A VIAT ION
ABOVE: The Cumberland River flows through the
52
carriers such as Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Air Cote d’Ivoire, Royal Air Maroc and Egyptair, they cannot fully compete with European or Middle Eastern airlines that have broader global long-haul coverage with which to subsidise African routes. Intra-region visa restrictions are another major
impediment. According to the Africa Visa Openness Index, Africans on average need visas to enter 55 per cent of states within the continent. Anthony Chibo-Christopher, chief executive of Sun
Business Strategies and Research in Nigeria, claims that he can fly to New York for about US$500 but it costs him US$1,200 to fly to Dakar, Senegal. Tere is a tendency, he says, to think of Africa as one. In fact, prior to colonialism, Africa was made up of a wide variety of kingdoms, most of which did not know much about each other. Te result, he says, was that trade was defined by the
colonial relationship with Britain and France. African countries did not develop their own trading relationships. “Travel follows trade,” Chibo-Christopher says – Nigerians now want to go to London, and Ivorians to Paris. Dichter at McKinsey says that the amount of trade,
and therefore business travel, between Anglophone and Francophone Africa remains limited. Te problem that bedevils African air travel now,
Chibo-Christopher says, is a lack of public and private investment. Te result is that Kenya Airways and
MAR CH 2 0 19
ABOVE: The Okavango Delta, Botswana
Ethiopian Airlines are criss-crossing Africa with few rivals. Competition is needed to bring prices down. Destination taxes are high, he adds, as high as at Heathrow, but without the infrastructure to match. Governments need to cut taxes and regulation,
The problem that bedevils African air travel now is a lack of public and private investment
Chibo-Christopher says. Demand for air travel in Africa is growing, he points out – there is, for example, a lot of demand to fly to Kigali because of its international status. But only state- controlled airlines are benefiting, he says; new airlines are needed. And yet it’s hard to start up as an airline, making deregulation essential. He points to Air Peace in Nigeria as an airline that provides a good service but faces political and regulatory pressures, and no government subsidies. “Tey’re not getting a fair deal,” he says.
OPENING THE SKIES Te launch last year of the Single
African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative by the African Union to open up Africa’s skies and improve intra-African air connectivity is “cause for optimism”, argues IATA’s Kaczynska. “Every open air service
arrangement around the world has boosted traffic, liſted economies and created jobs,” she says.
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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