Just a few days after being announced as the preferred bidder for the partial takeover of Air Malawi, Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it start flying between Lilongwe and Blantyre three times a week beginning end of March.

The Star Alliance member company made a brief announcement through its online monthly news letter Sheba Miles on Friday without further details.

"Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce that it will commence three weekly flights to Blantyre and Ndola (Zambia) effective March 31, 2013," the announcement stated.

The company is on record to have hatched the proposal some time back but faced a challenge from the disbanded local national airline which cited international aviation rules as permitting only a local airline on domestic flights.

Ethiopian Airlines remains the company with the most frequent flights into the country and currently has 10 flights a week ahead of the introduction of the Blantyre flights.

Last week, the Public-Private Partnerships Commission (PPPC), formerly known as the Privatisation Commission, un¬veiled Ethiopian Airlines as the winning bidder to partner the Malawi government in the operation of the new established Air Malawi (2012) Limited following the disbandment of the struggling Air Malawi.

The company, according to PPPC, beat two other companies, Fly Africa of South Africa and Global Business Networks of Botswana, with a score of 67 points against 61 and 59, respectively.

The PPPC said the company has, among other attributes, a better financial, job creation and airline business capability.