HAS ZAMBIA AIRWAYS REALLY TAKEN OFF?

Last week, we were told that Zambia Airways, the national airline of Zambia, is launching new passenger services to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya on June 27, 2024 and that the flights will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Lusaka.

We are among those who advocated for the coming back of Zambia Airways because we know how a national airline can contribute to the country’s economy by creating jobs, generating revenue through ticket sales and tourism, and boosting trade and investment opportunities.

A national airline can provide essential air connectivity, linking the country to domestic and international destinations. This can facilitate business and tourism travel, as well as strengthen diplomatic relations. Further, national airlines can serve as a symbol of national identity and pride, showcasing the country’s culture, values, and achievements on a global stage.

It can also play a strategic role in times of crisis or emergencies, such as repatriating citizens during natural disasters or political unrest and can help promote tourism by offering direct flights to popular tourist destinations, making it easier for travellers to visit the country.

Overall, a national airline can have a positive impact on a country’s economy, connectivity, and image on the global stage.

To the uninitiated, Zambia Airways closed in 1994 due to financial difficulties and mismanagement. The airline was heavily subsidized by the Zambian Government, but faced increased competition from other airlines and struggled to remain profitable.

Additionally, there were allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds within the airline, further contributing to its downfall. Ultimately, the Government decided to shut down Zambia Airways in order to cut costs and address the financial challenges which faced the country.

The airline was relaunched on December 1, 2021 with the aim of returning to its 1970s glory days, through a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines to achieve this goal. It started with local and regional routes before expanding to international routes and has an ambitious objective of operating at least 12 planes by 2028.

Therefore, the news that our national carrier is looking to the East African market is a sweet melody to the ears which every patriotic Zambian must be proud of. While applauding Zambia Airways management and stakeholders on these achievements, it is about time that we conducted a reality check to see if these achievements are anything to be excited about.

Upon its coming back, Zambia Airways has been bombarded with numerous complaints ranging from missing luggage to poor customer service and in a competitive industry like aviation, a serious company must never gamble on quality service provision. There is nothing more annoying than losing luggage, not to talk about delayed flights, which seem to be the common chorus among people who use Zambia Airways.

We have used Zambia Airways ourselves and we have witnessed the poor service at play where the flight is delayed and no one is there to communicate to the passengers on what is causing the delay.  We know that sometimes, flights can be delayed for up to an hour or more but communication is key. It is important for people to know what is happening rather than keeping them waiting and guessing what the problem could be.

As simple as this may sound, it is everything in this business. People sometimes travel by air even on trips that they could go by road because sometimes, they have emergencies which need to be addressed within a shortest possible time by enabling them to move from one point to the other and the only reasonable means of transport is by air.

People are hurrying to get to another town or city to make that business presentation that can earn their company a billion-dollar fortune and do not want to miss this opportunity from a delayed flight and when they experience this once or twice, they would never go back and use such an airline and would opt for one which is more efficient and this means loss of business on the part of the airline. 

From a business comparative advantage point of view, Zambia still have a lot of disadvantages both from other local and international airlines ranging from the type of aircraft it has and the fact that it is still “new” but when you couple this with poor service, then the company is literally chasing clients and not seriously game for the huge competition. If an airline cannot communicate, then who would want to use the same tomorrow?

As a tabloid, we are very passionate about Zambia Airline’s success. We want Zambia Airways to compete even at global level and its ambition is very good but as long as it fails to address simple things that it is seemingly taking for granted, then all these big dreams will die a natural death and the company will again go back to its former self because without a serious business plan and execution of such plans, the airline is headed nowhere.

While on paper our airline has such an ambitious undertaking and may manage to service various destinations, it will serve no business purpose to service planes which are ever half full for various destinations.

Our genuine appeal to the Industrial Development Corporation Limited (IDC) and Ethiopian Airlines Group is to ensure that these repeated complaints from passengers are promptly addressed if this airline is to see its former glory days. Running a business in the aviation sector is not child’s play. There must be no room for mediocrity from everyone involved; from the hostesses to top management. It is a game of “all systems running well” and a disruption at any point has a huge impact on the project.

The business-as-usual approach to running an airline favours nobody and is a recipe for failure. What may seem as an insignificant complaint about the airline’s shortcomings may have huge cracks in the business and may lead to complete collapse of the entity.

We want the Zambia Airways to thrive. We are passionate about this project because it is ours as Zambians despite our alliance with our competitor and this is why we still use it to show patriotism to our country but some things need to change. We do not want this airline to collapse again because all that we have laboured for will be in vain. We do not want a few of us who got jobs due to the relaunch of the airline to be jobless tomorrow and that is where selflessness on their part becomes very important.

The “niva Boma” mentality must come to an end if we, as Zambians, are to make it and this does not only apply to Zambia Airways, but every other Government or quasi government institution. We need to advocate for mindset change among us Zambians on the way we run state owned institutions or else, we will continue creating opportunities for others while we remain in the same position as a country.