Who are the Airlines in East Africa

[LimpopoHippo]

From the River bank......

I have been out of the region for about 10yrs now and planning to return in 2006.

Who are the major airline players now for the east african region?

Thanks

[Skylion]

Just two,- Kenya Airways and Ethiopian. Both have good quality, modern fleets, excellent punctuality, extensive networks throughout sub saharan Africa and to Europe and Far East and high service standards. Addis Airport's new terminal makes an excellent hub while Nairobi's facilities ( and passenger information display systems) need substantial upgrading. Work is due to begin on this shortly and will take up to 2 years.
Frequencies between city pairs have improved substantially over the past 5 years or so, but even between Nairobi and Lagos bilateral constraints , which are meant to have been swept away , limit KQ to 5 x weekly, with no reciprocal service yet by a Nigerian carrier. Protectionism still gets in the way and inhibits growth and a number of potential sectors and frequencies are flown by foreign carriers but "blinded"-ie lack local traffic rights.
SAA appear to have had serious difficulties in making their investment in Air Tanzania work and Uganda , despite its excellent geographical position still lacks a substantial passenger carrier. Air Malawi continues to go nowhere and is too small on its own while Air Zim suffers from being where it is and Zambia has never had a successful substantial replacement for the defunct Zambia Airways. Regional mergers are essential to make the smaller carriers viable, but political rivalries are roadblocks.

[LimpopoHippo]

Thanks Skylion.....the mess that the industry is currently in doe'snt shock me one bit. I wonder do you know whether there any small carriers in the region that are viable?

[Skylion]

There are a number of small carriers primarily in the safari business, flying Caravans, Lets, Twin Otters etc. Kenya's best are probably Safarilink and Air Kenya, both based at Nairobi Wilson. Tanzania has Precisionair, controlled by Kenya Airways and Regional Air in Arusha, an offshoot of Air Kenya.
There are gaps throughout East and Central Africa for a good quality turboprop operator providing daily services on domestics and regional cross border routes, but currently this end of the business is very fragmented. Again the logical answer is regional carriers covering more than one country. Kenya Airways does much of what East African used to do, but Zim, Zam and Malawi are crying out for a new Central African Airways.