BA forecasts 10pc growth in African traffic in four years

UK flag-carrier British Airways says it expects to see a 10 per cent increase in its African traffic over the next four years.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said that the estimates were a testament to the hastening recovery in the region, adding that the Asian and Latin American markets were witnessing a similar revival, Nairobi's Capital Business reported.

Though African routes only contribute less than 10 per cent of the airline's business, the figures are likely to have come as a relief to the UK flag-carrier, with the global aviation industry having recorded dismal returns in both 2008 and 2009.

BA's modest projections fall squarely in line with International Air Transport Association's industry estimates, which predict 12 per cent growth in cargo movements, and a 5.6 per cent growth in passenger traffic.

But Mr Walsh conceded that the positive indicators remained disjointed, and that traffic figures would likely not produce consistent growth trends until 2011 at the earliest.

While this bodes well for BA and comes in the face of increased competition from Middle East carriers such as Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad. The strategy for Africa, he said, would be to offer more point-to-point flights to key European and US destinations

(Source: www.schednet.com)