An
African airline as good as Ethiopian Airline would be hard to find. The way I
see it, I will fly on Ethiopian Airline
again. In Africa, airline companies have bad reputation. So, it is a good thing
that Ethiopian Airline is a visible success in a sector more notable for its
failures in the continent.
I usually avoid African
airlines each time I want to travel by
air. My recent trip to Nigeria last Christmas, however, changed my mind. Before
my trip, I promised myself that I must avoid going through Lagos, Nigeria’s
largest city. Anybody who have travelled through Lagos knows what a bitter
experience it could be. I still haven’t forgotten the day a cab drove me through Apapa-Oshodi
Expressway,1 one of the highways in Lagos. What I saw that day was
indeed an apocalyptic scene. I saw six lanes of buses, sedans, fuel tankers,
and motorized tri-cycles popularly known
as “keke”2 in Nigeria, wedged bumper-to-bumper in both directions.
While my can got stuck in the traffic, curses and horn blasts pierced the
diesel and petrol exhaust-choked air. I constantly heard screeching brakes as
vehicles inched forward. In the backseat where I was, I was so uncomfortable
that I found it hard to relax. It wasn’t an experience I would like to repeat.
It was because of these
issues that I decided to avoid going through Lagos at all cost. The best option
for me, I thought, was to fly directly to Enugu,3 a ‘sleepy’ city located in Southeastern Nigeria. My plan
was to stay briefly at Enugu before driving down to my village to celebrate the
Christmas. But the problem became finding an airline that has a direct flight
to Enugu International Airport. One of my students told me about Ethiopian
Airline. She said she used it recently and that it was a good airline. For
someone who likes sure things, I decided that a little research is worth it.
What I found out, and my experience after using the airline, was very
interesting.
Add
and subtract
An African airline as
good as Ethiopian Airline would be hard to find. As Africa’s most profitable
and largest airline, Ethiopian Airline enjoys earnings that is more than its
rivals combined. Its expansion was also rapid. It served 82 international
destinations by 2015, with 13 more added in 2016. It nearly doubled its profits
in the last financial year, and was able to do this despite the country’s
national turmoil(see figure 1). Generally speaking, the airline enjoys one
unique advantage: its regional rivals are competing only feebly on routes in
Africa. According to the available published evidence, African airlines collectively recorded a net loss of about $500
Figure 1: Ethiopian
Airline – Profit and Passenger Data
|
Year
|
Passenger
(Millions)
|
Net Profit
($ Million)
|
|
2010
|
3
|
110
|
|
2011
|
3.5
|
77
|
|
2012
|
4.5
|
56
|
|
2013
|
5.1
|
145
|
|
2014
|
6.0
|
161
|
|
2015
|
6.3
|
208
|
Source:
The Economist, 2016
One good example is Kenyan Airways. This
airline had been in red for four years in a row. It is flogging some of its
aircrafts and it announced last September that it was talking to foreign institutional investors about raising more
equity. South Africa’s national carrier has been unprofitable since 2011. This
airline, which was overtaken by Ethiopian Airlines in terms of size, could
obviously be insolvent without government guarantees.5 Arik Airline,
Nigeria’s largest airline, almost collapsed last year due to heavy financial
debt burden, inability to pay staff regularly, weak corporate governance,
operational difficulties and overall poor management.6
It is worth bearing in mind
that the airline’s success did not happen by chance. It resulted from good
management: the airline took advantage of its strategic location in the Horn of
Africa. While its rivals were fixated on the former colonial routes to and from
Europe, the airline took a more giant stride. It captured Asian traffic and, in
addition to European and US market, its routes also connects China with Brazil
via India and the Gulf. Its management were smart enough to take an early punt
on Chinese demand. It was the first African airline to fly to China by 1973.
The Chinese market is a good source of revenue for the airline, as could be
seen from its bustling Chinese counter at Addis Ababa’s Bole airport. The
airline also manages its African routes well: it schedules more flights to
places like the country’s booming oil port of Point Noire and less flights to
small African capitals like Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, which offers
little business.7
The cost of running
Ethiopian Airlines is indeed low, probably because it is owned by the state.
The airline, however, behaves like an international firm, and not like a
national carrier. This means that it takes no subsidies from the national
government. Its management is also independent,
even though only a few people will doubt that its senior executives has ties to
the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front. There is a high
possibility that the airline will soon become the continent’s first pan-African
airline. Naturally, it is not surprising that it is opening more centers in Malawi and Togo.8 It is also
teaming up with smaller rival airlines in the region. But the airline
management understands that maintaining their lead in the region will not be
easy. This is because it has strong rivals in the Middle East, particularly the
Qatar Airways. These Middle East rivals also has large footprints in Africa,
and are expanding their operations in the continent. Ethiopian Airline also
faces other problems, such as poor infrastructure. Last year, the country started
a new four-runway airport outside Addis Ababa. While this new airport may
improve matters for the airline, no one really know when it will be opened for
business.9 Another problem
has to do with the political instability in the neighboring country, which may
affect the airline’s sales revenue. It should be noted here that Ethiopian
Airlines was founded in the 1945. But it started full operation after 1991, a
period that marked the end of the country’s civil war. If the experience of the
past two decades teaches us anything about Africa, it is that Ethiopian Airline
could take a hit if the country become
mired in political instability. I pray that it will not be in that situation.
Pass
the salt, please
The first problem I had with Ethiopian Airline had
nothing to do with the airline per se. On the contrary, it had everything to do
with the country’s international airport at Addis Ababa. The airport is
antiquated. It doesn’t have good facilities for old people and for people with
disabilities. I surprisingly watched when an elderly woman who, I believe had
mobility problem, was literally carried
up the escalator by the airline attendants. The transfer at the airport was
also not a good experience: my connecting flight to Nigeria was delayed with
not information and we had to wait for almost two hours before it arrived. The
waiting area was so crowded that I was lucky to find a seat. Another bad thing
I observed during the flight had to do with the air hostesses. In my view, they
need more ‘customer service’ training. During the flight, I saw several passengers request assistance by
pressing the button on their seats. Only a few of them were attended to. It
appears that the air hostesses prefer to
assist the customers only during those
times scheduled to serve meals and drinks.
That aside, my overall
assessment of the airline can be stated in three words: It was good! I mean,
the food they served was good. They served salmon and rice! They were also generous with their food: I
lost count of how many times we ate during the flight. But I can tell you this:
by the time we reached Enugu, I was so full I could hardly walk. They even
served wine, on request, during the flight.
The airline is affordable too: even though I travelled during the
Christmas season when other airlines were hiking their fares, I paid only
$1,700 for a round trip to Nigeria. The way I see it, I will probably fly on
Ethiopian Airline again. The bottom line: In Africa, airline companies have bad
reputation. So, it is a good thing that Ethiopian Airline is a visible success
in a sector more notable for its failures in the continent.
References
1Akoni, O. (2016, May 16). Deplorable Apapa-Oshodi Expressway:
Lagos Agencies Footdrag, Despite Ambode’s Order. Vanguard. Retrieved
March 1, 2017 from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/deplorable-apapa-oshodi-expressway-lagos-agencies-footdrag-despite-ambodes-order/
2Ban on okada, keke will
affect Nigeria’s economy – Amaechi. (2017, March 1). Nigerian Eye.
Retrieved March 1, 2017 from
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2017/02/ban-on-okada-keke-will-affect-nigerias.html
3(2017, March 1).
Retrieved from Enugu State Government. Retrieved March 1, 2017 from http://enugustate.gov.ng/index.php/elements-devices/
4Industry Profitability
Improves. (2017). International Air Transport Association , pp.
Retrieved March 2, 2017 from
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2016-06-02-02.aspx
5African Airlines: Well-Connected. (2016, October 22). The
Economist, p. 58.
6Udo, B. (2017, February
9). UPDATE: Nigerian Govt. Takes Over Distressed Arik Airlines, Appoints New Management.
Premium Times, pp. Retrieved March 2, 2017 from
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/223041-update-nigerian-govt-takes-over-distressed-arik-airline-gives-lifeline.html
7African Airlines: Well-Connected, op. cit., p. 59
8Ethiopian:
History. (2017). Retrieved from Ethiopian
Airline: Retrieved March 3, 2017 from https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/company/about-us/history
9African Airlines: Well-Connected, op. cit., p. 59
