Gulf carriers & China - Routes Africa Workshop

The Gulf carriers’ explosive effect on traffic growth between Africa and China was the topic of discussion at Routes Africa at the Royal Swazi Spa in the Ezulwini Valley in Swaziland this afternoon (May 30).

Leading the debate was Gordon Bevan, ASM’s vice president of consulting for Asia Pacific who delivered a fascinating presentation during two sessions of a well-attended workshop.

Bevan pointed out that Africa–China traffic had during the global economic slowdown replaced Europe–Asia traffic for the big three Gulf airlines and therefore is of high importance to them.

Emirates is the biggest player in the Africa–China market, carrying 210,000 annual passengers, or a fifth of the total business, between the two markets. However, Qatar Airways has also continued to grow steadily, while Etihad has “exploded” into the market in recent years too, he said.

Chinese airlines continue to have a fairly small market share in Africa, only concentrating on areas that are of strategic importance to the Chinese government’s development agenda in Africa, Bevan said.

He added that Egyptair and Turkish Airlines are also concentrating on the Africa–China market and in some cases their aircraft could better serve some African airports than the Gulf airlines’ widebody long-haul fleets. He stressed that with Turkish’s fleet plans and stated intention to focus on Africa in the coming years, it is one to watch closely in the future.

Central to Bevan’s presentation was an outline of the differing needs of Gulf airlines and Chinese airlines when considering an African destination, which formed a jumping off point for the Q&A session. This covered topics such as operating conditions in Africa and their affect on the attractiveness of a destination and the rise of the Chinese tour group to destinations in Africa with Approved Destination Status.

With representatives from the likes of Kenya Airways, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Etihad and South African Airways in the audience, many of Bevan’s observations made for lively discussion during the coffee-break and Q&A session.

Tonight the drums are beating a traditional Swazi welcome for Routes Africa delegates, with Swaziland being represented by the Honourable Minister Ntuthuko Dlamini, minister for public works & transport.

Tomorrow’s highlights include the official opening and the Routes Africa Strategy Forum.

Lucy Siebert

Ezulwini Valley, Swaziland