Pan Africa Air Airlines Airlines Air no longer with us, but the current aviation market is dominated by non-African airlines. Wole Shadare writes that airlines on the continent can increase synergistic efficiency and provide efficient air transport
Slow pace
Africa is a rapidly growing continent with a population of over 1 billion. Its land is about three times larger than Europe, and is part of the planet's most packed capital.
Despite an extraordinary population surge over the past 50 years, Africa's aviation networks have not been able to maintain their pace.
Those who want to fly between Nigeria's Megatylagos and Egypt's Cairo capital must settle for a daily direct flight.
This is the service level between the two metropolitan cities ranked number one and second on the list of Africa's most populous cities, with a total population of over 20 million.
Low connectivity
The same can be said about routes linking other major cities on the continent. There is no direct flight between Algiers and Kinshasa, the capital of Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They also cannot reach Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa from Casablanca, Morocco without changing their planes. These make up the accumulation of six largest cities in Africa, but have yet to reach many urban agriculture, which requires troublesome stopovers in the Middle East or Europe, adding time to your journey.
Why are these routes not being offered, and why can Pan-African Air Group insert a gap when African sizes offer a large range for aviation services?
It is worth noting that Africa already has pan-continental airlines. Air Afrique was founded by 11 provinces (Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad, Togo, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal) and was founded in 2002 by a combination of financial issues and a combination of competitive competition.
Headquartered in Abidjan on the ivory coast, the current airline served as an important tool for Africa's economic development, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers a year with a flawed mix of aircraft, including the Airbus A300, A310, B707 and 737.
SAA, Kenya Airlines contract
The possibility of a return to the Air Afrique model of the Multinational Union is still valid for Africa, and it is possible as a move to something similar to an in-continental career can be achieved in September 2021 when two of the two key players signed the framework of strategic partnerships in September 2021, in which Kenya Airlines and South African Airways (SAA) signed the two partners of the “Pan-African Airlines” and won the Airlirican Grougs. The busy hub of the airline.
The envisaged Pan Africa Air Group began in November 2021 as a joint initiative between Kenya Airlines and SAA. The two airlines began taking steps to strategic alliances, and then eventually introduced their desire to incorporate other African airlines, creating and scaling Pan Africa Air Group.
The deal, supported by the governments of both countries, includes route networks and shared services for fleets and capacity deployment. This includes economic, technical, maintenance and repair partnerships to achieve savings for both airlines.
The partnership aims to leverage assets, combine muscle purchases, create a terrifying air transport link in Africa, and benefit from at least two attractive hubs, Johannesburg and Nairobi.
A report by Lufthansa Consulting, Nairobi of the Kenya-based Trade Association and the African Aviation Association (AFRAA), showed in 2019 (pre-pandemic) that the African Aviation Market had around 20 million seats in Asia, 180 million seats in ASIA and 150 million seats in North America.
Experts' Views
An airline expert who sued for anonymity said several years ago that the partnership between SAA and Kenya Airlines is a great opportunity to show up for airlines to tackle the air transport issues of the majority of Africa. It is not clear whether the two African Airlines are still moving forward with what they promise to become game-changers in the African Aviation sector.
He said, “Other markets have integrated aviation assets with one or two major operators, but African Airlines remains fragmented. African Airlines do not cooperate, they compete between themselves.
“Working together will help us leverage the strengths of South Africa, Kenya and Africa to increase passenger traffic, freight opportunities and general trade.”
This partnership will improve the financial viability of both airlines, and customers will benefit from more competitive prices.
The deal is surprising to SAA, which has risen since its death in September, if it is still vulnerable.
Slimmed-Down Flag Carrier was granted an updated operating license in August 2021 by the regulator South African Civil Aviation Authority, before resuming flights on certain domestic routes, linking the Johannesburg hub with international destinations such as Accra, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos and Lusaka.
A 2024 report from Kenya Online Business News Service BusinessDayafrica.org says that discussions between Kenya Airlines and South African Airlines have resumed on the creation of the African Airlines Group.
In this article, Kenya Airlines executives visited South Africa in March, creating new courses with SAA invitations, establishing a fresh timeline for the consolidation of the long-standing Pan-African Aviation Group.
assignment
Most African countries have not been served for decades due to protectionist actions by some central governments and regulatory authorities. It also focuses on more advantageous intercontinental routes rather than domestic and regional service development.
It has been the lack of cooperation between airlines that exacerbate the problem, but the economic shock that brings to the recession has made airlines more motivated to form partnerships to reduce operating costs and increase revenue and connectivity. This is proven not only through the SAA and Kenya Airlines deal, but also through the codeshare agreement signed between Rwandare and Qatar Airways in October 2021, offering more options across Africa. Passengers are already benefiting from seamless ticketing, check-in, boarding and baggage services.
Mohamed Tukul, a former aide to Nigerian Airline Operator (AON), said the expansion of airlines across the continent continues to be hampered, but said there is a cause of optimism.
“There are several factors that prevent airlines from opening more routes in Africa. Flight is expensive. Fuel costs, lease costs and financing costs are often much higher than in other parts of the world, limiting the airline's ability to expand in a financially sustainable way.
Stakeholders highlighted more than 200 “inequality taxes” that are causing financial and administrative burdens. They noted that the ongoing presence of underperforming state-owned airlines has suppressed suppressed expansions as they may be supported by unsustainable subsidies.
Added to this, infrastructure constraints, such as small airfields and lack of nighttime operations, often vulnerable diplomatic relations between nations, cultural inconsistencies, and the potential for airline growth are even more limited.
opportunity
Africa's population accounts for around 17% of the world's total, but according to AFRAA, its air transport accounts for less than 3% share. Financially, African Airlines has not recorded its profits collectively since 2010, as opposed to international airlines that chartered recovery from the 2008 global crash, the Industry Association noted.
Pan Africa virtual airlines
The last line
In the darkness, there is a real opportunity for great growth, especially from such a low base. First of all, it has a rapidly rapidly urbanising population (Africa is one of the fastest growing continents), making it an attractive prospect for foreign investors, with AFRAA estimated that traffic will double within the next 20 years.
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