Strategies for the Airline Industry on the African Continent

Abstract

African Aviation continues to fall short of serving the demands of the fast-growing African population. For major air transport in and out of the African continent, African travellers rely mainly on non-African Airlines. There is, however, one successful airline on the continent at the writing of this paper: Ethiopian Airlines and the Ethiopian Aviation Group. Why are no further successful airlines possible on a continent of 1.4 billion people (25% of the world’s population) and only a 2%-share of global air transport? At the introduction of SAATM, which is anticipated as the start of the domestic African aviation boom, most African countries seem unprepared to build a success story like Ethiopia. Transportation infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa does not start with roads and rail but with runways and airlines. This research investigates the basic requirements needed to equip Africa with a competitive aviation industry that would contribute some 5% to the continent’s GDP and create hundreds of thousands of workplaces. Interviews with African SAATM leaders signal a slowdown in the effort to succeed. The research is also concerned about the lack of inclusion in the implementation of a NetZero CO 2 emission scheme in Africa.