THE AWAKENING OF AFRICAN COMPANIES

For some time now, there has been a shudder in African air transport. The recent orders placed at the last Dubai Air Show were an eminent consecration. Four companies, all located north of the Equator, are in the lead.

Ethiopian Airlines has placed the largest orders: 37 aircraft for Boeing: 11 B787 Dreamliners and 20 B737 MAX, a model that was ill-conceived but which is making a spectacular comeback in the race with the Airbus A320 range. And, icing on the cake, the Ethiopian carrier has signed a memorandum of understanding for the upcoming purchase of 11 A350-900s. Suffice to say that Ethiopian Airlines' ambitions are not ready to run out of steam.

But other African companies have also shown their noses and not just a little. Egyptair has decided to renew its fleet and acquire significant long-haul capabilities with the order of 10 A350-900s and 18 B737 MAX. Royal Maroc has completed its own by adding 2 B787 Dreamliners to a modern fleet of 57 aircraft. And even if it was absent from the ordermakers in Dubai, Air Algérie has already amply demonstrated its ambitions with the recent order of 13 long-haul aircraft from Airbus with a mix of A330 Neo and A350.

It has been a very long time since we have seen such an avalanche of purchases by African companies. While the expansion of Ethiopian Airlines' network was closely monitored, most of the new aircraft were dispersed among the 76 African carriers, each of which was very small. So it's nice to salute the message shown at the last Dubai show. It is both the realisation that the renewal of fleets to get out the most fuel-consuming and therefore the most polluting aircraft is necessary if only to keep the capacity to serve Europe, but it is also a clear proof of the confidence of these companies in the future. It is also proof, if it were needed, of the need for these countries to have efficient air transport to ensure the growth of their economies.

I also note that the four carriers mentioned all belong to their respective states, which no doubt provided their guarantee when the aircraft were acquired. If it were still useful, let's remember that the average value of a modern aircraft is $100 million, and that the long-haul range is in the range between $180 million and $250 million. Buyers are therefore demonstrating their immense confidence in the future and the state shareholders have followed suit.

The fact remains that the key is not to put the planes in the air and to open or consolidate the services, it is also necessary to fill them with passengers paying a decent income. However, apart from Ethiopian Airlines and Royal Air Maroc, which have developed their own extensive commercial network, other African airlines do not have such a tool. It is urgent for both sides to consolidate their positions because with renewed fleets, African airlines will find themselves in direct competition with the major international carriers who have created a powerful commercial network for years.

It is also necessary for the major African operators to fully participate in the new distribution systems, I am referring mainly to the NDC (New Distribution Capability) initiated by IATA. In this area, they are certainly lagging behind and they will have to make up for it, except that it will not be so easy because the providers of the protocols and software that support NDC are limited in number and they have a large waiting list. In addition, the budget to bring companies into the NDC is not negligible.

And then there is a handicap that few people talk about except those who are confronted with it, and that is the fluidity in monetary exchanges. Some African countries do not allow the repatriation of funds easily to foreign companies operating on their territory. This is a hidden but very real obstacle to the development of air trade between African countries and the rest of the world.

Many challenges still need to be overcome, but recent signals from African air transport are very positive. It's well worth a warm greeting.