MAKING A SUCCESS OF AFRICA’S CHALLENGING CARGO MARKET

In its 22nd year of operation, Astral Aviation is cementing its status as Africa’s leading all-cargo airline with a global footprint.

The airline was originally launched to provide charter solutions to the humanitarian fraternity due to the close proximity of Kenya to regions in the horn and Central parts of Africa. Using wet-leased freighters, Astral was able to improve accessibility and connectivity for aid and relief cargoes to remote locations.

“This was achieved by a number of humanitarian airlifts, including performing the world’s largest air-drop programme in Southern Sudan, which gave it the expertise to provide solutions in difficult regions,” Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO of Astral Aviation, said.

Evolving market

Astral has had a natural evolution over the past two decades, moving from being a non-scheduled operator with a focus on charters to a scheduled operator with a unique scheduled network to serving 20 destinations with a fleet of 15 freighters from its hubs in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Dubai, Liege and Hong Kong.

“We had the opportunity of scaling our business eight years after formation, by transforming into a scheduled carrier with a fleet of dryleased freighters, with a focus of creating a scheduled network to niche destinations, for its clients which include over 40 interline partners and global freight forwarders via its Global GSA Network,” Gadhia stated. “The journey has been fulfilling with plenty of learning along the way as Africa continues to be amongst the most difficult and complex regions to operate into.”

Going from its original goal of humanitarian airlifts, Astral now carries various types of cargoes, such as perishable; medical items, vaccines, humanitarian, aid and relief cargoes; express/e-commerce cargoes; mining, oil & gas flights; peacekeeping and rations; project cargoes; consumer goods, including mobile phones and electronics; excess baggage.

It’s not just the cargo carrier that’s evolved in that time though. When Astral launched, the air cargo sector in Africa was non-existent, except for a handful of local cargo airlines, as the market was dominated by foreign carriers.

The situation has changed marginally with a number of African airlines diversifying into cargo. However, the sector continues to be dominated by foreign carriers, who account for 80% of the international market share and 30% of the intra-African market. That’s why African airlines have an opportunity to increase their market share by acquiring freighters and entering into co-operation with regional carriers, which is a part of the objective of the Single African Air Traffic Market (SAATM) - a unique initiative of the African Union to boost the aviation sector in Africa.

Infrastructure has improved in the region, with a number of cargo terminals coming up in various hubs. However, Africa still lacks airside infrastructure, including cold storage facilities for perishables and pharma, which is required for it to truly capitalise on the options within the cargo market.

Striving for success

Astral puts its success down to five key elements: its staff, fleet, expertise, partnerships and hubs.

With a staff of 150 people, the cargo airline prides itself on delivering the highest level of customer service with an agile and resilient mindset and strong communication.

Through its diverse fleet of freighters, ranging from six tonnes to 110 tonnes across six different aircraft types, Astral has worked to ensure it can offer a competitive product for its client’s payloads.

Having been in operation for 22 years, Astral has seen how the African region has developed, giving them expertise in how to operate effectively within some of the most complex parts of the continent.

Partnering with over 40 airlines and freight forwarders in Africa and beyond, as well as securing a strong GSA network, Astral has developed strong connections to deliver its product.

With its hub and spoke concept, which evolved around flying air cargo to Africa from its five hubs, Astral has worked to ensure it has strong connectivity.

Despite their best efforts though and the detailed plan in place, 2022 was a difficult year for companies across Africa, including Astral Aviation, due to the decline of air imports into the region amid the post-Covid and global recession. This was compounded by the lower output from China. Although, exports continued to grow, especially for flowers into Europe and the Middle East, as well as fresh meat moving to the Middle East.