Ethiopian Airlines and the Ethiopian Govt outshining Boeing and the US Govt in a crisis.
Africa in 2019 is a continent of change, rapid GDP growth and opportunity. What the article illustrates is that Africa is a changing business and political landscape but more darkly it points to insiderism in the US and makes you wonder had the two accidents been in North America or Europe rather than Africa and South East Asia, would both Boeing and the US administration have handled things differently.
Below is simply a reproduction of the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief. 30 March. NAVIGATING A PR STORM by Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Nairobi correspondent.
The [email protected] news letter is a great read for expat Africans and those with a passion for Africa beyond bad news and development stories.
Ethiopian Airlines is tackling its biggest disaster in years—a tragedy that reverberated across the world on Mar. 10 when its Nairobi-bound ET 302 flight crashed minutes after take-off, killing all 157 people on board.
In its over 70-year history, the airline has transformed itself not just into Africa’s largest airline, but a profitable symbol of pride for the almost 11-million people it hauls to five continents annually. Yet in the ensuing days of the crash, the carrier has had to defend its record, fending off allegations that it prioritized growth and profit at the expense of safety and adequate training. Its longstanding relationship with Boeing has come under scrutiny too, especially following the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, a best-selling jet that was also involved in the October Lion Air accident that killed 189 people in Indonesia.
During times of crisis, how companies respond, address the affected parties, and whether they take a proactive or reactive approach to media coverage is very crucial. Boeing, for instance, has been criticized for being “too defensive, slow, and passive” in its feedback, with its leadership saying little if anything at all. The aircraft manufacturer currently stands accused of charging extra for safety features, rushing the certification process of the 737 Max, and trying to delay the grounding of the model after chief executive Dennis Muilenburg placed a call to president Trump.
Ethiopian has been quite the opposite, releasing 13 updates on the crash so far, while its CEO Tewolde Gebre Mariam grants regular interviews to the press.
Yet as investigations get underway, cracks are starting to appear in the way Ethiopian has responded to this crisis. In fact, experts say the ungainly handling of communications started from when the plane initially went down. Prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s office was the first to break the news, beating the carrier’s confirmation by more than an hour as families and reporters scurried to confirm the news. Even though it’s a state carrier, public relations experts say it would have been prudent if the announcement came from the airline first or if both entities simultaneously shared the news.
This week, the airline refuted reports its CEO had said the preliminary report of the crash will be released “maybe this week or next week.” That message was wrong given that Tewolde said that on record to reporters, including this one at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda earlier this week. The refutation comes after the carrier denied reports in both the New York Times and the Washington Post, without providing any evidence to the contrary which ultimately served as an excuse for online trolls who argued the media was acting as a foil for Boeing. A New York Times’ Ethiopian-born reporter, for instance, was attacked for being “a traitor”.
Ethiopian Airlines is a reputable, fast-growing airline that’s promised to continue its pan-African expansion plans despite dealing with its deadliest crash ever. In the crucial weeks ahead, the last thing the carrier wants is to sully that reputation.
— Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Nairobi correspondent