msemakweli
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 20, 2014
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AFRICA is a growth aviation market with regional and intercontinental traffic both growing rapidly as a result of the continent's continued economic expansion.
With over one billion people, Africa is hampered by poor infrastructure, a lack of roads and railways and long distances between urban populations.
The African aviation market is significantly underserved with air travel spending as a percentage of GDP a fraction of that of other emerging markets.
With rapid economic growth and, as a result, the growing wealth of African citizens, more and more people will be able to benefit from aviation and fly for the first time.
Airbus forecasts total passenger traffic in Africa will grow at an average yearly rate of 5.7 per cent between 2010 and 2030, well above the 4.8 per cent world average growth rate and expects to deliver more than 1,100 new passenger aircraft, 4 per cent of world deliveries, in the next 20 years to satisfy growing demand. Seven of the top 10 fastest growing global economies are now in Africa with consumer spending for the continent forecast to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2020.
The McKinsey report (June 2010) forecast that 128 million households in Africa are expected to have discretionary income to spend by 2020, while 50 per cent of Africans are expected to live in cities by the same date with urban jobs bringing rising incomes.
The McKinsey report cited that today the rate of return on foreign investment in Africa is higher than in any other developing region and that early entry into African economies provides opportunities to create markets, establish brands, shape.
It is for these reasons two years ago that fastjet set its eyes on the African continent and hasn't looked back since. Established in 2012, fastjet has flown over 800,000 passengers with almost 40 per cent being first time flyers benefitting from fares as low as 20 US Dollars.
Of the 300,000 social media followers fastjet has over 100 customers who have flown as frequently as 50 times. Mr Timothy Swai, a resident of Moshi and a regular passenger says that the coming of the airline has been a blessing because apart from being affordable, it has given him an opportunity of a lifetime of being able to travel by plane.
"Affordable air travel is key to the growth of economies across Africa- particularly in the business and tourism sectors," says Jimmy Kibati, fastjet's General Manager East Africa, who also observed, "Even if there are existing airlines connecting two cities, the flights typically involve at least one stopover.
Furthermore, the exorbitant fares charged by airlines on these routes exclude the majority of a country's citizens from enjoying the convenience and time-saving benefits of airline travel."
Mr Kibati said that with its low-cost fares, fastjet believes it is making air travel more accessible to even more Africans. Supporting this belief is the research undertaken by the airline shortly after its launch, which showed that 38 per cent of its passengers were first time flyers who would otherwise not have been able to afford to travel by air.
"In spite of major regulatory challenges that we encountered as we rolled out our international route expansion, the encouragement that we have received from the Tanzanian government has been remarkable - for which we are extremely grateful," says Kibati.
He said that this makes them very positive about the future, combined with their view that economic growth in Tanzania will continue, driven by an emergent middle class, increasing levels of discretionary income, significant growth in entrepreneurship and substantial infrastructure investment.
Mr Kibati cited that on the importance of the having the airline's hub in Tanzania's commercial capital saying that Dar es Salaam would continue to grow as a major African and global industrial and trade hub, driven by its position as a gateway to East Africa, the development of offshore oil and gas reserves and substantial infrastructure investment.
Fastjet began commercial flight operations on 29 November 2012, flying passengers from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza in Tanzania on its A319 aircraft. Since then, the airline has expanded its network with the introduction of its third domestic route to Mbeya in Tanzania.
The international route network now includes flights from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg in South Africa, Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe and Entebbe in Uganda. Fastjet continues to expand across the African continent with the airline recently announcing that its new operation - fastjet Zambia - has received an Air Service Permit (ASP) from the authorities in that country.
It has also announced that fastjet Tanzania has received permission from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority to operate flights from Uganda to Juba, Nairobi, Kigali and Johannesburg under Fifth Freedom Rights. "There are more than one billion people on the African continent, which is home to just three per cent of the world's aviation business, and the continent remains in desperate need of improved and affordable aviation connectivity," Mr Kibati says.
During the climax of the International Civil Aviation week in Dar es Salaam on Friday, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) spelt out measures to improve the quality of aviation services that include capacity building in terms of safety and security oversight.
TCAA Acting Director General Mr Charles Chacha said the Authority continues to hire qualified personnel in addition to continued training for compliance to the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) and Universal Security Oversight Audit Programme (USAP).
"Currently, improvement of the infrastructure to all landing fields for both domestic and international flights is underway. For example, completion of the construction project of Terminal III at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam will increase the carrying capacity to attend to 7.2 million passengers annually from the present capacity of 1.2 million," Chacha explained.
The Minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe said adherence to aviation safety measures in Tanzania makes its skies among the safest in Africa with minimal air accidents irrespective of the increased number of flights. "Despite the fact that Tanzania is extensive geographically, communication between air controllers and pilots plying the country has remained effective.
This certifies adherence to safety standards as per stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," Dr Mwakyembe said.
The minister also spoke about the existing Pilot Training Fund for the nation to register a good number of pilots. He said currently five of them (pilots) are undergoing training in South Africa and doing very well in their studies.
Source:http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/features/39124-tanzania-boasts-of-safest-skies-in-africa
