Airlines aim to upgrade flights

By Li Lianxing in Nairobi (China Daily) Updated: 2014-03-10 07:09

A Boeing 777-300ER at a Nairobi airport, which was used in Kenya Airways' maiden nonstop flight to Guangzhou on Nov 18. Meng Chenguang / Xinhua

According to Chingosho, the Africa-China aviation market will be one of the fastest intercontinental air travel growth markets in the long term. It is also the reason why several African carriers are looking to expand their presence in China, he says.

"African carriers such as Air Algerie SpA, Air Mauritius Ltd, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways Ltd, TAAG Angola Airlines and South African Airways are all planning more flights to China," he says, adding that Chinese carriers will follow suit soon.

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Chingosho says that Hainan Airlines Co Ltd's decision to start direct flights between Beijing and Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, was a breakthrough for the aviation sector from both sides.

The Chinese airline recently announced that it plans to start a service in August that will fly between Beijing, Mumbai and Nairobi three times a week.

According to the African Airlines Association, many African airlines have become more active in the China-Africa aviation sector. Many may have added capacity and more flights to China this year based on the growing sales, it says.

Ethiopian Airlines was the first African carrier and the fourth in the world to fly to China. Since its first flight some 40 years ago in the 1970s, China has become a key destination for the African carrier.

It now operates nonstop daily flights from Addis Ababa to Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Hong Kong. It plans to start flights to Shanghai from next month.

"We have grown considerably from one weekly flight to China more than 40 years ago to more than 28 weekly flights and provide seamless connections across Africa," says Tewolde Gebremariam, chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group.

"Our network in China has been growing steadily along with the growth in trade, investment and tourism between China and Africa," he says.

"The direct flights from Shanghai to Africa along with the existing connections will help promote increased mobility of people and goods between the two sides."