Kenya Welcomes Indian Travellers as Tourism Recovery Takes Shape

Nairobi — The tourism sector has received a major boost from the Indian market with a visit of about 300 tourists for an excursion of the country’s tourism products.

Last week, Kenya played host to 150 Indian travellers for a tour of attractions within Nairobi and Masai Mara while another group is expected to the jet in first week of next month.

The trip which is part of an incentive programme organized through Reliance Industries (RIL’s), an Indian multinational conglomerate company, is a shot in the arm to the sector that is picking up from the travel restrictions as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

The visit comes as part of efforts by Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism to boost MICE and B-leisure tourism, which is ideal for top executives and mid-level management visitors.

While receiving the first group of travellers at the Nairobi National Park, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) termed the visit as a strong endorsement of the country’s resilience to the impact of the pandemic as well as a first step toward restoring the confidence of Indian travellers in the destination.

“We are delighted to welcome the first batch of an incentive travel group from India. It shows that the destination is quickly re-opening and going back to normal travel business as it were and we are ready and prepared to receive visitors from all corners of the world,” said KTB acting director of Marketing Development Fiona Ngesa.

According to KTB, the growing demand and preference for personalized service, preference for sustainable and responsible travel and affinity for experiential travel are key emerging travel trends that Kenya has adopted to cater for the tourists’ needs.

India is a top five tourist source market to Kenya and whose performance is expected to rise courtesy of incentive programs and other promotional campaigns that KTB has lined up in the market.

On his part, Destination Management Company (DMC) Safari Trails CEO Rajay Thethi, said Kenya’s decision to remove PCR testing for arriving passengers into the country and the resumption of daily flights to India has been key in the increasing interest to travel into the country.

“India is one of the emerging markets we have been focusing on and we are very grateful to the Kenyan government for allowing the resumption of daily direct flights from India on Kenya Airways and also making sure that travel between Kenya and India is eased,” Rajay noted.

Ease of access to Kenya through the national carrier, Kenya Airways, that flies twice daily from Mumbai to Nairobi among other airlines have increased in the past, the flow of visitors into Kenya from the Asian market

Kenya had in 2021 imposed restrictions on travellers from India with the country being one of the worst-hit by the Covid-19 Delta Variant.

However, after the decline in number and the vaccination of citizens, both countries have lifted the restriction with visitors being allowed to travel freely.

Source: Capital FM

Africa’s Business Aviation Potential

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, the business aviation industry has experienced significant growth, and this has also been the case in the Africa region.

With an expanding business aviation industry comes the increased need for business aircraft handling services. With this uptick in demand, current infrastructure, the provision of security services and opportunities for investment have been a focus for ground service providers in Africa’s business aircraft handling sector.

Infrastructure in Africa

A defining preference of business aviation travelers is to move away from the standard experience, instead going through an exclusive private experience that enhances the overall objectives of their travel and creates a flexibility that regular flights do not offer.

According to officials with UAS Africa, however, some airport administrators and authorities in Africa do not fully appreciate this concept and prefer to place security considerations above anything else.

“In some cases, the funds are not just available to develop infrastructures for business aviation due to current volume of traffic, despite the potential that such facilities may hold for the future,” say UAS Africa officials. “At African airports, FBOs or private terminals are not very common. In fact, VIPs and business travelers are often subject to the same immigration and custom procedures as regular airline passengers. This means that most times it is not convenient for VIPs and business travelers, and it erodes the ideas and experience associated with private or business travels.”

The exclusive facilities that FBOs offer include private meeting rooms and lounges for VIPs who travel for short meetings lasting only a few hours and then returning, thereby avoiding chaotic traffic situations common in African urban cities, according to UAS Africa representatives.

“Other FBO features that are attractive to business aircraft include dedicated fuel services (and) easy access to light maintenance,” they say. “We have seen the effects of these facilities in Nigeria and South Africa on the exponential growth of business traffic in these two countries in the last decade.”

Security Services

According to UAS Africa officials, aviation security threat issues are quite similar globally and exist in any region.

“Africa no doubt has its own share of such threats, which are unique and peculiar to Africa. The first threats are theft and pilferage of baggage and cargo,” say officials at UAS Africa. “Poor baggage surveillance systems at some airports can lead some people to take advantage and steal valuable items and cargo.”

When aircraft are parked overnight, for long periods in remote locations or at parts of airports with limited security surveillance, reports have been made of fuel thefts and removal of minor parts of an aircraft, according to UAS Africa officials.

“The ‘stowaway’ issue is a phenomenon often associated with Africa. People often take chances with this extreme but disastrous route,” they say. “These are often airport staff who have easy access to aircraft, or inhabitants of neighboring residential areas to airports who over time have discovered security loopholes.”

Another threat for some airports that are located in the heart of a city, or which over time have been caught in developments around the airport, is that they could be compromised in terms of security, especially if they have fences that are not properly secured to completely ward off intruders, according to UAS Africa officials.

“For airports that are at quite some distance from a city and hotels and require passengers to travel long distances at night or odd hours, providing security escorts becomes imperative especially in areas with histories of insurgencies, banditry, wars and general insecurity,” say UAS Africa representatives.

In certain parts of Africa there is also the need to prevent the infiltration by insurgent groups that mean to cause harm to passengers or airport infrastructure.

“These include Al Shabab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria Sahel region and others. We have seen a recent case in Kaduna, Nigeria where people were allegedly attempting to overrun and take over the airport but were repelled by security forces,” say officials at UAS Africa.

For what concerns the movement of contraband, it is known that Africa is rich in minerals and valuable resources, observe UAS Africa representatives.

“Unscrupulous people move minerals like gold from its source to more lucrative markets by taking advantage of porous borders and corrupt government systems. Likewise, Asia is a ready market for rare animal species and trophies and some people will use all means to move these through our airports to the markets,” they say. “All these threats can easily be addressed by considering additional aircraft security on the ground. Operators may also want to consider secured crew transfers with escorts. In general, however, most airports in Africa are generally safe and secure.”

Investment Opportunities

Opportunities abound everywhere in Africa for investment in infrastructures, UAS Africa officials explain.

“In the area of FBOs, Africa lags other continents. FBOs in Africa are in only a few countries, yet they are the future of growing business travel. The long-term prospects are that the concept is gaining traction and many airport authorities are seeing the need to have public-private partnerships to develop FBOs,” they say.

With Africa’s growing fleets, aircraft maintenance is in high demand. But maintenance facilities are thin across Africa apart from Ethiopia and South Africa, which have comprehensive MRO facilities for large aircraft.

“Investing in MROs would surely be a great idea. Aircraft spares supply and distribution is another area which investors are overlooking,” say officials at UAS Africa. “We have seen numerous AOG situations where aircraft wait on end to secure parts from Europe, America and even the Middle East for spares as simple as aircraft tires – all with very cumbersome customs clearing processes. Investments in this area would be worthwhile, too.”

Additionally, many African airports have minimal parking space and cannot easily accommodate large aircraft.

“The high cost of airport infrastructure prevents them from making it a priority to develop and expand airport infrastructure. The effects are that despite economic growth on the continent, some countries will continue to rely on neighboring countries to ship in their goods by air or transport large numbers of passengers on planes,” says UAS Africa officials. “This ends up being more costly for the economies. There is therefore a great opportunity in developing modern airports that can accommodate large and modern aircraft and terminal facilities for passengers.”

Another opportunity is in upgrading airports with the latest technology to minimize time taken filling forms, checking in and other manual procedures.

“These include self-service check-in systems and automated passport control,” note UAS Africa officials. “These are happening at some locations, and although very slowly, there are prospects of wider coverage in the very long term.”

UAS Africa representatives highlight that good hotels in and around the airports create a multiplier effect of business and infrastructural developments around the airports.

“Hotels are an integral part of the travel industry and with growing urbanization, which is also rapidly creating situations of chaotic traffic jams and insecurity. Airport hotels are becoming popular. Unfortunately, investments in this area are still slow,” say UAS Africa officials.

One last important point to highlight is catering.

“It may be shocking to know that there are still quite a few major international airports in Africa where one cannot get catering items as minor as ice, except if one procures from the city or the hotels,” say officials at UAS Africa. “Even where catering companies are available, their leaning tends to be towards the regular commercial airlines catering where the volume is. Specialized business or VIP catering could be the way to go.”

Source: Aviation Pros

For the first time since the pandemic, leisure and business flights surpass 2019 levels

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, global leisure and business flights have risen to levels not seen since 2019.

That’s according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s third annual travel report, titled “Travel 2022: Trends & Transitions,” published yesterday.

After analyzing 37 global markets, the report found that cross-border travel reached pre-pandemic levels as of March — a significant milestone for a travel industry that has been dominated by domestic travel since 2020.

The data shows a “major recovery” is underway, said David Mann, chief economist for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa at the Mastercard Economics Institute. “It is just pure evidence of just how strong the pent-up demand has actually been.”

Flights are back

Global flight bookings for leisure travel soared 25% above pre-pandemic levels in April, according to the report. That was driven by the number of short-haul and medium-haul flights, which were higher in April than during the same time in 2019, according to the report.

Long-haul leisure flights weren’t far behind. After starting the year at -75% of pre-pandemic levels, an “unprecedented surge” in international flight bookings brought these flights “just shy” of 2019 levels in less than three months, according to the report.

Business flyers, who have trailed leisure passengers for the entire pandemic, are returning to the skies as well.

At the end of March, business flight bookings exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the report, marking a key milestone for airlines that rely on corporate “frequent flyer” passengers.

The return of business travel has been swift, as business flight bookings were only about half of pre-pandemic levels earlier this year, according to the report.

A delay in Asia

The global upward trajectory comes despite a sluggish return to air travel in Asia. Flights to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia increased among Asia-Pacific flyers this year, though most of the top international travel destinations were outside of the region.

“Among the top destinations visited by Asia Pacific travelers in the first quarter of 2022, 50% were out of the region based on our data, with the United States being the number 1,” said Mann.

“Despite a delayed recovery compared to the West,” he said, “travelers in Asia Pacific have demonstrated a strong desire to return to travel where there have been liberalizations.”

If flight bookings continue at their current pace, an estimated 1.5 billion more global passengers will fly this year than in 2021, according to the Mastercard Economics Institute, with more than one-third of those coming from Europe.

Will this continue?

Strong demand for air travel and an upswing in global hiring trends are just some of the reasons the global travel industry has “more reason to be optimistic than pessimistic,” according to the report.  

People have paid off debt at “a record pace” over the past two years, while wealthier consumers — who are “likelier to be traveling for leisure” — have benefited from pandemic-related savings and increases in asset prices, according to the report.  

Yet, rising inflation, market instability, geopolitical problems in Europe and Asia, and rising Covid-19 rates are threatening to derail a robust travel recovery in 2022.

Incomes are expected to grow in response to inflation, but this will happen faster in developing economies, according to the report.

“While we expect income growth to outpace consumer price growth in Germany and the United States by mid-2023, this likely won’t happen until 2024 and 2025 in Mexico and South Africa, respectively,” the report stated.

Airfares are also up, with average ticket prices increasing about 18% from January to April of this year, according to the report.

Air travel cost increases varied considerably by region, with fares up 27% in Singapore from April 2019 to April 2022. However, the report said flight prices in the United States have remained roughly unchanged during the same time frame.

Yet for people yearning to travel again, higher prices aren’t an immediate concern, said Mann. Inflation and cost increases will only matter “after we’ve had some of that release of the pent-up demand pressure first.”

Consumers will eventually respond to travel price hikes, he said, “but that is more of a story, we would argue, by the end of the year, and for 2023.”

And that’s only if higher prices continue, he said.

Uncertainties surrounding Covid

A bigger problem may be the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, which continues to loom over the travel industry.

“Among the numerous risks that could derail travel recovery … we would put Covid as the biggest swing factor,” said Mann.

“Whilst treatments are better, and many markets have seen successful vaccine rollouts, a severe or contagious variant necessitating border closures could lead to a return of the non-linear, stop-start recovery patterns of the last two years,” he said.

A last summer hurrah?

Whether travel demand will remain robust throughout the year — or whether travelers will take a last summer hurrah before tightening their purse strings — is yet to be seen.

The report noted that people have traditionally spent less on travel following rises in energy and food costs.

“However, given massive levels of pent-up demand in a post-pandemic world, this time could be different,” stated the report.

Source: CNBC Travel

Unity across the continent will unlock Africa’s tourism potential

The African travel and tourism industry has the potential to attract considerable investment if the continent works together as one destination, develops a more environmentally sustainable approach and enhances air connectivity. That was the overriding message of Tourism Ministers from across Africa during the International Tourism and Investment Corporation (ITIC) WTM African Tourism Investment Summit in Cape Town, South Africa mid-April.

Ministers of Tourism of Botswana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Eswatini and South Africa called upon African countries to unite as a single brand and promote tourism through a common marketing campaign. This campaign could be kickstarted at the African Carnival in Botswana which will be held in September.

Close to 1.3 billion Africans are keen to discover their continent’s 54 different countries, gastronomies, music, and cultures. However, to achieve a flourishing regional African tourism industry, several obstacles need to be addressed. These obstacles include visas and air access, amongst others.

Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife of Kenya, explained that only 26 African cities are currently connected through international flights. If African countries develop a co-ordinated and harmonised COVID-19 regional framework, improve their air connectivity, and open the skies, travel will become more accessible and affordable for African citizens.

“Africa drew 70 million tourists to its shores in 2019. We can get to 200 million visitors easily if we address these key issues”, stated Najib Balala.

For her part, Philda Kereng, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism of Botswana, pointed out that green tourism should be fostered. “We have to conserve and preserve national resources, on the base of which we are developing and serving products”. She highlighted the fact that her country has revised its tourism policy to make it resilient to climate change. “Going green is the way for tourism development that is based on the natural resources,” she added.

The Chairman of ITIC and former Secretary-General of UNWTO, Dr Taleb Rifai, set the tone for further discussion panels by saying that “Africa is the future – without doubt. We’re all Africans. We all came out of Africa but Africa cannot be what it should be if the continent doesn’t work together.”

On the third and last day of the Summit, tourism project owners/ developers (from Botswana, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zanzibar) were able to connect with investors. ITIC will continue to provide consultancy support for additional capital raising.

ITIC Group CEO Ibrahim Ayoub welcomed the collaboration from industry leaders at the Summit and called for the establishment of a Tourism Resilience fund to cater for future crises and to assist businesses while saving jobs.

He thanked all the Ministers, Speakers, Moderators, sponsors for their valuable contribution, with a special word to members of the audience for their participation and their successful networking with the different stakeholders.

Source: Breaking Travel News

Karen Country Club Hosts Visiting Emirates Golf Club Female Golfers

Kenya has developed golfing, and the world is taking note.

Over the last 5 years, Kenya has steadfastly grown and made strides in the development of golf and is now being widely recognized as Africa’s premier golf destination. They say, the prevailing all-weather season and other attributes such as connectivity from a golf course to a beach or a game drive within the towns keeps drawing golfers to Kenya and promoting golf tourism.

Karen Country Club, East and Central Africa’s finest and prettiest course recently hosted a number of female golfers from The Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE, to a friendly three-ball competition. The Karen Country Club Ladies Golf section led by their Lady Captain Martha Vincent turned out enthusiastically not to only welcome their counterparts but to also participate in the friendly afternoon competition.

The visiting golfers from The Emirates Golf Club, Dubai who teed off included their lady captain Amarjeet Radia, Jayshree Gupta, Martha Wong, Marie Benson, Naeema Maya, Sue Hopwood, Caroline Granger, Steva Fornazerie, Monica Pulao, Geema Blanco, Sonal Gandhi, Yana Jamieson, Marivi Arias, Maribel Xammer, Yulia Golubewa, Anita Joop, Margaret Breen, Veronica Elias, Anvita Kapoor and Avani Shah.

Later in the evening, the visiting golfers were hosted to a prize giving cocktail at the stunning Fairway Restaurant at Karen Country Club overlooking the beautiful green course against the day’s sunset. The event was attended by among others, Karen Country Club’s GM Robert Onyango, Golf Captain James Ngotho, Lady Captain Martha Vincent, Paulynne Kabuga, Grace Mayani, Betty Gacheru, Rose Mambo, Eunice Koome, Pettie Ndolo, Louisa Gitau, Susie Carmichael, Wendy Turmell, and Doreen Muriithi.

Mintel International Group Golf Tourism indicates golf travelers spend on average 2.5 times more than leisure tourists at a destination. Further research also shows the average length of a trip of a domestic visitor is 3.6 days, whereas a golfer stays 4.6 days.

Currently, Sports tourism is one of Kenya’s product diversification strategies, besides the traditional products such as beach and wildlife, which have been the traditional offerings that the country has over the years been using to attract tourists into the country.

The Emirates Golf Club often called the “desert miracle”, as it shines with rich greenery and exotic flora and fauna is home to four courses and has won numerous awards and are considered to be one of the best in the world. Lady Captain Martha Vincent is looking forward to ushering her Karen Ladies to a visit to Dubai and definitely to The Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE.

Source: Capital Lifestyle

UAE’s tourism sector growth in first quarter outpaced pre-pandemic levels

The UAE’s tourism sector growth during the first quarter of this year outpaced the rates seen in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, making it one of the best quarters for the local tourism industry, the UAE’s Ministry of Economy has said.

The performance made it “one of the best years in terms of economic growth in general and tourism in particular”, said Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs and chairman of the UAE Tourism Council.

The tourism sector’s growth was largely due to the “the unlimited support and directives of the UAE’s wise leadership and its interest in this vital sector, which is deemed one of the future sectors and a key focus area in the UAE’s development vision for the next 50 years”, he added.

Hotels across the UAE received about six million visitors in the three-month period, who spent 25 million hotel nights. This was up 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

Revenues of hotels grew to Dh11 billion ($2.9bn) in the quarter, up 20 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2019.

The global travel and tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, rattled by border closures to stem the spread of the virus. But the sector has recovered, with international tourist arrivals more than doubling in January alone this year, compared to the same period in 2021, according to the World Tourism Organisation, a UN agency.

The UAE executed one of the fastest inoculation campaigns in the world, which, in turn, boosted economic recovery and helped to attract tourists over the past year. The government also adopted a number of steps to accelerate the tourism sector’s recovery in the UAE.

Last year, the Emirates Tourism Council formed a joint action plan with the Ministry of Economy and local tourism departments to increase the inflow of international tourists to the UAE, as well as prioritise new source markets to attract visitors.

Large-scale campaigns promoting several “promising destinations”, introducing long-term and multiple-entry tourist visas — recently announced by the government — and marketing the country’s major tourism spots were part of the plan.

The UAE registered a strong inflow of tourists during the first quarter this year. Hotels in the Emirates received four million international visitors with India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Russia, and the US being the top source markets.

The average duration of hotel guest stays during the period rose from three nights to four, while the occupancy rate of hotels touched 80 per cent, one of the highest globally, the ministry said.

The recent figures “reflect the growing confidence of visitors in the national tourism sector and the UAE’s reputation as a safe and favourable destination capable of providing a rich and distinguished tourism experience”, Mr Al Falasi said.

Events such as Expo 2020 Dubai, which attracted more than 24m visitors over six months, and the World’s Coolest Winter campaign, which generated a total revenue of Dh1.5bn and attracted more than 1.3m local tourists, also contributed to the growth of the industry, he added.

Source: The National News

Pan-African airline partnerships continue to gain momentum

Partnerships have been gathering momentum as Africa’s aviation sector navigates its post-pandemic recovery and the issue of high fuel and oil prices. 

AeroTime revisits the ongoing partnerships forming on the continent, and examines the changes made during the past four months. 

African leaders lead the charge toward new partnerships 

The partnership between Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA) to establish a pan-African airline by 2023 has been a significant indicator and driver of consolidation movements across the continent.  

Now, the two legacy carriers are looking to partner with a West African airline to support a multi-hub strategy to enhance connectivity across the African continent. 

“The intention is to invite a West African airline at some point in the future to also join. We will have a three-hub strategy of Nairobi, Johannesburg, and the West African hub to create better opportunities and services for our customers,” said KQ Board Chairman, Michael Joseph during an investor briefing in late March 2022. 

The geographical location of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) in North-West Africa, situates the airline a potential suitor as the Moroccan flag carrier is no stranger to partnerships. On April 1, 2022, RAM celebrated its 2nd year as a OneWorld Alliance member – the first African airline to join the 14-membered group. The members include American Airlines (A1G) (AAL), Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines.

As part of One World Alliance RAM’s network serves over 105 destinations and 51 countries within and outside Africa. 

Alongside the search for a West-African airline to join KQ and SAA’s partnership, Kenya Airways partnered with Ghana-based Africa World Airlines (AWA) on May 6, 2022, in an interline SPA agreement that aims to explore the potential of both carriers’ networks and expand flight connections between East and West Africa. 

The deal will give Africa World Airlines’ passengers more travel options to destinations in Ghana and West Africa while gaining access to Kenya Airways’ extensive network in Africa. 

“Our combined networks will allow our customers the convenience of seamless onward connectivity to and from the Kenya Airways network onto Africa World Airlines’ network. It is imperative that we continue to interlink Africa and allow access within Africa for our passengers,” said Adedayo Olawuyi, Head of Commercial for AWA. 

AWA commenced its operations in 2012, and today operates domestic and regional flights along the coast of West Africa with a fleet of Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. 

Kenya Airways Chief Commercial and Customer Officer, Julius Thairu emphasized that partnerships and collaboration will be key in unlocking air travel in Africa. 

“The future of travel will be drawn from a sustainable, interconnected, and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa through partnerships and collaboration that drive the growth of Africa’s travel industry,” said Thairu. 

Consolidation: a means to mitigate unit costs? 

Kenya Airways Group MD & CEO Allan Kilavuka believes that consolidation is the key to alleviating airline operating costs and accessing untapped connectivity and operational benefits across the sector. 

“The future of African aviation relies on consolidation to reduce unit costs and connect the continent more,” Kilavuka said during the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, which took place in the UK on April 7, 2022.  

During an AviaDev Insight podcast interview released in January 2022, South African Airways chief commercial officer, Simon Newton-Smith alluded to the fact that Africa’s airlines must reinvent their business models to operate in the industry’s current landscape. 

“If you look at the global aviation landscape, the capacity versus population size, there is such a gap for Africa,” said Newton-Smith. 

Newton-Smith also pointed out that, in their current form, African airlines would not be able to independently meet the increasing need of the continent’s growing middle class.  

“Partnerships are absolutely key,” said Newton-Smith, who went on to describe the SAA-KQ partnership as an “opportunity” to connect networks and increase connectivity on the continent. 

However, while most of the attention has revolved around the SAA-KQ partnership, other African airlines have taken a similar approach to combine forces to enhance operations and services offered to passengers, reducing their unit costs amid high global fuel prices. 

In March 2022, six Nigerian airlines — Air Peace, Arik Air, Azman Air, Aero Contractors, United Nigeria, and Max Air — came together to form the ‘Spring Alliance’. 

The motive behind the alliance is to put aside domestic airline rivalries and give passengers access to better service, while allowing for increased efficiency and wider operational capabilities for the airlines themselves, according to airline leaders, as reported by Nigeria’s The Guardian.  

“In the aviation world, we have so many alliances that airlines key into. We have the Star Alliance; there is One World and several others. And airlines decide to key into those alliances for the benefit of both the passengers and the airlines themselves,” said Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema. 

The formation of the Spring Alliance is a measure to respond to the complaints of the flying public, explains Onyema. 

“For example, if Air Peace has a technical issue on any of its aircraft, the passengers of Air Peace need not be delayed. If any member of this alliance is going to the same destination, all we need to do is to move the passengers over to that other airline, a member of the alliance, at no further cost to the passenger,” Onyema said.  

The alliance looks set to adopt industry practices tailored to passengers’ needs, added United Nigeria Airlines chief executive officer, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo. 

“There’s no doubt that Nigerian airlines are going through some situations and part of the way to react to this is to have the passengers in mind. It is simply thinking out-of-the-box. We are not reinventing the wheel, we are just adopting what we have seen that has worked in other places, and it will surely work in Nigeria so that the passengers going to the airport are more guaranteed that they will fly,” Okonkwo said. 

High fuel costs 

Passengers of Nigerian Airlines have voiced concerns about flight delays and cancellations. The recent hike in fuel prices has exacerbated the fuel crisis for Nigeria’s airlines, almost resulting in operations shutting down during March 2022.  

The crisis was averted after Mele Kyari, Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), announced that a “transparent basis of fuel pricing” in Nigeria would be agreed on by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and Airline Operators of Nigeria. 

However, this was not the end of the jet fuel saga for Nigeria’s airlines as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) announced another flight halt to take effect on May 9, 2022. 

The AON emphasized that fuel costs now accounted for up to 95% of Nigerian airlines’ operating costs against an industry average of 40%. 

Member airlines of the AON consisting of Max Air, Ibom Air, Aero Contractors, Overland Airways, Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines, Arik Air, Azman Air and Dana Air, jointly signed onto the planned flight halt. 

However, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Air Peace, Aero Contractors and Dana Air, pulled out of the plan according to a report from Premium Times. 

The planned flight halt come under pressure from Nigerian government officials on the potential long-term effects on Nigeria’s economy. This moved the AON to agree to temporarily suspend the plan and engage in dialogue with the Nigerian Government to come to a solution. 

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with more than 200 million people. Its growing domestic market provides a unique environment for Nigeria’s domestic carriers. 

In November 2021, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Nigerian airports served 6,420,820 passengers in the first six months of 2021, according to a ‘Passengers Traffic Statistic Report’ provided by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). 

This was a 50.5% increase against 4,267,409 passengers served between January 2020 and June 2021.

A statement released by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) on April 11, 2022, accentuates the hurdle posed by high jet fuel prices on passenger traffic recovery in Africa.  

“In Africa, the jet fuel price hike is worrying and has the potential to slow down the travel recovery,” the association commented. “Platts estimates that the total impact of the price increases on the overall jet fuel bill will reach $86.3 billion based on an estimated average price of $115 per barrel.” 

AFRAA estimates the sector’s revenues will fall by $4.7 billion compared to 2019 levels. In 2021, revenue for African airlines fell by $8.6 billion compared to 2019 levels.  

Source: Aerotime Hub

New aviation boss after judge rejects suit against hiring

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general Emile Arao has assumed office after a court dismissed a petition that an NGO had filed to stop his appointment last week.

Mr Arao — a US-trained aircraft engineer, aviation veteran and businessman — has finally replaced Gilbert Kibe who left the agency last month after completing his term.

The KCAA board had appointed Nicholas Bodo, a Ministry of Transport executive, as the acting director-general of the State corporation while the dispute over Mr Arao’s appointment was before the court.

The High Court declined to stop the appointment of Mr Arao, saying the petition Kazi Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui, the NGO, filed was not compelling enough.

“He has finally taken office from Mr Kibe. A petition that was filed to block his appointment has been dismissed by the Employment and Labour Relations Court,” a source at the KCAA told the Business Daily on Monday.

The petitioner moved to court to block Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia’s appointment in March.

The NGO claimed that a report by the Arusha-based East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) had indicted Mr Arao of poor management and possible embezzlement of funds at the East African Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (EAC-Cassoa).

Employment and Labour Relations Court judge David Nderitu, however, ruled that there was no evidence of these allegations of mismanagement at his previous workstation.

The judge said he was not satisfied the petitioner had demonstrated an arguable case with a likelihood of success, arguing that the court is not an investigating body.

“In view of all that is stated above, the conservatory orders sought by the petitioner in the notice of motion dated March 14, 2022, are hereby denied,’’ said the judge in a ruling delivered on May 10.

Mr Arao has been battling allegations of incompetence and misuse of finances at Cassoa after the East African Legislative Assembly, in an audit report, fingered him over poor management of finances and recommended he be held accountable.

He, however, countered that if there was wastage or theft of funds, the audited financial statement and management letter would have led to a qualification of the accounts, which did not happen.

Source: Business Daily

Change in dominance as Tanzania airlines battle for the skies

Dar es Salaam. Stiff competition saw the change in the market share structure last year as airlines competed to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic impacts.

The latest data from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) shows that only Air Tanzania Company Ltd (ATCL) and Auric Air Services managed to increase their market shares during 2021.

ATCL market share jumped to 52.9 percent from 47.8 percent in the preceding year, remaining the market leader.

Under the period of review, Auric Air saw its share slightly increasing by 0.2 percentage points to 10.3 percent.

As the pandemic adversely affected the aviation sector, the number of tourist arrivals fell, forcing Precision Air, As Salaam Air and Coastal Travel Limited – which are considered feeder airlines – to reduce their capacities, forcing their market share to go down.

Precision Air remained in the second place despite its market share dropping from 26 percent to 22.8 percent.

On the other hand, As Salaam Air’s market share fell from 5.3 percent to 2.8 percent while Coastal Travel’s market share decreased slightly to three percent from 3.5 percent.

Other airlines’ market share climbed to 8.6 percent from the previous 7.3 percent.

ATCL managing director Ladislaus Matindi told The Citizen yesterday that the airline’s performance was attributed to the expansion of its networks.

He said the airline introduced new domestic routes which include Geita, Mtwara, Arusha and Songea. The airline also increased frequencies in routes like Arusha, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Zanzibar.

“To attract more passengers, we are committed to improving our on board services and smoothing the issuance of tickets,” Mr Matindi said.

Precision Air managing director Patrick Mwanri said that a drop in the airline’s market share was significantly caused by various factors such as fall in a number of destinations.

He also linked the drop to the fall in the capacity they offered based on operations versus costs associated with the route, passenger number drop due to Covid-19 dynamics and government institutions and authorities using ATCL as official choice. “We are working together with the government and other stakeholders to attract more tourists in the country and promote other travel segments,” he responded to The Citizen’s questions.

“We are looking forward to increasing our operations where we see potential demand that can generate revenue while looking at cost of operation and continuous improvement of our operation.”

As Salaam Air commercial director Ibrahim Bukenya blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the fall of their market share.

He said business was not in their favour since Covid-19 was at its peak in April 2020 and that it started to recover in December 2021. “We are now flying an average of 150 passengers on a daily basis compared to an average of 80 passengers that we were carrying in 2021,” said Mr Bukenya.

He said to capture more market share, the airline which ply Zanzibar-Arusha via Dar and Zanzibar-Dar routes will next month increase frequencies to its destinations from one to two.

It is also set to resume its Zanzibar-Dodoma via Dar route in September.

How Auric Air increased its market shares, airline’s sales director Deepesh Gupta said while other airlines suspended operations during the pandemic, for them it was different.

“Even when we were grappling with a cash flow crunch, we kept on investing on our routes with a view to maintaining continuity,” said Mr Gupta.

“To maintain our good performance and even do better, we are committed to embracing quality, safety, consistency, reliability and promotion.”

The Coastal Travels’ managing director, Captain Maynard Mkumbwa, linked the drop in their market share with the suspension of non-profitable routes of Dar-Zanzibar-Pemba-Tanga.

However, he was positive things were likely to change for better soon, attesting his optimism to overbooking they were now experiencing.

“To cope with the trend and attract more passengers to our routes, we are expecting to add three more aircraft to our fleets to make a total of 18 by July,” said Mr Mkumbwa.

Source: The Citizen

South Africa sets plans to cash In on revived national carrier

South Africa’s government has retained special voting rights in the country’s national carrier even after selling a majority stake and will be given 3 billion rand ($186 million) in preference shares that can be redeemed through future cashflow.

That means the state stands to benefit should new owner, the Takatso Consortium, revive a carrier that’s struggled under years of heavy losses, corruption and mismanagement, according to a statement from the Department of Public Enterprises on Thursday.

Takatso—made up of a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm—will provide 3 billion rand in working capital and has valued SAA’s assets at about the same amount, the department said. The group agreed to take control of the airline almost a year ago for a notional sum of about $3, in return for spending commitments and responsibility for operations.

“The 51 rand was a nominal sum set some time ago when SAA was not at all a going concern,” Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said by phone. “While now it is still in the recovery phase, things are far better for government than it was when that price was set.”

The details emerged after the National Treasury criticized the terms of the deal, saying SAA represents a “contingent liability” as the government may be liable for certain costs. The state will still be on the hook for outstanding “business rescue obligations” stemming from the company’s near 18-month bankruptcy proceedings, Takatso said in a separate statement.

The government’s voting rights, knows as a golden share, will mean SAA can’t be sold on without its consent and the state will retain a stake of at least 33.3%, the DPE said. It will also have full voting rights over “matters of national interest.”

Source: Bloomberg