Africa flies as global airlines vie for the last big growth market
Skift Take
Gulf carriers have led the march into the heart of Africa, and others have followed, as the last great race in the global aviation industry has begun.
After decades as the poor relation of global air transport, Africa is attracting carriers from Brussels to Beijing as a commodities boom spurs economic growth.
British Airways began serving its 19th destination there on Sept. 10, while Qatar Airways Ltd. adds its fourth route of the year next month and FastJet Plc starts flights in November with the aim of becoming the first ever pan-African discount carrier.
Airlines hurt by traffic declines elsewhere are rushing to tap a rare growth market as economies in the sub-Saharan region expand an average 5.3 percent in 2012, outpacing Russia, Brazil and much of Asia, according to International Monetary Fund estimates. Hurdles to expansion include safety issues, corruption, state interference and of selling tickets in economies reliant on cash and lacking ready internet access.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="350"] South African Airways tail wing. Photo by Steve Crane.[/caption]
“With the right cost structure there’s no reason why airlines shouldn’t succeed,” International Air Transport Association Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler said by phone from Dakar during a visit to Senegal this month. “We’ve seen that happen in Asia, Latin America and other parts of the developing world. People here say the easiest way to fly anywhere in Africa is via Paris, which is ridiculous.”
Gulf Carriers
British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, added flights to Liberia via Sierra Leone on Sept. 10 and now serves 16 Africa countries. Brussels Airlines - - 45 percent owned by Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG -- has almost doubled the number of passengers it carries to the continent since 2008 and founded a subsidiary in the Congo.
Turkish Airlines is “very interested” in the continent, CEO Temel Kotil said at a conference on Sept. 9. The carrier will serve 24 cities there as of Nov. 16, when it adds Nouakchott in Mauritania to the network, with about 80 percent of passengers switching flights in Istanbul -- double the usual proportion -- reflecting the relative lack o
