Johannesburg - African countries are grappling with skills shortages in aviation.
Boeing International Africa vice-president João Miguel Santos, speaking on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Johannesburg, said yesterday that Africa’s aviation regulatory authorities should consolidate along the existing regional economic communities in order to improve regulatory certainty and enhance administrative efficiency.
While African countries had their respective regulatory authorities, only six – South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco – could adequately staff their entities.
“Why can’t you have a regional aviation authority for the Southern African Development Community, Economic Community of West African States (and) East Africa Communities?” he said.
Santos, however, said he doubted if countries would be willing to take such a bold step. “I do not think there is a political will,” said Santos.
Joachim Vermooten, an independent transport economist, said yesterday that consolidating the continent’s aviation authorities according to regional economic communities was a sound idea, but could be difficult to implement.
“It is a good idea because of the scarce skill in this area. While it is possible, it may be difficult to implement this integration because countries like to exercise authority over their air spaces,” said Vermooten.
He said a public-private partnership model was best suited for such a move, “otherwise countries will feel that they are giving away their sovereignty”.
Meanwhile, the number of the new airplanes Africa that would need in the next two decades has increased from the previously-forecasted 1 170.
“That number has increased,” said Vermooten. He said Boeing would release the recent figures soon.
Boeing last year said the 1 170 airplanes would cost $160 billion (R2.37 trillion).
He said African airlines were taking delivery of Boeing’s new aircraft. The continent was no longer the dumping ground of ageing fleets, said Vermooten. “It used to be. Not anymore.”
He counted Comair/Kulula (South Africa), Royal Air Maroc (Morocco), Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopia), TAAG Angola (Angola) and Ceiba International (Equatorial Guinea).
Globally, airlines would need a total of 38 050 airplanes, valued at $5.6 trillion by 2034 – 70 percent of the airplanes would be the single-aisle type, Vermooten said.
Vermooten said the aircraft financing environment was “healthy”. Major sources of finance included commercial banks, export credit agencies, private equity and hedge funds, capital markets, airframe and engine manufacturers and leasing companies. “There is liquidity in the market,’ he said.
He said financing had improved substantially since 2009.
He said the leasing industry had grown over the years, with about 40 percent of global airplanes were leased, compared with 17 percent in 1970.
“Airlines across the world recognise the value of leasing,” he said. He said leasing provided a hedge in case of economic volatility.
“The rule of thumb is that 60 percent of the fleet is owned by the airline. The other 40 percent is leased.”
However, Russia had a substantially high percentage of leased aircraft, while an average 25 percent of aircraft in Africa were leased, he said.
Africa was an “emerging but challenging” market and its growth prospects rivalled Asia’s, Santos said, noting that by 2035, Africa would have a larger working-age population than China and India.
A growing middle class drove consumer demand, he said.
BUSINESS REPORT