By David Mageria
Nairobi - Long viewed as the most dangerous place to fly, Africa is pushing hard to clean up its image and some well-managed airlines are taking advantage of new opportunities to turn in impressive profits.
Africa has the highest rate of aircraft accidents in the world despite the fact that it accounts for just 4,5 percent of global traffic. It recorded 30 percent of all air transport accidents between 1996 and last year.
Africans say a decision by the European Union to blacklist airlines from operating in the 25-nation bloc has only worsened the continent's image and handed European travellers a reason to give African carriers a wide berth.
This has prompted governments to introduce stiffer safety rules and ban ageing aircrafts, bringing some positive results.
A review of aircraft accidents up to August this year, show that there were 31 accidents globally with just six in Africa.
"Although the year has not come to an end, this low accident rate is encouraging," said Christian Folly-Kossi, the secretary general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
"I don't want to jubilate too early. We still cross our fingers, but the trend is very positive."
Africa's bad safety reputation has been caused by small unscheduled carriers flying old Soviet-made planes dangerously overloaded with passengers and cargo.
The crashes have been concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya. Although those five countries account for 62 percent of all air accidents in Africa, travellers view African skies as generally dangerous.
"We actually took the initiative to draw their attention to the harm caused to the whole industry by their weakness," Nairobi-based Folly-Kossi said. Nigeria plans to ground about 300 aircraft while Angola has started to replace its old fleet.
But new aircraft are likely to have little impact if African airlines continue to experience frequent flight delays, are slow to embrace e-ticketing, operate in congested airports and have ill-equipped civil aviation authorities.
Experts say Africa's aviation industry, led by a few profitable airlines, is investing heavily to deliver better services and improve safety before an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The airlines have also acquired modern and efficient fleets to lower costs while aggressively expanding their network.
Flag carriers South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Egypt Air and Air Mauritius are recording significant profits driven by booming economies, strong tourism and robust trade deals.
Experts say the potential for growth in Africa is supported by the ease with which Africans now acquire passports, the need to import goods and fewer foreign exchange restrictions.
"The manufacturing sector in Africa has collapsed, but the need is there, so you get into the aeroplane and you directly import merchandise to sell," said Titus Naikuni, the managing director of Kenya Airways.
The airline has especially benefited from its direct flights to Asia, opening new markets to travellers and traders.
Other airlines are making money by taking over business left after the collapse of national airlines.
In West Africa, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) took a 51 percent stake in Air Senegal in 2001 and since then has succeeded in transforming it into one of the region's leading airlines, opening new routes to Europe and West Africa.
RAM is seeking to repeat the success elsewhere, taking a majority 51 percent stake in Gabon's bankrupt carrier Air Gabon.
In Nigeria, a successor to the defunct national airline, Virgin Nigeria is 49 percent owned by Britain's Virgin Group and 51 percent by Nigerian investors seeking to emulate the slick, youthful image of other Virgin Group airlines.
But failure by African governments to grant permission to some African airlines to fly their skies has impeded growth.
"We would like to fly to more destinations in Africa, especially Central Africa, but we are not licensed to do so," said Jacqui O'Sullivan, the head of corporate communications for Africa's leading airline South African Airways.
- Additional reporting by Zoe Eisenstein in Luanda, Helen Nyambura-Mwaura in Nairobi, MacDonald Dzirutwe in Harare, Diadie Ba in Dakar, Estelle Shirbon in Abuja and Tom Pfeiffer in Rabat.