ECAir highlights role in African airline cooperation at IATA AGM

Above: Tony Tyler, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and Mrs Fatima Beyina-Moussa, Managing Director of ECAir (Equatorial Congo Airlines) and President of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
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IATA's AGM and Summit give airline bosses a chance to exchange information and are a unique opportunity to hear their vision. This is the biggest meeting of the heads of these airlines. They include a large number of heads of African companies, such as Driss Benhima, CEO of Royal Air Maroc, Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Captain Sameh El-Hefny, CEO of EgyptAir, Ben Dahwa, CEO of Air Botswana, and Fatima Beyina-Moussa, Managing Director of ECAir and President of AFRAA.

The heads of African companies were able to speak for a few minutes on Sunday 7 June with Tony Tyler, Director General of IATA, and Dr Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General of AFRAA. Tony Tyler once again called on airlines and governments to unite in order to develop the air transport sector on the continent.

Above: (left to right) Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Tony Tyler, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mrs Fatima Beyina-Moussa, Managing Director of ECAir (Equatorial Congo Airlines) and President of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), and Yves Nanique, Chief Commercial Officer of ECAir.
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Fatima Beyina-Moussa reiterated that ECAir plans to play its part in implementing a real strategy of cooperation between African airlines: "Last week we launched our third intercontinental route between Brazzaville and Beirut, in partnership with Trans Air Congo (TAC). We are now finalising codeshare agreements with South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. I am confident that African airlines will be able to develop their connectivity on the continent and reconquer the air transport market. But in order to get there, we need to cooperate. The era of national airlines acting alone in their own territory is clearly behind us, and the sector is facing tougher competition than ever."

Cooperation will be the main theme of the 47th General Meeting of AFRAA, organised by ECAir. The event, under the patronage of His Excellency Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, will take place between 8 and 10 November 2015 in Brazzaville.