Niksta254
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 31, 2017
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If you are a frequent flyer in East Africa, connecting from one flight to another, which is time-consuming and tiresome, plus the eventual cost of travel are likely to be your top concerns, making this travel option unattractive.
For example, a traveller from Uganda or Burundi cannot fly directly to Dar es Salaam, despite the two countries sharing a border with Tanzania. To fly to Dar es Salaam, one is forced to make a connection through Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) or Rwanda’s capital Kigali.
A longer route via Addis Ababa, which has the lowest airfare of $390, will add six hours to the journey to Dar es Salaam.
Similarly, flying from Kigali to Arusha can take longer than anticipated, because direct flights are not always available, forcing the travellers on this route to either go through Nairobi or Dar es Salaam to catch a connecting flight.
This is the sad reality of the aviation market in the region that has over the years been dogged by stringent bilateral air transport agreements which have constricted it, adding to the loss of time and costs in travel.
Liberalised markets
That the Kenya-Uganda and Kenya-Burundi routes boast a fully liberalised market means that Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, enjoys no restrictions on capacity/frequency, pricing or fifth freedoms (the right to carry traffic between two foreign countries with services starting or ending in the airline’s own country).
“These restrictive Basas have implications for the level of service, fare and overall traffic between the countries. When you compare the average annual growth rate of the two liberalised country pairs (Kenya-Burundi and Kenya-Uganda), it is double that of the other country pairs that are yet to be liberalised,” the report says.
Tanzania and Rwanda are the region’s most restrictive markets, while Ethiopia tops in liberalising its market.
For Dar es Salaam, the Ethiopian liberalisation was done specifically to boost its tourist numbers, with Ethiopian Airlines being the only continental carrier to have international flights from its Arusha hub.
The open skies treaty signed in Addis last weekend would have offered a glimmer of hope for the region, but it failed to do so, as two of the region’s biggest aviation destinations — Tanzania and Uganda — failed to assent to the SAATM.
“They raised issues to do with competition within their markets and how this would curtail their dreams of a national airline.
“The two countries have in recent times been propping up their national airlines and changing policies to allow for the entry of bigger players to support their national airlines. They are still discussing these issues, which is why they haven’t signed up,” The EastAfrican was told.
Open skies treaty
The open skies treaty will see the continent’s big four carriers —Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, RwandAir and South African Airlines — enjoy unrestricted access and multiple destinations to any city of countries under the arrangement, as part of African Union’s move to improve connectivity and integrate African countries.
This initiative, it is expected, will fully liberalise air transport markets in Africa by offering lower fares, better connectivity and increase demand.
The head of the AU’s transport division David Kajange, who is among the single market architects, said that it was important for the continent’s aviation market to open up so as to reduce the cost of transport and spur investment.
“We want the fares to come down so that it becomes more affordable and easier to travel. We hope to register more than 25 per cent fall in fares as airlines increase frequencies and expand into new territories.
“This market liberalisation will also create a conducive environment for more airlines to come in,” said Mr Kajange.
Why flying within East Africa is cumbersome
For example, a traveller from Uganda or Burundi cannot fly directly to Dar es Salaam, despite the two countries sharing a border with Tanzania. To fly to Dar es Salaam, one is forced to make a connection through Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) or Rwanda’s capital Kigali.
A longer route via Addis Ababa, which has the lowest airfare of $390, will add six hours to the journey to Dar es Salaam.
Similarly, flying from Kigali to Arusha can take longer than anticipated, because direct flights are not always available, forcing the travellers on this route to either go through Nairobi or Dar es Salaam to catch a connecting flight.
This is the sad reality of the aviation market in the region that has over the years been dogged by stringent bilateral air transport agreements which have constricted it, adding to the loss of time and costs in travel.
Liberalised markets
That the Kenya-Uganda and Kenya-Burundi routes boast a fully liberalised market means that Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, enjoys no restrictions on capacity/frequency, pricing or fifth freedoms (the right to carry traffic between two foreign countries with services starting or ending in the airline’s own country).
“These restrictive Basas have implications for the level of service, fare and overall traffic between the countries. When you compare the average annual growth rate of the two liberalised country pairs (Kenya-Burundi and Kenya-Uganda), it is double that of the other country pairs that are yet to be liberalised,” the report says.
Tanzania and Rwanda are the region’s most restrictive markets, while Ethiopia tops in liberalising its market.
For Dar es Salaam, the Ethiopian liberalisation was done specifically to boost its tourist numbers, with Ethiopian Airlines being the only continental carrier to have international flights from its Arusha hub.
The open skies treaty signed in Addis last weekend would have offered a glimmer of hope for the region, but it failed to do so, as two of the region’s biggest aviation destinations — Tanzania and Uganda — failed to assent to the SAATM.
“They raised issues to do with competition within their markets and how this would curtail their dreams of a national airline.
“The two countries have in recent times been propping up their national airlines and changing policies to allow for the entry of bigger players to support their national airlines. They are still discussing these issues, which is why they haven’t signed up,” The EastAfrican was told.
Open skies treaty
The open skies treaty will see the continent’s big four carriers —Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, RwandAir and South African Airlines — enjoy unrestricted access and multiple destinations to any city of countries under the arrangement, as part of African Union’s move to improve connectivity and integrate African countries.
This initiative, it is expected, will fully liberalise air transport markets in Africa by offering lower fares, better connectivity and increase demand.
The head of the AU’s transport division David Kajange, who is among the single market architects, said that it was important for the continent’s aviation market to open up so as to reduce the cost of transport and spur investment.
“We want the fares to come down so that it becomes more affordable and easier to travel. We hope to register more than 25 per cent fall in fares as airlines increase frequencies and expand into new territories.
“This market liberalisation will also create a conducive environment for more airlines to come in,” said Mr Kajange.
Why flying within East Africa is cumbersome