Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
- Says airline loses $3million annually to Enugu, Kano
ETHIOPIAN Airline has revealed that it plans to explore the possibilities of establishing or supporting a strong airline in Nigeria noting that the failure of Nigeria to own a carrier was a big threat to the airline industry in Africa which is capable of displacing indigenous carriers in the continent.
This is just as the the airline has admitted that it loses about $3million annually to its operation of Kano and Enugu route because of low traffic
Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive officer, Tewolde Gebremariam, disclosed these during a chat with some reporters in Abuja on his mission to strengthening the carrier’s reach in the country.
Gebremariam said: “We have been discussing and exploring possibilities to establish or support a strong airline in Nigeria.
“I don’t mean that there is no strong airline in Nigeria, but we want an airline that can satisfy the demand of the domestic market, the regional market and international market.
“We are also in talks with Ghana government to establish Ghana Airways but the biggest market which is Nigeria has been a challenge to be honest with you.
“We are discussing at all levels. We are also discussing with private carriers, local carriers in Nigeria and the government but we are making it abundantly clear that we want to start a new one because starting from a clean slate or paper is advantageous because we won’t have any legacy or baggage to carry.
“There is a strong indication and interest from both sides and I am very hopeful that very soon, we will have a strong base to start with and from our track record; we have established Asky, Malawi, Mozambique and now Chad.
“We make sure that when we start something, we start professionally and make sure that it succeeds.”
On the impact of Nigeria not owning a carrier, he said: “Nigeria is a very large country but unfortunately, since the demise of Nigeria Airways, we are unfortunate that we don’t have a strong carrier.
“So, this concern is part of continental concern because in Africa, non-African carriers have the biggest shares.
“It is around 80-20 ratio. 80 percent of the traffic between Africa and the rest of the world is carried by non-African carriers
On its loss, he said: “It is not the most profitable but an important market. You know we fly to Lagos and Abuja daily, we have very good traffic but at the same time we also fly to Kano and Enugu where we don’t make money.
“We lose money and those two stations lose around $3million per annum but overall, it is an important market for us.
“As you know in Enugu, we are the only international airline, so it is a very challenging route for us. We fly three or four times a week and we are very happy that the route has been a very good connection for Nigerians in diaspora especially in Europe and Africa.
“It is a direct route for most of the Nigerian people in the US. We are also happy that it has been a very good bridge in trade link between Nigeria and Dubai, Bangkok, Asia, China and other Asian countries but it is a challenging route.
“The other challenging route for us is Kano. As you know, it is highly seasonal and the weather condition is very challenging for airlines like ours but despite the challenges, we have maintained our flights even at the cost of incurring losses.”
