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The Airlines was initially a profitable and viable business, but by the mid-1990s, it faced serious problems that forced the government to liquidate its operations.
By Monica Azuba Ntege [19659005] Introduction
After the collapse of the East African Community in 1977 and the subsequent dissolution of EA Airways, the government Uganda has established Uganda Airlines as its national carrier.
The airlines were originally profitable and viable. the company, but by the mid-1990s, it faced serious problems that forced the government to liquidate its operations.
Due to the liquidation of the airlines in 2001, Uganda was found without a national airline. air fares are at the mercy of foreign airlines which, in most cases, have taken advantage of the overload and sometimes misused Ugandan travelers. The absence of a national airline also harmed foreign visitors and tourists traveling to and from Uganda.
The government has therefore made the decision to revive the national airline announced by HE The President in January 2017. The revival effort of the national airline is based on the desire to improve the overall growth of the Uganda's air transport sector, strengthening its competitiveness and transforming its international airport into a hub for regional transport.
] The revival of the national airline is based on:
1) The need to strengthen the country's competitiveness by reducing the cost of air transport and facilitating connectivity to and from Uganda.
2) Accelerate the exploitation of opportunities in the economy to promote tourism, agriculture, minerals, oil and gas.
3) To meet the growing demand for air transport (passengers and freight)
Implementation Strategy
To move the recovery process forward, HE On 01/08/2017, the President appointed a a working group of pilots and aviation experts to assist the Department of Public Works and Transportation in developing a business plan and roadmap to ensure the start of operations. The task force was also to undertake economic and project risk assessment, identify a strategic business model and make financial projections, capital structure and operational data, among others.
The working group prepared a detailed plan was discussed and approved by the Cabinet on 22/12/2017. The Cabinet has also given the Working Group a green light to undertake activities to update the Implementation Plan.
On the basis of Cabinet approval, the Working Group made detailed commitments with various aircraft manufacturers, including M / s Boeing, submitted as their technical analysis proposals to find the best choice . Subsequently, bids were submitted to the Contracts Committee for approval of the MoUs / orders developed after the commitments. Approvals were granted at the end of March 2018, paving the way for the signing of the supplier agreement protocols and a $ 400,000 and $ 800,000 payment commitment fee to Bombardier and Bombardier respectively. Airbus to facilitate the start of aircraft manufacturing.
The payment of the commitment fee was followed by the preparation of detailed tender documents that were shared with both companies. The negotiation of a purchase contract for (4) regional aircraft with Bombardier was concluded and the agreement was signed, thus paving the way for the payment of money before delivery. The one with Airbus is still to be concluded
On 14/05/2018, I submitted an information document to the Cabinet to inform members about the progress made to revive the airline. The Cabinet has instructed to provide more information on the following issues:
– The Choice of Airbus Plan on Boeing
– The Reasons for D & # 39: opt for the purchase of aircraft, instead of rent
– Why the Airbus A330-800 neo series was chosen
A full explanation on the above issues has was presented to the Cabinet on 09/07/2018 and was the subject of exhaustive discussions.
a) The title of the newspaper "Uganda Airlines to fly the unwanted Airbus 300 neo" (by Mr. Wakabi). This statement is misleading because it seems to suggest that the A330neo is an undesirable aircraft while the opposite is true. Industry figures show that the A330 family of aircraft is the most popular aircraft in its class and that it is preferred by the majority of airlines in the world. The A330 family of aircraft has the largest customer base in its class with 105 customers worldwide compared to only 41 customers for its direct competitor the B787.
b) Misrepresentation of the cancellation of the order by Hawaiian Airline as an example: There are several reasons why an airline may cancel an airplane order and Hawaiian does not. Did not reveal his reasons. However, what is clear, is that Hawaiian Airlines had carried out an aircraft evaluation, similar to that of Uganda Airlines, and had initially chosen the A330-800neo for the same good reasons that include, its payload advantage, its new fuel-efficient engine, cabin enhancement and other improvements over other types of aircraft, including the B787 to which they are now returned. This example reinforces the benefit of the A330 neo. The change of order of the airline was mainly motivated by political reasons, according to our sources.
c) Lack of understanding of the "family concept" of the aircraft. The aircraft are manufactured on a family-based concept (Airbus, Boeing, etc.) with similar characteristics in terms of fuselage, technology and operational characteristics, so the A330 neo is essentially the same aircraft as the previous version, namely the A330 was the A330-200 and the A330-300) for which Airbus has more than 1,700 orders. The new (neo) engine option brings efficiencies of additional operation to this family of planes and uses a better engine more technologically advanced and that is why it is called the "neo" The A330-800 is therefore not a new aircraft but an improvement of the existing variant
d) Similarly the airbus 330 800 neo is not "in development" as claimed in the article: it s is a misunderstanding on the concept of family. The A330neo (variant A330-900) is already delivered to other customers such as TAP Portugal and is evolving today. This is the largest version of the neo series and it has the same new engines and improved technologies as the version 800 selected by Uganda Airlines. The A330-800 variant will have a shorter fuselage allowing it to fly longer and farther than the current 900 version. This payload capacity is what is required for Uganda Airlines to operate non-stop flights on long routes to China and the Far East. It is therefore important to understand that the A330-800neo is not a plane designed from scratch but is already in the family like the A330-200 version.
In addition, the A330 has a large base of operators with 99% of spare parts common to all fleets, making maintenance easier: the availability of spare parts and support devices for aircraft. The 99% commonality across the A330 family (from A330-200 / 300 up to A330-800 / 900) in terms of spare parts and components reduces the potential cost of maintenance of this aircraft to others. This allows maintenance services to be shared between airlines with spare parts available in many locations around the world and to reduce the airline's inventory levels and operating costs.
: Over the last 5 years, from 2014 to 2018, 30 airlines have for the first time launched long-haul flights with new technology aircraft around the world. Of these 26 airlines, the A330 was chosen as a starter aircraft while 4 airlines chose the Boeing 787 as the first jumbo jet. This is an 87% confidence verdict in favor of the A330 for starting a long-haul business, compared to the 787 because of the good performance of the company. 39, A330 and its lower financial cost
. has tightened plans to reorganize the defunct airline and the project is operated on an ad hoc basis. It is important to note that the revival process of the airline was started in 2013 based on an analysis and recommendation made by the Presidential Economic Commission (CEP). This study was followed by a study by the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) and another study conducted by Ernest and Young (EY) on instructions from the Authority of the 39, civil aviation. In 2015, the National Planning Authority undertook an internal study and developed a feasibility study that served as a basis for further analysis.
The author is the Minister of Works and Transport
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