Rwandair Does Well to Add Douala Route

Lack of quick air connections is one of the major reasons behind the slow expansion of intra-African trade.

As recent as 15 years ago, for many African destinations, you had to first connect through some European cities, depending on which airline you were using.

This was a hangover from the colonial times when all and everything started and ended in Brussels, London or Paris.

Today, the situation is much better. For example, getting to West Africa by air is not as hard as it used to be and recently Rwandair started scheduled flights to Douala, Cameroon's largest city located on the Atlantic coast.

The decision by Rwandair management makes sense. Douala is the busiest airport in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

Those who want to make inroads in this part of Africa can therefore exploit the business networks available in Douala.

The Rwandans are investing in a brand new international airport and have not hidden their intentions of making it the aviation hub of the Great Lakes Region.

Therefore in it's four-year business plan, Rwandair is laying out a route strategy that can mesh with this overall blueprint. Delivery of new planes in the coming months will no doubt add to Rwandair's capacity to fine-tune its services.

According to Rwandair CEO, John Mirenge, the Rwanda carrier opened the Douala route in order for business people to take advantage of the connectivity to tap into the regional economic potential.

To hammer home the point, the inaugural flight carried 50 Rwandan business people.

Aviation consultants keep saying African air travel is only a fraction of what it could be, even discounting the majority of people not being able to afford to fly.

Outdated aviation policies and rules that over regulate national airspace are preventing African airlines from spreading wings and this is coupled with high operating costs across the continent.

Elijah Chingosho, the Secretary General of the African Airlines Association was quoted in the Kenya media as saying that the growth of the aviation industry in Africa has been hampered by closed air policies and visa requirements.

He said 80% of airline traffic is composed of foreign carriers while African airlines account for only 20% of traffic to and from Africa. In other words, the non-African airlines are taking the bulk of the cash returns.

But there is some good news.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced latest data showing that African aviation has made significant progress in safety.

The Western-built jet hull loss rate improved 55.4% between 2013 and 2012, while the region's accident rate for all aircraft types improved nearly 50% (7.45 accidents per million flights from 14.80 in 2012).