Speaking at the African Aviation Summit - Air Finance Africa 2023 in Sandton on May 11, Airlink CEO Rodger Foster looked back on the airline’s COVID experience.
“The measure of success is that we’re here,” said Foster, pointing out that Airlink did not lose a single member of staff during the pandemic and that the airline now is profitable. With the largest Embraer fleet in Africa, the carrier is building its assets. “We’re on a mission to take second-generation leased aircraft onto our balance sheet.”
According to Foster, the post-Covid airline industry was about bringing capacity back into the game. “The supply-demand ratio is better than pre-Covid. Players now eke out sustainability better.”
Airlink remains extra-cautious about over-capacity. Foster foresees that market demand will plateau, and that the situation could reach a pre-Covid-level tipping point.
An important asset for airlines was cash. “With unmanageable debt, it’s game over - you need financial liquidity,” observed Foster.
Regional rights
Airlink has an arsenal of regional traffic rights, said Foster, but he wasn’t sure when it would start operating all of these through codes, as it was such a time-consuming process to achieve.
The airline’s new Kenyan route had been on the agenda for a long time before it became operational. Foster said the brand still needs to earn the trust of that market, but that corporates were already supporting the flights.
He said although Zimbabwe was encouraging external airline operators, there had been no change in the bilateral air services agreement, with barriers to entry remaining.
“The liberalisation process has been very slow. Agreements have to be amended,” said Foster, adding that Airlink would like to step up its Harare flights from five to seven a day.
Looking at Namibia, Foster said its domestic market was underserved, as the national carrier Air Namibia had ceased operations. In this light, Airlink had invested both capital and skills in the independent FlyNamibia, in which it now holds a 40% stake. “Once FlyNamibia complies with IOSA safety standards (IOSA is a safety and governance audit performed by Iata), it can use our code,” he said.
Foster said Airlink's aim is to turn FlyNamibia into an Airlink franchise, which he says is a repeatable exercise throughout the region.
