Zambia Airways, the national carrier of the Republic of Zambia, is thrilled to unveil its latest expansion with the introduction of new passenger services to East Africa. Starting on June 27, 2024, the airline will begin operating flights three times a week to two major cities: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. This new route reflects Zambia Airways’ commitment to enhancing connectivity and fostering trade and tourism between Zambia and East Africa.

The new service, designated as flight ZN 504, will operate from Lusaka (LUN), the capital of Zambia, to Dar es Salaam (DAR) and Nairobi (NBO). The flights are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This schedule is strategically designed to cater to both business and leisure travelers, providing them with convenient options for planning their trips to these vibrant cities.

Flight ZN 504 will depart Lusaka at 08:00 AM and arrive in Dar es Salaam at 10:30 AM. After a short layover, the flight will continue to Nairobi, landing at 01:00 PM. This timing allows passengers ample time during the day to commence their activities in either city, whether it’s business meetings or sightseeing. The return flight will follow a similar schedule, ensuring a seamless travel experience for all passengers.

This expansion is a significant milestone for Zambia Airways as it not only broadens its network but also plays a crucial role in strengthening regional ties. The addition of these routes is expected to boost the airline’s growth and contribute positively to the economic development of Zambia and its East African counterparts. Passengers can look forward to experiencing Zambia Airways’ renowned hospitality and reliable service on these new flights.

“The network expansion is reflective of our mission of enhancing regional connectivity and making air transport services affordable for a wide range of customers,” says Thomas Woldesenbet, CEO of Zambia Airways. “The launch of services to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi will further strengthen the ties between Zambia and the two East African sister countries and foster trade and tourism.”

Source:   Travel and Tour World.  

Abderahmane Berthé, Secretary General, African Airlines Association (AFRAA) intervened in a panel session during the Connecting Europe Days on the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) on lessons learnt from the air transport liberalisation in the European Union (EU) that can be useful for SAATM.

“The air transport market in Africa is relatively small, we have seen some protectionism attitudes aiming to protect national carriers,” said Berthé. “Of course, this is a wrong approach because, by nature, traffic rights are reciprocal. It is therefore critical to increase the market size and facilitate its access. “To achieve this, the following need to be addressed: *Affordability of air transport for African citizens: reduce the cost of operations and taxes and charges. *African economy growth: GDP per capita (only 15% of global GDP per capita).

Trade and tourism development: Intra-Africa trade is below 20 percent compared to more than 50% in other regions. Intra-Africa tourism is very small. In Africa when we talk about tourism, we are looking at tourism from non-African regions. *Facilitation of air travel through visa openness is also critical. 50 percent of African citizens need a visa to travel within Africa.

Airlines’ cooperation: commercial agreements and partnerships are essential to improve connectivity. AFRAA route network and cargo coordination is aimed at creating a forum for airlines to cooperate. Another success factor is airline consolidation. Over the past 18 years, the African continent has had the lowest level of market consolidation compared to the other regions in the globe.

The engagement of states, airlines and all the relevant stakeholders is necessary to effectively achieve the required outcomes on airline consolidation in Africa.” The session looked into SAATM as a key to open the door for aviation to play a major role in connecting Africa, promoting its social, economic and political integration and boosting intra-Africa trade and tourism. The event was organised by the European Commission together with the Belgian Presidency of the Council in Brussels.

Source: Logistics Update Africa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2024 global air cargo markets showing continuing strong annual growth in demand.

•    Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 11.9% compared to February 2023 levels (12.4% for international operations). This is the third consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year demand growth.

•    Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 13.4% compared to February 2023 (16.0% for international operations). This was largely related to the increase in international belly capacity accompanying growth in passenger markets (29.5% year-on-year increase), which far exceeded international capacity on freighters (3.2% year-on-year increase).

“February’s demand growth of 11.9% far outpaced the 0.9% expansion in cross-border trade. This strong start for 2024 could see demand surpass the exceptionally high levels of early 2022. It also shows air cargo’s strong resilience in the face of continuing political and economic uncertainties,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

•    Global cross-border trade increased by 0.9% in January.

•    In February, the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 51.2, indicating expansion. The new export orders PMI also rose to 49.4, remaining slightly below the 50 threshold that would indicate growth.

•    February year-on-year inflation dropped to 2.8% in the EU while rising to 2.8% and 3.2% in Japan and the US respectively.  After four months of deflation, China reported a 0.7% increase in inflation year-on-year—a positive development amid concerns over China’s economic slowdown.

February Regional Performance

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 11.9% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February. This was a significant decrease compared to January’s 24.3% year-on-year growth, likely related to slowing activity after the Lunar New Year celebrations. Capacity increased by 23.1% year-on-year as belly capacity came online with recovery in the passenger business.

North American carriers saw 4.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February—the weakest among all regions. Demand on the North America–Europe trade lane grew by 5.2% year-on-year while Asia–North America grew by 3.9% year-on-year.  February capacity increased by 1.9% year-on-year.

European carriers saw 14.6% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February. Intra-European air cargo rose by 24.5% year-on-year—the strongest performance in almost three years. Europe – Middle East routes saw demand grow by 39.3% year-on-year, while Europe – North America expanded by 5.2% year-on-year.  February capacity increased 13.2% year-on-year.

Middle Eastern carriers saw 20.9% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February.  The Middle East–Europe market was the strongest performing with +39.3% growth, far ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 21.9% year-on-year. February capacity increased 16.2% year-on-year.

Latin American carriers saw 13.7% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February.  Capacity increased 8.9% year-on-year.

African airlines saw 22.0% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February—the strongest among all regions. The intra-Africa trade lane showed 42.3% year-on-year growth. February capacity increased by 28.2% year-on-year.

Source: Airspace-Africa.

Airlines across Africa are reaping the rewards of increased demand, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reporting an increase of 20.7% in passenger traffic compared to this time last year. The collection of carriers includes, but is not limited to, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc, and Air Senegal.

African Airlines are surging forward with the expansion, which has seen capacity grow by 22.1% yearly, catapulting the continent’s aviation scene into a new realm. The growth has been expected as the world continues its post-pandemic thaw, and Africa’s numbers add to the 5.7% global increase in passenger numbers seen in February this year.

While demand and capacity are up, there is a slight increase in overall load factors across Africa, with a slight decrease in numbers seeing the region reach just 74%, a drop compared to the previous year.

Optimistic for the region

The ex-International Airlines Group boss and now IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh remains optimistic about travel across Africa. Walsh reiterates the positive momentum the region is seeing. Growth will be expected as more people look to travel, plus accelerated investment in airports and airlines and ‘resilient passenger demand’, as noted by Nairametrics.

Walsh did, however, clarify that the continued imposition of new taxes across Europe could be detrimental to growth not just in Africa but across the aviation industry and could lead to increases in airline ticket costs.

The numbers

Across Africa, domestic operations surpassed 13.7% growth compared to pre-pandemic levels, and between 2023 and 2024, there were 15% more operations. This was driven by strong demand over the Lunar New Year Period (however, it remains in the shadows compared to China during this time, which saw an increase of 31.5%).

When compared to February 2019, an increase of 0.9% was seen, with annual growth for international operations reaching over 26.3%. Operations towards Asia and the Pacific led the spike, with demand for travel between those regions and Africa witnessing demand surpassing 53.2%. For those destined for South America, growth between Africa and the likes of Sao Paulo contributed to a 21% increase in travel between the two continents.

Africa’s largest airline

Ethiopian Airlines maintains its status as the continent’s largest airline from its base at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD). As Simple Flying published in February, the carrier will operate up to 78 destinations across the African continent this year, adding Freetown, Sierra Leone, in May and Maun Botswana in June.

For international travelers heading towards North America, the carrier already serves up to 37 weekly flights between Ethiopia and the likes of Washington, Chicago, Toronto, Newark, Atlanta, and New York JFK. However, further growth is expected. Last November, the Ethiopian’s CCO disclosed that two additional North American destinations will be added “per year over the next few years.” He said Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle, Houston, and Montreal are coming.

Source:  Simple Flying