Liberalising Sa Air Routes

1. Introduction In an article published on its website on 8 June 2013, entitled “Airlines in Africa Not quite ready for take-off”, the Economist reported that in a meeting held in Cape Town, “IATA, the international airlines’ group, opened its annual meeting with a call for African governments to liberalise air routes and cut their often onerous taxes on fuel and tickets, to make the most of air travel’s ability to boost growth. “Nowhere is the potential for aviation greater than on the African continent,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s chief.”1 As a company which is a relatively new low cost entrant in to the Southern African airline industry, we certainly support and welcome this call. The reality is as reported by Business Traveller – Africa, that the regions’ airlines are struggling to remain profitable against price discerning travellers and an oil price that seems intent on maintaining its upward trajectory. 2 Commenting in the same article, Chris Goater, spokesperson for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that the industry was “facing a potent mix of high oil prices and slow growth and that Africa in particular is a weak spot”3. In a presentation at the “Hotel Investment Conference – Africa” in 2012, Marc Cavaliere, the then head of global sales development & alliance at South Africa Airways commented that two of the multitude of the challenges faced by airlines in Africa were the restrictive access to highly regulated markets and airport and industry taxes. 4

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http://www.economist.com/news/business/21579026-fastjet-african-low-cost-carrier-struggles-establishitself-not-quite-ready-take
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http://www.businesstravellerafrica.co.za/archive/2012/june-2012-3/special-reports/african-airlines http://www.businesstravellerafrica.co.za/archive/2012/june-2012-3/special-reports/african-airlines

http://hica.co.za/2013/uploads/presentations/2012/Airlift%20and%20Air%20Access%20in%20sub%20Saharan %20Africa_Marc%20Cavalier_SAA.pdf

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