The Chief Executive Officer, Kenya
Airways, Allan Kilavuka, has disclosed that the airline industry in Africa
needs a period of consolidation if the continent is to overcome its
connectivity challenges.
Already, shifts towards new market
policies, airline behavior, operation models, and governance are clearly
pointing towards a consolidated African aviation sector.
Accelerated by the onset of the
pandemic, what were once loose discussions around the formation of mutual
pan-African airline ties are now taking shape.
Speaking at the CAPA Leader Summit
in Manchester, England, Kilavuka said that the fragmented nature of the sector
was due to protectionist measures, stressing that it is stifling economic
growth in the region.
Kenya Airways is currently in the
process of deepening its ties with South African Airways (SAA), while at the
same time looking to add a new partner in West Africa.
The partnership between the East
African carrier and its Southern African counterpart seeks to leverage their
respective Nairobi and Johannesburg hubs.
The airlines also hope to strike an
agreement with a West African carrier to create a three-hub strategy, allowing
them to offer a more comprehensive route network.
“The continent is very fragmented
from an airline perspective,” Kilavuka said.
“We have so many airlines and my
personal view is that we need consolidation.
“That’s therefore what we’re working on. We’ve started discussions with all the
major airlines in Africa, particularly our neighbors,” he added.
Kenya Airways and SAA announced
their planned partnership in September 2021 and finalised the agreement in
November 2021.
“The idea is to see how you can use
assets from each airline to increase productivity and have a two or three hub
strategy that will encourage this large continent to connect to each other,”
Kilavuka said.
He said: “It will increase options
for our customers and reduce operating costs.
“Future of aviation in Africa lies in consolidation,” saying that better
connectivity across the continent would act as a catalyst for economic growth.
Today, industry and airline
executives agree that airline partnerships and mutual cooperation are
prerequisites for emerging from the pandemic downturn with a stronger and
better-connected African market that competes on an international level.
The African sector has responded
with an increased urgency to augment infrastructure and personnel training.
This also includes expanding the continent’s regional connectivity by adapting
and modernizing its fleets to allow passengers wider access to more
destinations through regional airports.
A key motivator in this focus on
regional operations is the projected population growth rate on the continent.
Over the past 30 years, the African
population has doubled, reaching 1.3 billion in 2018, compared to 550 million
in 1985.
By 2050, the population is expected
to double again on the back of a growing middle class and projections of 26
African countries doubling their current population.
Improved regulations are expected to
enable greater air service efficiencies for the continent’s short to
medium-haul fleets, which include regional aircraft types from manufacturers
such as the Bombardier (Dash 8, CRJ900), and Embraer (ERJ 145,190, E2), Boeing
(737) and Airbus (A320).
At the 51st Annual General Assembly,
which was held virtually in late October 2021, airline executives pushed
forward the idea of unionizing resources and capacities as a solution to combat
the sector’s fragmentation, stagnant regulations, and excessive fuel costs.
Alongside fragmented airspace, other
agitators of the continent’s fuel costs include minimal aviation fuel
production on the continent, and an inadequate road network and road
infrastructure.
This poses a challenge to the
efficiency of fuel deliveries, which are operated by trucks that utilise
regional road networks.
By - Admin
By - Admin
By - Admin