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AFRICA’S MARKET
Domestically, the intra-African market has been stable despite these turbulent times, with cargo maintaining a key place amid limited resumption of passenger flights post-Covid.
The overall strength of the African market has also been impacted by the pace of digitalisation, which remains slow in the region despite excellent efforts being made in regions such as Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa. However, for the digital revolution to truly take hold in Africa, more resources will need to be invested across the aviation sector.
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Creating a modern fleet
In September 2022, Astral Aviation and Vaayu delivered the World’s First A320P2F, which was converted by ST Engineering, to an Indian Cargo Start-up, Pradhaan Air Express, which is based in Delhi and operates non-scheduled flights within India and Asia.
The A320F is a narrow-body freighter which is suited for operations out of India, which will continue to be the flagship aircraft for Pradhaan Air Express. Plans to look at new opportunities for the A320P2F are being explored in the Middle East, Europe and Australia.
Astral also entered into an agreement with Nordic Capital to acquire the World’s First E190F, which will be converted by Embraer and will be delivered in November 2024 and January 2025. The decision was based on the suitability of the E190F to be a reliable and efficient feeder aircraft due to its 12 tonne payload and to offer clients a better frequency out of our Nairobi Hub thus replacing the Fokker 50 and DC9F Freighters.
With the planned intra-African expansion of Astral’s network out of East, Southern and West Africa from the Nairobi, Johannesburg and Lome hubs respectively, the potential of a point-to-point feeder aircraft will be met by the E190F, hence Astral’s decision to acquire two with plans for several more.
“The Embraer E190F will be the perfect freighter for e-commerce and express cargoes within Africa and will be a replacement for the ATR72 and B737-300F,” Gadhia explained. “We remain confident that the E190F will be a versatile and competitive option for aircargo within the Intra-African market due to its range and safety performance.”
