Air Congo is the latest partner of Africa’s leading airline. The Congolese state holds 51% of the shares in the newcomer based in the capital Kinshasa, whose equity is valued at USD 40 million by the responsible regulator, and Ethiopian Airlines holds the remaining 49%. The much-applauded inaugural flight on the Kinshasa-Lubumbashi route recently took place in the presence of local dignitaries.
Mefin Biru, the former regional director of Ethiopian Airlines for France and the Maghreb states, was appointed as the company’s first chief executive officer. The Congolese startup has also leased two Boeing 738-800 from Ethiopian. Both aspects show who has the say there.
Can Air Congo and Congo Airways coexist?
In the initial phase, Air Congo intends to concentrate on consolidating its domestic network. In addition to the Kinshasa-Lubumbashi sector, cities with 17 and 2.4 million inhabitants, respectively, the Congolese airports of Kolwezi, Mbuji Mayi, Goma, Kisangani and Kalemi stand on the carrier’s route map.
Domestically, the new company is up against its competitor, Congo Airways. The latter is also majority state-owned and had to cease flight operations in September last year because it ran out of cash. However, thanks to new funding, a new start was made on 10NOV24 with leased aircraft from the Lithuanian wet-lease and charter airline Klas Air. In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo clarified that the two airlines can coexist by benefitting from rising passenger demand and 50 domestic airports they could serve.
The further development of Air Congo will depend on the support given by Ethiopian Airlines. The pair’s pact includes setting up a maintenance base at Kinshasa N’djili Airport for Boeing aircraft, a flight school and vocational activities for qualifying young talent.
First pan-African carrier
The approach resembles the integration of other regional African airlines into the Ethiopian Group, namely Malawi Airlines, Togolese Asky Airlines and Zambia Airways.
Thanks to its own network, which is intertwined with that of its affiliates, Ethiopian Airlines is well on its way to becoming the continent’s first pan-African airline, offering broad transcontinental connectivity through its partner’s gateways, Kinshasa, Lomé and Lusaka. This multi-hub strategy allows ET to span a dense transcontinental network and connect key hubs with markets in Europe, the Far East, the Middle East and the Americas. It will offer passengers and air freight customers an alternative, especially to the Gulf airlines, which are very active in the Sub Sahara markets. Although African politicians have long been calling for implementing a continental single sky solution, the scheme is still in its infancy. Hence, Ethiopian’s pan-African advance is an alternative, driven and coordinated by ET management in Addis Ababa.
More aircraft to come
As far as the fleet plans for Air Congo are concerned, Ethiopian wants to increase the number of B737s to a total of 8 units within the next four years. In addition, two Dreamliner B787s will connect Kinshasa with destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Angola and South Africa. Simultaneously, the Congolese government committed to beef up the infrastructure at key airports such as Kinshasa’s N’Djili International, Kolwezi and Mbuji Mayi. It also announced investing in aviation security to achieve international standards.
