar Airways - which flies to more than 160 destinations - agreed in December to buy 60% of the shares of a new airport in Rwanda.

Al Baker, one of the most popular aviation executives, confirmed that Qatar Airways may be interested in increasing its stake in the Latam Airlines group, and that it is working with the other shareholder in Delta Airlines.

"When the right opportunity and the right price are available, we will consider increasing our investment in Latam," he told Reuters, adding that Qatar Airways would be interested in owning an equal share of Delta. Delta owns 20%, while Qatar Airways' share is 10%.

Qatar Airways already owns stakes in International Airlines - the parent company of British Airways, China Southern Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Latam. It also bought stakes in other airlines.

Qatar Airways is interested in buying a stake in Indian "Indigo" and Royal Air Maroc.

On the other hand, Akbar Al-Baker said that the "Kappa Qatar Air Policy and Aviation Regulation" summit, organized by Qatar Airways in partnership with the Kappa Aviation Center, coincides with the spread of the Corona virus in China.

He added that Qatar Airways had stopped its flights to China due to the operational challenges that coincided with imposing restrictions on the entry of all travelers who visited China during the past weeks, but he added that the shipping lines are still continuing with China.