Written by Felix Njini | From The Southern Times

The entrance of Gulf carriers in Africa’s air and cargo passenger industry is fuelling cutting edge competition, which could sink poorly run and loss-making state-owned airlines.

Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad are among new airlines, which are staking their claim in African skies, out-competing with the continent’s giants such as South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airways and budding ones like Air Namibia, only to mention a few.

As Gulf carriers prowl all over Africa’s aviation industry, European airlines, whose presence have been unrivalled on the continent over the past decades, are also increasing their capacity, Wimpy van Vuuren, Air Namibia Senior Manager: Sales and Marketing, told journalists a week ago.

Air France launched Freetown, Monrovia, Bata and Cape Town routes this year while KLM started flying into Kigali and Luanda bringing its destinations to 38. Lufthansa has increased its destinations, including its European conduits to 39, while British Airways, “sees organic growth opportunities” in Africa.

The scramble for African skies poses a headache for Ethiopian, Kenyan and South African Airways, the continent’s most prominent brands.

“All three are building intra-African connections. They are also linking Africa with the world, but competition from larger, better capitalized foreign competitors is tough,” Van Vuuren said.

The rapid pace at which Gulf carriers, which until slightly more than a decade ago were small airline businesses, are stamping their presence on the continent, means they are ‘are committed to dominate and to make their mark’, he said.

Gulf airlines have been able to muscle into the highly competitive global aviation industry owing to their ability to borrow cheaply on international markets and government backing. The push to dominate is not only restricted to emerging markets such as Africa but there have been concerted efforts to take a slice of the market from legacy airlines even in Europe.

Read more at The Southern Times