FEATURES

For much of society, free Wi-Fi has evolved into something of a right, and the trend at airports is to treat it as an amenity no different from water fountains, trams and Muzak. Nigeria is still far or yet to embrace technology that could close the gap on the unfriendliness of her airports, writes WOLE SHADARE Competitive advantage The commercialisation and privatisation of airports in combination with the deregulation of the aviation market have introduced…

Airline sector in Africa continues to struggle, with most of them in the red, even as startups and most existing airlines will struggle to overcome the obstacles that have repeatedly prevented most airlines on the continent from succeeding. WOLE SHADARE writes Wrong step Many years ago, African airlines dominated the skies of Africa. Gross mismanagement and corruption saw to the end of promising airlines like Nigeria Airways, Ghana Airways, Air Afrique and others that connected…

The Federal Government disclosed how far it has gone with its proposed national airline. How long more can Nigerians wait? How desirable is a national airline to Nigeria? Could it just be for national pride sake or pure business venture? Time shall tell exactly when the much awaited airline is going to birth. Could it be a stillborn or one that will actually be born? , writes, WOLE SHADARE So long, too long The project is…

Airline owners and stakeholders have realised that interlining/ code sharing could be profitable as airlines, in most parts of the world, are seeing cooperation as the way to go in order to remain relevant in the highly dynamic aviation industry. They have identified what consumers want and the challenges consumers face, which form the imperative for interlining and codeshare, writes WOLE SHADARE Nigerian airlines no longer beautiful brides It was not as if the disclosure…

Experts are of the opinion that African ‘Open Skies’ could be the solution to many issues confronting airlines in the region. At the core of this is a lack of suitable gradual implementation framework to harmonise differences between airlines and provide a level playing field for the future, writes WOLE SHADARE Overview Although it is still going at snail speed, not a few believe that the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market…

Many start-ups are emerging from the COVID-19 crisis. There is an old gag within the industry, that says: “How to become a millionaire in aviation? Start as a billionaire!” If that is the situation, how come, many rich people are still interested in a sector that can quickly pauparise them? What is the attraction with the way airlines are springing up, even in COVID-19 era? WOLE SHADARE examines the development Start-ups in difficult times Many…

While European, American skies are busy, African skies are empty occasioned by poor connectivity among nations in the continent. WOLE SHADARE highlights the consequences of this to a continent that is rich in potentials but oblivious of how to harness Potentials Africa makes up 12% of the world’s population but only 2.5% of the world’s passengers. So why is there such a gap? The continent has 731 airports and 419 airlines with an aviation industry that supports…

Dwindling fortune, high cost of maintenance to blame  ‘Anti-corruption war scares owners   In 2014, Nigerians were said to have spent $6.5 billion on private jets, making the country the largest market in Africa for luxury aircraft and one of the fastest growing in the world at that time. Nigeria was only competing with South Africa on the continent. But since 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari came to office, the numbers have dwindled, with many…

For aviation, COVID-19 has clearly delivered the largest exogenous shock the sector has ever faced. The financial and performance metrics are startling. The Nigerian aviation is showing recovery, albeit very slow. The Q1’21 shows signs of recovery of a sector badly hit by a scourge. WOLE SHADARE writes   Slow recovery path Domestic air connectivity in Nigeria, which is still decimated by the on-going COVID-19 is slowly recovering, giving more hope of survival for the…