Some start-up airlines in Africa look promising
Avaido Partners Managing Director Shakeel Adam was interviewed by Runway Girls' Maryann Simson. Here are some of the thoughts Shakeel shared. Click here for Maryann's full article.
In our experience, most airline start-ups fail for the simple reason that entrepreneurs underestimate the complexity of this business. Very few start-up projects actually come from a proper understanding of a gap in the market.
Goldstar Airlines Ghana plans services from Ghana to Europe, the Americas and China. In our opinion, Ghana represents significant opportunities for air traffic growth and is a market to watch. There have been numerous start-up attempts in the market in recent years, but none has taken a strong foothold.
In the east, Kenya Airways has launched a no frills (LCC) subsidiary JamboJet as an arms length business with experienced executives. In our opinion, this airline is well timed to expand the market in the fast growing price sensitive segment. If KQ can keep the disciplined separation and allow Jambojet to operate independantly, we believe this airline could become a very strong pillar on the continent.
