CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

Table 10: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in Ethiopia’s Air Transport
Services Sector
Strengths
• Relatively low labour costs
• Strong brand recognition
• Good managerial and governance reputation
• Strong credibility with international suppliers
• Significant tourism potential
• Existing investments in human capital development
Opportunities
• Largely Anglophone population
• Large diaspora population in target markets
• Geographical positioning as gateway to Africa from
the Middle East and Asia
• Increasing regional demand for air transport services
and personnel
• 1 billion population size of Africa
• Growing domestic and African middle income
population
• Introduction of Yamoussoukro Decision
Weaknesses
• Government focus on promoting commodity trade
and manufacturing, not equal focus for services
• Excessive regulatory restrictions on investment
opportunities
• Bureaucratic business environment
• Challenging financial services regulations
• Regional political instability
Threats
• Cannot market as aggressively as better capitalised
foreign competitors
• Stiff competition from subsidized Middle Eastern
carriers—Emirates, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines
• Pending competition from regional Low Cost
Carriers (LCCs)
• Rising fuel costs
• Weak currency compared to the U.S. dollar or the
euro
• Brain drain of skilled air transport personnel
• Non implementation of yamasucro decision
• Denial of access to African airlines by African
countries
• Terrorism,
• Epidemics such as Ebola
Recommendations for Ethiopia in the Air Transport Service Sector
“The government is the 100% owner, but the management are aviation professionals
and run the airline as an independent business.”
—Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines
As world economies expand, there will be an unprecedented demand for personnel to fly and
maintain airplanes. The 2013 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook projects a demand for 498,000
new commercial airline pilots and 556,000 new airline maintenance technicians by 2032. 80 These
numbers do not include the projected demand for military, governmental, or charter pilots and
technicians.
Ethiopia is poised to become the market leader in the training and development of air transport
personnel to meet the Africa and Middle Eastern countries s requirements. The development of
a regional aviation academy, one directly owned by the national carrier will enable Ethiopia to
80
Boeing Raises Forecast for Number of New Commercial Pilots Needed, Boeing, 2013.
46