The African Airlines...

[TAAG]

It has been argued that African governments is going to privatise most of their national flag carriers in coming decades (2010 and beyong).

These airlines were "proudly" established by first African national governments immediatelly following their national independencies from former European colonial masters between 1950s and 1990s.

However, such airlines have encountered many market-based challenges and problems which are due the institutionalization of market economy in most African countries.

Thus, the Socialism concept that a bankrupt State-owned could be immediately revitalised by the State (through investing more and more even without having economic gains, so dispersing lot's of public funds necessary to other primary development sectors (peace (for Africa), health, education, food security, etc)), was not functionning well as before (1950s).

Even last-standing socialist countries on the continent, like Libya Arab Jamahiriya, have now moved to a liberal market. The 1st Africa's economic power, South Africa, is also pondering privatising South African Airways (SAA), particularly following its last business report that found just losses in their overall business ever seen... Hard (informal/non-public) discussions are so underway within ruling party that holds majority in both Gov. and Par.. Partial conclusion there: South Africa is an economic giant in Africa and in the South and therfore needs an all State-owned flag carrier. The grand issue: how to ensure this concept and how to make SAA profitable. This concept is also followed by Governments of Kingdom of Morocco (Royal Air Maroc) and Angola (TAAG-Angola Airlines) as emergent economic powers on the continent.

Another important issue here, is the way for which most African airlines are being privatised so far. Most of them are being held by other powerful Africa's national flag airlines, such as Royal Air Maroc (Air Gabon Intl, Air Senegal Intl, Air Mauritanie, etc), Ethiopian Airlines (Ghana Intl Airlines?), TAAG-Angola Airlines (Cape Verdian Airlines, Guine-Bissau Airlines Intl, Sao Tome and Principe (STP) Airways? and even SAA (Air Botswana, LAM-Mozambique?. Are these airlines well preparated either internally (business administration) or externally (market) to lead and invest into other sister airlines on the continent?

AIRCONSULT-Angola is in conclusion that Africa is going to liberalise its commercial aviation market as faster as anymore region in the world due market pressures. Also, the current privatisation process, either totally or partially, has been assumed by sister African airlines in better administration and market conditions, so realising that the investment is going to be intra-Africa, and not extra-Africa (foreign) investors.

AIRCONSULT-Angola kindly asks you, experienced flyer, consultant, worker in African aviation, your comments and other kind of reactions.

Thanks