JAN - FEB 2018 LUA 73.8 per cent per year through to 2035. Boeing forecasts that
African airlines will acquire about 100 freighters up to 2035,
mostly standard-body (up to 45 tonnes capacity), to tap fast-
growing intra-regional markets.
“European economic recovery, African economic
diversification into manufactured products, and resumption
of moderate growth in African perishables are assumed
in the baseline forecast for this air trade flow. A higher
level of growth is forecast for the Europe to Africa market,
reflecting the higher economic growth rates expected
for Africa. At 4.2 percent, the base growth rate forecast
reflects both African consumer buying power for goods
that arrive by air and increased investment in industries
that depend on air cargo for timecritical shipments. As the
manufacturing base in Africa continues to develop, the
diversity of inbound air cargo should increase and reduce
its vulnerability to swings in commodity prices,” the Boeing
World Air Cargo Forecast states.
ImpORtAnt mARkEtS And
InVEStmEntS
For the European Union, Belgium is an important
destination for several connections from Africa. In
particular, Brussels Airlines, known as an African specialist
in the passenger market as well as freight market, has
developed an African hub at Brussels Airport. Brussels
Airlines Cargo has developed, for example, a successful
‘Fresh to shelve’ service. This service allows African farmers
and breeders of agricultural products to send their fruits
and vegetables to Europe only a few hours after the harvest.
This allows products to be in the supermarkets within 24
hours after harvesting. Also for pharmaceutical shipments,
which are very sensitive to temperature changes, Brussels
Airlines Cargo has invested in solutions that can guarantee
optimal temperature control during transport.
The airline operates a fleet of six Airbus A330s daily to
Africa offering an average capacity per flight of 10 tonnes
to Africa and 12 tonnes out. It serves 17 sub-Saharan Africa
routes in 77 weekly frequencies. The airline estimates the
year 2017 to end with 15,000 tonnes to Africa, an increase
of nearly 25 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The strongest
lanes for the carrier are Cameroon, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Uganda – destinations
served daily, or six times a week.
There is increase in volumes but the increase in capacity
has over passed that of the volume, hence affecting the
load factor adversely. But we are optimistic that we are
developing the market further so that more and more
volumes of export shall be entertained. The increased load
factors will also be expected in 2018.
In a recent development, Air Atlanta Icelandic signed
a long-term ACMI deal to place a 747-400 freighter with
Network Airline Management (NAM) and Nairobi-based
Astral Aviation. The added capacity will help NAM expand
its perishables capacity for exports of flowers and vegetables
from Nairobi to the United Kingdom. On November 7,
2017, the freighter made its inaugural flight from London’s
Stansted Airport to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport. NAM said it expects to handle 33,000 tonnes per year of
perishables exports from East Africa to Europe. In addition, the nose-
loading capabilities of the freighter will offer options for shipments of
outsized oil, gas and mining equipment for West and East Africa.South Africa continues to be
the hub for the region, and on
most routes, it is more cost-
effective to send shipments via
Johannesburg, as we can often
get better rates than sending
directly to final destination.
pAUl lAWREnCE
tIgERS SA