JEFFREY Ericsson, the new chief of Air Afrique, has pledged to carry out the “stabilisation and restructuring”, and the privatisation, of the African airline company within 14 months. Since 1993, Air Afrique has been facing a grave financial crisis, with debts amounting to 506m euros. Creditors seized four of its Airbuses in 1999. Created in 1961, Air Afrique is 68.44% owned by 11 African member states – Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The remainder is owned by Air France, the French Development Agency and three small companies. – AFP