African Airlines flies to the Gulf in search of alliances, survival in crowded airspace

African airlines are seeking partnerships and alliances to try to stay afloat, Middle Eastern carriers becoming the likely contenders as they seek to improve their financial situation while improving their profitability.

The latest report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last month shows that Africa continues to be the weakest region of aviation, a trend which has been going on for four years

. However, load factors are relatively low because yields are slightly higher than average despite lower costs, but few airlines can achieve adequate load factors, which are the lowest in the world (61.5%). %). in the first six months of 2018, "said IATA.

On average, African airlines should make a loss of $ 100 million, as was the case last year D & On the other hand, Gulf carriers are expected to make a profit of $ 1.3 billion this year, up from an average of $ 1 billion that they recorded in 2017, while their Pbadenger revenues will rise to $ 5.89, up from $ 4.81 last year, making them attractive partners for African airlines.

Regional Alliance

Last week, Air Mauritius is courting Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA)) and RwandAir on the formation of a new regional alliance.

It is not yet known how this alliance will work, but if it succeeds, it will allow these four carriers to leverage their combined size to improve Efficiency of unit costs.

This development comes at a time when Nigeria is also competing with South African Airlines to attract the attention of Gulf carriers after the announcement of the revival of a new national airline to Farnborough Air Show in the UK. Ethiopian Airlines is also in the process of acquiring stakes in the Nigerian airline as it seeks to protect its West African hub, a development that is expected to hurt the good fortune of Kenya Airways and Rwandair, which have [19659010] However, it is the race to enter the Nigerian arena – whose country of origin is the most populous continent and the largest hub of Africa 's. West – who goes now Kenya Airways and Rwandair are looking for income elsewhere.

This comes at a time when African air traffic has grown by 7.5%, but capacity has only increased by 3.6%, according to IATA, an indicator of demand for more capacity on the market.

& nbsp; Nigerian Project & # 39;

Nigerian Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika met with Qatar Airways General Manager Akbar Al-Baker at a meeting where he referred to the airline's boss as a "potential partner or investor" . "

million. Sirika also met with General Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam

"We expect to face competition from the Nigerian Qatar Airways project," Tewolde told Bloomberg. should be managed as a public-private partnership and should become profitable in three years, with a 5% stake of the government.

Qatar Airways, one of the bidders, currently holds stakes in airlines such as IAG SA and Latam Airlines Group SA.

Ethiopian Airlines, also a leading runner already heads the airlines of Malawi Airlines and Asky Airlines based in Togo. It also targets capital investments in Zambia, Mozambique, Chad and Guinea by the end of the year.

Last week, he announced that he would take a 20 percent stake in Eritrean Airlines and help manage operators in Equatorial Guinea and DR Congo

African and Asian Roads

In l & # 39; At present, KQ is already facing strong competition on its African and Asian routes, as the average price is falling due to competition. The national carrier said more than half of the decline in revenue was due to lower average fares on its lines.

"This downward trend of the tariff is the result of increased competition and overcapacity on the roads." Intra-Africa "and" Africa-Asia "traffic flows, said KQ in its financial statements

The main competitors that KQ now has to deal with these traffic flows include Ethiopian Airlines, RwandAir, Qatar Airways and Emirates.The Ethiopian offer The Nigerian national carrier, it succeeds , will worsen its completion on a KQ route that flies more than four times a week.

EWT, operates a West African hub in Lomé, Togo where it has a national and regional partnership with Asky Airlines

Revenue Optimization [19659025] "The discussions between Emirates Airline and SAA, which have been going on for a few months, are facilitated by our embbady in Pretoria. "The United Arab Emirates ambbadador to South Africa, Mahash Alhameli, told the South African newspaper City Press