Spirit AeroSystems signs spare parts agreement with Ethiopian Airlines
11th October 2012
Former secretary general of the Africa Airline Association (AFRAA) and chief executive officer of African Aviation Services Limited (AAS), Nick Fadugba, during a speech at the recent Airport Council International (ACI) conference said that African airlines needed to embrace mergers and acquisitions to enhance their chances of survival.
Fadugba, when delivering a paper entitled, “Challenges and Opportunities Facing African Airlines” at the conference, said: “To benefit from economies of scale and enhance their chances of survival, African airlines have to come together and work together through code-shares, win-win joint ventures mergers and acquisitions so as to form stronger carriers that can grow and prosper”.
Citing numerous recent M&A examples in Europe and the US, Fadugba said airline consolidation is a global reality, which Africa must face up to now or suffer the consequences. If they do not, he warned, more carriers will fail in the next five years.
“I humbly submit to you that without a strong, viable and profitable Africa aviation industry that facilitates business, trade, tourism and social interaction on the African continent and beyond, it will be difficult to create wealth, eradicate poverty and promote sustainable economic development in Africa,” he said.