PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
African airlines commit to reduce costs by switching to e-commerce solutions
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Global aviation leaders on Tuesday agreed to implement a very "heavy cost-cutting programme" through the adoption of e-commerce solutions and generate more passenger revenue by 2025.
The global aviation leaders including Chief Executives Officers (CEO) of different international and African Airlines have gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, for the 49th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
The latest report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that while air travel in Africa has been accelerating, with significant growth in recent years, one of the main challenges in most cases is that equity owners have not been rewarded adequately for risking their capital in most years.
This is because the trend in returns for these investors is being driven by changes in structure and behaviour, it said.
Speaking on sideline of the four-day meeting in Kigali, the Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the Eastern and Southern African region (ESAF), Barry Kashambo, stressed that African airlines must consider to adopt innovative approaches in a move to reduce their cost base as they face growing competition at their home market.
This is because by establishing an e-commerce hub encompassing all logistics using digital channels, African airlines could generate more revenue at every step of a traveller's journey, it said.
In addition, the aviation leaders also emphasised the need to address some airlines' inability to fully repatriate funds that are allocated during their operations.
"It would be not be realistic to expect airlines to invest and operate in nations where they cannot efficiently collect payment for their services," said Pierre Louis Chouette, the Regional Head Airline Sales and Account Management at Amadeus, a global airline systems service provider.
According to IATA estimates, of the top five countries blocking the repatriation of airline funds, the majority are located in Africa - Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt and Angola.
At the meeting in Kigali, golobal aviation leaders also noted that the adoption of e-commerce in African airline industry should be implemented along with the continuing investment in modern and efficient infrastructure to accommodate future traffic growth.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 14Nov2017
The global aviation leaders including Chief Executives Officers (CEO) of different international and African Airlines have gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, for the 49th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
The latest report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that while air travel in Africa has been accelerating, with significant growth in recent years, one of the main challenges in most cases is that equity owners have not been rewarded adequately for risking their capital in most years.
This is because the trend in returns for these investors is being driven by changes in structure and behaviour, it said.
Speaking on sideline of the four-day meeting in Kigali, the Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the Eastern and Southern African region (ESAF), Barry Kashambo, stressed that African airlines must consider to adopt innovative approaches in a move to reduce their cost base as they face growing competition at their home market.
This is because by establishing an e-commerce hub encompassing all logistics using digital channels, African airlines could generate more revenue at every step of a traveller's journey, it said.
In addition, the aviation leaders also emphasised the need to address some airlines' inability to fully repatriate funds that are allocated during their operations.
"It would be not be realistic to expect airlines to invest and operate in nations where they cannot efficiently collect payment for their services," said Pierre Louis Chouette, the Regional Head Airline Sales and Account Management at Amadeus, a global airline systems service provider.
According to IATA estimates, of the top five countries blocking the repatriation of airline funds, the majority are located in Africa - Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt and Angola.
At the meeting in Kigali, golobal aviation leaders also noted that the adoption of e-commerce in African airline industry should be implemented along with the continuing investment in modern and efficient infrastructure to accommodate future traffic growth.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 14Nov2017
