DALLAS — Qatar Airways (QR) plans to acquire a 25% stake in South African regional carrier Airlink (4Z) to enhance services and passenger traffic across Africa.

Qatar Airways already holds stakes in several global airlines, including British Airways (BA) parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Cathay Pacific (CX).

The Qatari flag carrier also has a code-share agreement with 4Z, allowing the two airlines to sell tickets on each other's flights. In turn, 4Z has a similar partnership with QR competitor, Emirates (EK).

Airlink currently serves over 45 destinations across 15 African countries. The investment finalized on Tuesday is pending regulatory approval, though the value still needs to be disclosed. QR now serves 29 destinations across Africa, with the network experiencing significant growth, including the addition of nine new destinations since December 2020.

Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer stated that this investment will increase QR's access to passengers in Africa's regional cities. The last time we heard from QR, it annonced it was adding frequencies to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) after obtaining slots from Romanian flag carrier, TAROM (RO).

Airlink's CEO, Rodger Foster, noted that the investment would enable 4Z to expand its operations within Africa, potentially introducing larger aircraft on select routes. However, the airline will remain focused on the African market.