Qatar Airways staging a stiff competition against Ethiopian in Africa
With a new airport venture and stakes in numerous airlines on the African continent, Qatar Airways appears to be staging a competition against Ethiopian Airlines and other indigenous carriers.
The Middle Eastern carrier hopes to boost its presence and profitability in the region in the near future and is already making deliberate inroads.
TW gathered that the airline recently signed an agreement to take a majority stake in a new airport in Rwanda, and has, also, expressed interest in two African carriers: RwandAir and Royal Air Maroc.
If it goes ahead with these airline ventures in addition to the airport stake, Qatar Airways will be putting itself in direct competition with airlines that already operate on the continent, particularly Ethiopian Airlines.
This is because Ethiopian Airlines has a larger network on the continent, serving 61 cities than any other carrier on the continent.
It will be tough for Qatar Airways to match up, but it does seem that the continent is the next destination worth investing in at all costs, but why?
On the 5th February 2020, at the CAPA Qatar Aviation conference, Qatar Airways spoke of the opportunity it would gain from investment in Africa.
According to Bloomberg, the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, said: “…we see that Africa is another region that has huge growth potential.”
Clearly, Africa will be a goldmine for Qatar Airways, considering its economic status on a global scale and the already established stability of the airline in the Middle East.
But what prospects does it have in Africa?
The airline is hampered by an airspace ban which makes flying to Africa problematic.
TW gathered that in June 2017, a blockade was placed by four Middle Eastern countries preventing Qatar Airways from operating within their airspace.
The Qatari air carrier is prohibited from flying over Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt in the interest of national security in those countries.
At the time, this sent a shockwave through the country which had previously believed the neighboring countries to be friends.
Despite this, the CEO of Qatar Airways believes that the exclusion has helped the airline develop resistance and strength.
That said, the new ventures will create additional routes in the future; a RwandAir or Royal Air Maroc stake will make navigating the blockade a little bit easier.
Operating within Africa would then become a lot easier for Qatar Airways, paving way for the airline to effectively compete against Ethiopian Airlines.
And what is more is that with the investment in Rwanda’s Bugesara International Airport, Qatar Airways will have more jurisdiction about how its operations work in Africa.
But it also appears Ethiopian Airlines is not without a game plan as it holds a vested interest in African routes.
Unlike Qatar Airways or RwandAir, Ethiopian Airlines already has a robust African offering and does not have any of the airspace restrictions that Qatar Airways have.
In addition, the airline (Ethiopian) is building a $5 billion airport with 80 million passenger capacity in Addis Ababa.
The airline is also pursuing an expansion drive targeting a total spread across the African continent.
This could present a threat for Qatar Airways which might be a few steps behind the mark when it comes to African expansion.
However, while Ethiopian Airlines seems to have the edge over the Qatari airline, that’s not to say that all of its hopes are in vain. In fact, it has a lot going for it.
First, Qatar Airways already owns a more extensive route network in comparison to Ethiopian with 54 additional services.
That already allows it the benefit of serving passengers arriving at and transiting through Africa.
Second, the geographical location might have some bearing on the success of Qatar Airways’ African venture.
If it takes a stake in RwandAir, it will be in a good position to serve countries within Africa.
However, since the country is located in the center of Africa, expanding to international destinations might be more problematic.
But then, if Qatar Airways secures stakes in both RwandAir and Royal Air Maroc, it will have covered its bases since Morrocco is on the upper west side of Africa.
Whilst not quite in the middle, the two airlines would allow Qatar Airways better flexibility with its route network.
However, Ethiopian Airways in on a trajectory of rapid growth which will see it outgrow its current airport base and diversify its network.
Ethiopia is also well located, similar to the Middle East, in the center of the globe, which makes it more competitive for both the Middle Eastern airline and the already crowned African air giant.
