Kenneth Ehigiator
For Nigerian carriers to remain competitive in commercial airlines’ business, experts have canvassed mergers and co-operation as a strategy to cope with the dominance of foreign airlines operating in the country.

Rising from the 5th Safety, Security and Service summit, “ “African Aviation At The Crossroads: Is Cooperation A Problem or The Solution?”, organised by Travel and Business News in Lagos, the experts averred that even the major airlines in the world were coming together these days to do aviation business.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Sabre Travel Network, Mr Gbenga Olowo, Air France and KLM on one hand and British Airways and Iberia, on the other, as global airlines that had come together to contend with present offered by the industry.

Olowo decried the current situation of the industry in Nigeria where carriers with five or 20 aircraft flying to limited destinations try to compare themselves with airlines having a fleet of over 100 aircraft flying to well above 70 destinations around the world.

He said:  “When a United, which is about the 3rd largest airline in the world, joins forces with a Continental, about the 10th globally, they will have a joint fleet of about 2000 aircraft. Now how do you compete with such an Airline Group?”

He noted that when Nigerian carriers fly passengers to a single destination like New York without having a partner airline to connect them farther to other destinations, wondering how they intended to cope with such a situation.
“They need a partner airline to Interline with, said Olowo, who was a former Executive Director of Bellview Airlines.

Arguing in a similar vein, a former air traffic controller with Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mr. Sam Akerele, noted that there had been many airlines that sprang up up in the last 20 years, stressing that most of them disintegrated due to lack of professionalism and ability to cope with the many challenges of running an airline.

Akerele, who is current General Secretary of Aviation Round Table, ART, said: “The bane of many airline operators in Nigeria is what could be described as “The Big Man Syndrome” where everyone wants to be the boss and so it is difficult for them to cooperate.”

He added that it made little sense to be the managing director of an airline with just two aircraft when it made better sense to join forces with another airline to reduce cost, fly to more destinations with a larger fleet size, improve operational efficiency and compete more favourably while improving profitability simultaneously.

In his contribution, which tallied with those of other experts, Managing Director of Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited, SAHCOL, Mr. Isaac Orolugbagbe, also noted that when airlines come together they become stronger players in the sector and make greater impact.
He said cooperation among Nigerian carriers would make the sector a lot more vibrant than it currently is and boost operational efficiency and reliability.
Similarly, Managing Director of Capital Airlines, Mr. Edward Young, said the time had come for airlines to work together.

According to him, airlines in the country should be encouraged to drop the various ideas that seem to pull them apart.
Mr. Ewos Iroro, the Conference Coordinator and Editor of Travel & Business News, said airlines around the world no longer do business as usual, adding that the subject of cooperation had long been embraced by airlines in more advanced nations.

He noted that Nigeria and, indeed, Africa could not afford to be left behind, especially in the face of the recent challenges posed by global economic recession.