In a bid to unlock shareholder value, fastjet, Africa’s no-frills airline, is re-arranging its Fly540 business to turn it into a lean and mean operation with improved returns, it confirmed on Tuesday.

The company said as part of this restructuring programme, Angolan operations of Fly540 had been put on ice for the time being, but leased aircraft has been allowed to operate in Ghana.

Two group-owned ATR aircraft which formerly conducted business in Angola and Ghana are currently out of service and would be disposed of soon.

The company added that further details on the restructuring of both Fly 540 operations (Ghana and Angola) will be made public soon. The Fly540 businesses are run on old-style airline model and not the fastjet low-cost pattern.

Ed Winter, Fastjet CEO, said in addition to the restructuring, the company was also paying more attention to expanding fastjet’s operations in East and Southern Africa.

It is poised to launch bases in South Africa, Zambia and Kenya and the company said it is making headway in this regard.

“However, our overall vision is to create a pan-African low-cost network and, as such, launching the low-cost fastjet model in both Angola and Ghana remains firmly part of the Company’s long-term plans,” Winter said in a statement.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, fastjet said it had entered into an agreement to partner with the Expedia Group, the world’s biggest online travel firm.

This partnership will see fastjet flights being made accessible to the millions of business travellers that search for and book travel via the Expedia group’s brand portfolio.