Ethiopian Airline has disclosed interest to set up a new airline in Nigeria.
The prospective airline is in talks with the federal government, the private sector, and airline operators in Nigeria, and noted that the failure of Nigeria to own a carrier was a big threat to the airline industry in Africa which is capable of displacing indigenous carriers in the continent.
Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, disclosed these during a chat with some reporters Friday in Abuja.
He also revealed that the airline loses about three million dollars annually to its operation of Kano and Enugu routes because of low traffic.
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On why he was in Nigeria, Gebremariam said: “We have been discussing and exploring possibilities to establish or support a strong airline in Nigeria. I don’t mean that there is no strong airline in Nigeria, but we want an airline that can satisfy the demand of the domestic market, the regional market, and the international market.
“We are also in talks with Ghana government to establish Ghana Airways but the biggest market which is Nigeria has been a challenge to be honest with you. We are discussing at all levels. We are also discussing with private carriers and local carriers in Nigeria and the government but we are making it abundantly clear that we want to start a new one because starting from a clean slate or paper is advantageous because we won’t have any legacy or baggage to carry.
“There is a strong indication and interest from both sides and I am very hopeful that very soon, we will have a strong base to start with and from our track record, we have established Asky, Malawi, Mozambique and now Chad.
“We make sure that when we start something, we start professionally and make sure that it succeeds.”
On the impact of Nigeria not owning a carrier, he said: “Nigeria is a very large country but unfortunately, since the demise of Nigeria Airways, we are unfortunate that we don’t have a strong carrier. So, this concern is part of a continental concern because, in Africa, non-African carriers have the biggest shares. It is around 80-20 ratio. 80 percent of the traffic between Africa and the rest of the world is carried by non-African carriers.”
On its loss, he said: “It is not the most profitable but an important market. You know we fly to Lagos and Abuja daily, we have very good traffic but at the same time, we also fly to Kano and Enugu where we don’t make money.
“We lose money and those two stations lose around $3million per annum but overall, it is an important market for us,” he said.
Gebremariam said that Ethiopian Airline is the only international airline in Enugu, which makes it a very challenging route for them. “We fly three or four times a week and we are very happy that the route has been a very good connection for Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially in Europe and Africa.”
“It is a direct route for most of the Nigerian people in the US. We are also happy that it has been a very good bridge in trade link between Nigeria and Dubai, Bangkok, Asia, China, and other Asian countries but it is a challenging route,”’ he added.
According to him, the other challenging route for the airline is Kano. “As you know, it is highly seasonal and the weather condition is very challenging for airlines like ours but despite the challenges, we have maintained our flights even at the cost of incurring losses,” he said.
Commenting on Boeing Max 737, he said his airline had told Boeing that it would be the last to be recertified to ensure that the safety conditions were met.
“As you know, the Max has been a problematic airplane after having two fatal and tragic accidents. So, right now, recertification is going on. We don’t know when the recertification will be completed.”
