Africa’s multinational airline Air Afrique is counting the cost of severe financial and industrial problems which made 1984 the most trying of its 24 years’ existence.
Operating losses of almost US$10 million, outstanding debts totalling over US$250 million, a protracted industrial dispute which resulted in the dismissal of 116 pilots and technicians, and the costly wet-leasing of foreign aircraft, have brought the carrier close to the financial brink.
The airline’s debts have been largely incurred in the process of fleet modernisation and through non-payment of the estimated US$50 million membership contributions owed by its 10 French-speaking West African states. Director General Aoussou Koffi has also attributed losses to a rise in its fuel bill from US$35 million in 1978 to US$62.8 million last year, overmanning, increased competition from foreign airlines and charter companies, and the marked economic decline of member states.
In 1983 Air Afrique Council President Djalla Poli warned that the uncontrolled growth of charter flights (to Abidjan and Dakar in particular) threatened the airline’s survival and, last year, Air Afrique was forced to draw up contingency plans to sell off one of its three DC-10s to alleviate its financial crisis.
France’s UTA, which owns 28 percent of Air Afrique’s share capital, provides technical support as well as stiff competition on the high-yield long-haul routes to Europe. But this has now become a bone of contention, with Air Afrique demanding a “more equitable” arrangement. UTA’s wider African air network, its economies of scale and reputation have enabled it to achieve a much better turnover than Air Afrique, although its annual results for 1983 and 1984 were well below average. Air Afrique’s passenger traffic in 1983 increased only marginally on 1982 figures, while its freight-tonne performance declined by 11 percent.
But the most damaging factor in 1984 was the prolonged industrial dispute which led to the mass dismissal of flight crew, including 56 French nationals. What had started out as a 72-hour strike from September 11-14 over planned cutbacks in staff and salaries, quickly escalated into a war of attrition between workers and management. The sacked French crew appealed to French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius to intervene on their behalf.
The cost of aircraft leasing fees and lost business – reportedly US$1 million a day – worsened the airline’s already precarious financial position.
Senior Air Afrique executives say that their immediate priorities for 1985 are to resolve outstanding industrial problems, cut down company costs, improve staff morale and win back customer confidence. But they point out that the carrier’s financial recovery depends on many factors beyond their control, such as fuel prices and the economic performance of member states.
A British firm of auditors, Price Waterhouse, concluded over three years ago that the airline could be viable if there was more prudent financial control, a management restructure, and reduced political interference.
Air Afrique has often been portrayed as the forerunner to a continent-wide Pan-African airline, particularly as it has long outlived several similar joint ventures including the smaller East African Airways which was disbanded in 1976. Its member states are Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Burkina Faso. Cameroon withdrew in 1971 and Gabon in 1976, both setting up their own national airlines, Cameroon Airlines and Air Gabon.