New details have emerged about FastJet, a proposed low-cost airline that will serve Africa.

FastJet, which is backed by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou of EasyJet fame, will initially acquire the African airline Fly540 and restructure it as a low-cost carrier.

An statement from Rubicon, the British investment firm that has purchased Fly540, read: “The combined talents of Rubicon’s management team and our partners from Lonrho and Sir Stelios’ easyGroup will transform Fly540, already a growing and successful business, into Fastjet, a low cost, point-to-point, no frills all jet airline for Africa.”

FastJet will serve Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Angola with a one-way flight between two countries expected to be around $70-80. These countries have a combined population over 100 million, and Fastjet aims to carry more than 12 million passengers per year by providing affordable fares to middle-class families.

While FastJet is still in early stages of development, they hope to be flying by the end of 2012.

The official statement continued: “Plans for the launch of ‘Fastjet’ are underway but not yet finalised and the introduction of an appropriate fleet of modern jet aircraft may require the raising of additional funding”.