Ethiopian Airlines swoops to tap market

Ethiopian Airlines flights have a distinct Chinese flavor these days as the company targets the country's growing legion of outbound tourists.

In-flight meals include Chinese dishes, while passengers can watch movies in Mandarin and get assistance from Mandarin-speaking cabin crew. The move is all part of efforts to claim a larger share of what is currently the company's largest overseas market.

"China has 1.4 billion people, Africa has 1 billion - so we're talking about 2.4 billion people. That means huge potential," says Yared Berta, the airline's chief representative in China.

As China's business links and people-to-people exchanges with Africa have grown, the nation has become a vital market for Ethiopian Airlines, he says.

Last year, bilateral trade between the two was about $280 billion, while China has accumulated investments of more than $30 billion in the continent.

Ethiopian Airlines, which has been operating for 70 years, entered the Chinese market 43 years ago and today provides 28 flights a week to four cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong - and carries about 2,000 passengers a week. Berta says the company plans to open more routes.

"We want to expand, to increase the frequency of flights to cities we already operate in and increase our destinations in central and western areas," he explains.

Although the airline is the largest in Africa, he says it aims to compete more in the global market. Its flights connect 51 cities in Africa with major trading centers in five continents as well as 41 cities around the world. Every day, the company operates 240 flights from its hub in Addis Ababa, with 76 aircraft in service.

"From European countries to Asia, from North America to South America, from Asia to Latin America and Africa, we're at the center of these markets," he says.

Berta says China's outbound tourism has boomed as people's spending power has increased.

Research by the China Tourism Academy shows Africa is seeing the fastest growth in Chinese travelers. In 2014, the number of visitors rose 80 percent year-on-year, it says.

Data from tourism website Aoyou indicates that, since 2010, the number of Chinese going to the continent has increased on average 50 percent every year.

"Chinese tourism to Africa is increasing, and very fast," Berta says, adding that his airline is working with Ethiopia's tourism organizations to promote the nation's destinations in the Chinese market.

During the annual Spring Festival holiday in February, Ethiopian Airlines carried more than 1,000 travelers from China to the Seychelles.

The company's passenger flow is closely connected to the business situation, Berta says.

Those traveling from China to Africa tend to be businesspeople from Shanghai and Beijing who want to travel or invest in Africa, he explains, while African travelers mainly fly to Guangzhou and Hong Kong in South China, as most are traders who want to buy products such as garments, electronics and even machinery to sell back home.

Berta says Africa is a challenging market, as incomplete infrastructure and security problems pose difficulties for airlines looking to develop. Moreover, as many African countries rely on exports, the falling commodity prices in the international market have greatly affected economic development across the continent.

China is also seeing a slowdown as the country shifts toward an economy driven by services, consumption and technology.

"The traffic between Africa and China has been affected by these two serious factors in the past six months, but the vision is still beautiful, as the potential in these two markets is huge," Berta adds.

Contact the writers through chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn.