Airbus has chosen Johannesburg as the site of its new Customer Support Centre for Africa.
The strategic hub will offer support to regional airlines to improve efficiency and access to resources, including maintenance and training.
"With the rapid expansion of the latest generation aircraft on the continent, Africa requires additional dedicated support and skills to meet the increasing demand for intra-Africa and international connectivity,” says Laurent Negre, Airbus VP of Customer Services Africa and Middle East.
“We are proud to open this new office to increase our proximity to customers while continuing to support the development of solutions for Africa, in Africa, and by Africa.”
During the Aviation Africa 2024 Conference in September in Johannesburg, Joep Ellers, Airbus Marketing Director for Africa, revealed that Africa's GDP was expected to experience an annual increase of 3,7% in the next 20 years. Furthermore, the continent is expected to see rapid growth among its middle-class population in the next 20 years.
For this reason, Airbus anticipates that African airline fleets will almost treble (2,8 times) between 2027 and 2043. Airbus forecasts that to meet rising demand, African airlines will require approximately 1 460 new aircraft from 2024 to 2043. Of these, the aircraft manufacturer says, 83% (1 210 aircraft) will be single-aisle, such as the A320neo, and 17% (250 aircraft, including 20 new-built freighters) will be widebody aircraft like the A350.
"We see strong demand for 130-150 seat aircraft to serve routes from the south to the north and west to east," explained Ellers.
