Aviation Business: Competition Stiffens Among Airliners

(Cameroon Tribune)A report by the civil aviation authority shows Turkish Airlines has taken Camair-Co’s place among top three airliners in Cameroon though both companies are improving service delivery.

A recent activity report on performance of commercial flights by airliners flying the skies of Cameroon shows a stiffening competition that has affected even the long time occupier of the number one spot, Air France.

The publication by the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority last week,

shows Air France which still occupies the first position, lost a chunk of its market share – it dropped from 21 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent in 2016. SN Brussels Airlines occupies the second position while Turkish Airlines took over Camair-Co’s position as third of the top three airliners in Cameroon.

Going by the report, Turkish Airlines which occupied the fifth position in 2014, barely one year after it launched operations in Cameroon (Jan 5, 2013), beat the national carrier because of a 26 per cent increase in its commercial flights in the country.

Its current schedule has four flights between Turkey and Cameroon every week while 26 of its destination to other African countries are via Yaounde and Douala. Turkish Airlines is king of Douala skies while competition is stiffer in the skies of Yaounde.

However, the fact that the Turkish Airliner which was ranked the best in Europe in 2011 and 2012 shook off Cameroon Airlines Corporation’s from the list of the top three, does not mean the latter performed poorly in recent years.

The corporation rather boasts of steady growth brought about by recent reforms. It prides itself of transporting 235,686 passengers in 2017 which is double the number of passengers transported in 2016.

This was thanks to two policies dubbed “Cameroon First” and “Cap sur le régional”. The company equally performed better after the reforms which resulted in the reduction of staff from 734 to 590, significantly increasing productivity. Camair-Co also witnessed an income increase of +187 per cent.

Among some 25 airliners in the continuous scramble for market shares in Cameroon’s civil aviation sector are Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Asky Airliner, Air Côte d’Ivoire, among others.

By MBOM Sixtus