Cape Town - Gulf airlines – such as Etihad and Emirates – were getting favourable treatment from African governments to secure access rights to airports, Elijah Chingosho, secretary-general of the African Airlines Association, told a meeting of international airlines in Cape Town earlier this week.
Chingosho said some African airlines, facing stiff competition to secure routes in the growing African market, were concerned that this was stalling their growth.
“(Gulf carriers) seem to be much better than our airlines in managing to persuade governments to treat them favourably, which I think creates an uneven playing field,” said Chingosho.
“Also, we have had instances where they have come to a country and poached large numbers of people.”
Chingosho was speaking at the annual International Air Transport Association (Iata) conference this week.
Iata is an association of 240 airlines, which together account for over 80 percent of global air traffic.
But James Hogan, president of Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates, said Gulf airways weren’t “cherry-picking” the best continental routes, and didn’t get better treatment.
He said Etihad had secured access to key African airports by partnering with African airlines, such as Air Seychelles, and investing in new technologies to make more routes profitable.
Etihad has also partnered with Kenya Airways to share some routes, which the two airlines said will boost competitiveness by offering passengers more choice.
Titus Naikuni, head of Kenya Airways, said the biggest problem facing African carriers was government red tape, not Gulf competition.
According to Iata, operating margins for African carriers are the lowest in the business, at less than one percent. But the association said this year African carriers would be profitable for the first time since 2011, with forecast combined profits of R980-million.
Some of the biggest African airways are SAA, Kenya Airways, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc. Their combined profits are, however, only seven percent of the projected R14.7-billion in forecast profits for big Gulf airways, such as Etihad, Qatar Airways and Emirates.
Gulf airlines have a combined operating margin of over three percent.
While some African airlines saw Gulf carriers getting the best deals, Business Day reported that Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker felt African airways were shutting out rivals. - Cape Times