Malawian to grow route network, aims for Dubai by 2021
Malawian Airlines, which is 49% owned by Ethiopian Airlines, plans to add several new destinations to its route network effective 1st June.
Presently the carrier serves nine cities: its hub at Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital; Blantyre in Malawi; Johannesburg; Lusaka in Zambia; Harare in Zimbabwe; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; plus Beira, Tete and Nampula in Mozambique. To this is will add domestic routes to Mzuzu, Karonga and Likoma Island, plus additional international routes, to the Kenyan capital Nairobi (served with Dar Es Salaam using its single Boeing 737-800 at night), as well as Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Kassim Geresu Habib, Malawian CEO and formerly long-term employee of Ethiopian, told African Aerospace during a visit to Lilongwe last week that the airline’s long-term (15-year) plan included serving Dubai “in six years time.”
Malawian started on 1 January 2014 with one Boeing 737-800 and a Bombardier Q400 turboprop leased from Ethiopian, and Geresu said that this fleet would be supplemented “by 1st June” with “a third type, a 30-seater.” This will serve Malawian domestic routes while Blantyre, which the 737 currently stops at on its flagship Jo’burg service, will be served with the Q400. The smaller regional aircraft will also serve “the thin market in Mozambique,” said Geresu.
“We’re looking at 30-plus seaters with lessors – it’s under negotiation,” Geresu added, while indicating that the preferred type was a Q200, “for commonality with the Q400.” The airline is also looking at small jets such as Embraer ERJ-145s, while the ATR 42 is also being considered, as it “has the capability,” said Geresu, who admitted that turboprops “make sense for domestic and charter, e.g. presidential use.”
“The Q400 is big,” said Geresu. “It is a 67-seater with a business class [cabin] that Ethiopian put in… Ethiopian asked for it to be designed that way and now it is a good aircraft for the African market. It also has two lavatories instead of one and an additional galley.”
Ethiopian’s arrangement with the Malawi government gives Ethiopian Airlines a 49% share in return for its management and engineering support. Under an initial five-year plan it is training Malawians to fly the aircraft and to support it. Six pilots have already taken over from the original pilots seconded from Ethiopian. Four key executive roles are on 5-year terms wile all other roles will be filled by Malawians soon; already of the airline’s 84 employees, 74 are Malawian while five are from Ethiopian and five are other nationalities.
Malawi’s government agreed to eventually transfer 31% of its 51% shareholding to “private individuals and institutions” having contributed US$20 million for the initial start-up capital, said Geresu.
Geresu said of Malawian’s new route plan: “You have to stimulate the market...for us we’re playing for the European market – the strategic partnership with Ethiopian will help there [using the Addis Ababa hub].” Ethiopian already flies to Lilongwe and Dar Es Salaam, he said, as well as its flight to Lusaka and Harare.
Acquiring a stake in Malawian was part of Ethiopian Airlines’ broader ‘Vision 2025’ plan which seeks to establish four hubs around Africa – it has Addis, and through strategic partnerships has added Lome in Togo, West Africa through Asky Airlines and Lilongwe for southern/eastern Africa and is currently looking for one other, with Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo being a possibility.
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