What could be done to overcome the challenges facing the establishment of a LCC in Africa?

As previously mentioned, a thriving aviation industry is a gateway to economic development given as aviation has increasingly become a key component of globalisation. Looking at the aviation industry in Africa, the establishment of a LCC will be an innovation. But this kind of innovation should mean selecting and executing the right ideas and bringing them to market in record time. This post puts together a combination of all the feedback received from major and influential contributors, in regards to this topic.

As the director at Aerodromes and Contrails Mr. Bassa stated, the purpose of LCCs altogether is to make air travel accessible and affordable for people who can’t afford conventional air travel. And more so in Africa, wherein with the lack of adequate road, rail as well as water borne transportation systems, this has made air travel a commercial and socio-economic necessity.

It is undeniable that establishing a LCC in Africa will be beneficial for the continent and to support this point, the director at Air Transport Research Institute: Tom Considine mentioned that LCCs have the ability to increase the flying market size, which to the least, partially counters the poor infrastructure in some countries. Another benefit of LCCs is that they have the ability to unlock remote places which would otherwise need massive infrastructure development and this would in turn sustain growth in the sector.

Additionally, a LCC in Africa will be advantageous for the continent given as it will be a significant player contributing not only to the economy of the continent, but equally induce social, political and technological developments wherein, it would for instance, generate employment opportunities, and equally stimulate tourism within the continent.

In spite of these benefits, there are however several challenges that could hinder this establishment.

The owner of African Star Airways stated that the concept of a LCC in Africa is still in infancy stage given as most airlines in Africa are state owned and thus do not like competition. The biggest challenges will be bureaucracy and corruption. Mr. Bassa furthermore stated that due to governments’ inability to implement the much need Yamoussoukro Agreement, there is a big obstacle for a truly Pan-African LCC to make air travel affordable to African citizens, who need to travel for both business and leisure. Another obstacle he mentioned was the high airport associated costs that even conventional and foreign carriers object to on a regular basis. Research proves that African airports impose the highest airport taxes when compared to developed countries.

Mr. Hafeni, Air safety investigator confirmed that there is a huge untapped potential for air travel with the growing middle class and, with the high GDP growth rates in most parts of Africa, it is fair to assert that LCCs could revolutionize the nature of air travel in Africa. However, he equally supported the fact that government protectionist policies are a huge hindrance. Likewise, Mr. Laszlo, airline start up manager equally agreed that the main problem with this establishment is protectionism and corruption in several African countries.

In addition, Mr. Blass, aviation, tourism & hospitality executive indicated that a first challenge would be Bilateral Air Traffic Regulations, followed by ground handling, regulations on crew nationality, as well as distribution cost. To support this point, both Mr. Considine and Mr. Hitler Adikiny Olwenge, chairman of Africa & Indian Ocean PBN Implementation task force affirmed that although there are several benefits associated, there are several limitations including but not limited to poor infrastructure such as ANSP, power, fuel, and water; but equally the lack of regulations pertaining to aviation inspectors.
Finally, Mr. Mabonga, Director at System Safety Technics, stated that another major hurdle is in regards to safety given as according to statistics, African Airlines have the worst safety record.

As Mr. Bassa stated, a truly African LCC must be able to fly across Africa with full access to all countries and cities with the ultimate objective to benefit Africa and its citizens.

But how can this be achieved?

I believe that the first step is to fully understand the African culture and market specifications given as like I mentioned in my previous post, the African market is a complex one and it requires a thorough market research if one was to establish an airline within the continent – let alone a LCC. The main recommendation that was agreed on by many, was that, in order to overcome the challenge pertaining to protectionism, it will be an advantage to partner with either local operators or governments given as the Yamoussoukro Declaration and Abuja Protocol failed to be ratified by various African States simply because they want to protect their Flag Carriers.

Do you have any other recommendations on how these challenges could be tackled?