ETHIOPIAN Airlines has taken a leap toward a multi-hub strategy with the launch of ASKY Airlines’ new Lomé-Johannesburg flights. ASKY and ET hope this route will create easy access into west and central Africa. Ethiopian is working on a multi-hub strategy, with one main hub in Addis Ababa and two smaller hubs across the continent, to assist in creating connections between regions. The airline is looking at Lomé as the west and central African mini-hub, leveraging off ASKY’s reach in the region. Lilongwe’s Kamuzu International Airport will serve as the southern African mini-hub. “Ethiopian has partnerships with Togo’s ASKY Airlines and Malawian Airlines,” says Abel Alemu, Ethiopian Airlines’ regional manager Southern Africa. Air access into and around Africa is a constant concern for South African agents. ASKY flies to 23 destinations in the region. “We are very strong, we have a dominant fleet and good connectivity,” says Nowel Ngala, commercial director of ASKY. The daily JNB flights operate via Lagos, Nigeria, and
Douala, Cameroon, three days a week, and via Lagos and Libreville, Gabon, four days a week, with fifth freedom rights. The daily flights offer a good connection time for the airline’s other routes in the region. The flights land in Lomé at 10h30. “Corporate travel into Africa is made difficult by limited accessibility, which hinders
business growth,” says Delia Skinner, key accounts manager at XL Elite Travel. She says a route like this, with the backing of an airline like Ethiopian, has far-reaching benefits and will improve intra-African business relationships. For more on airlinesnetworks and hubs, see next week’s TNW.
