In the last year, multiple airlines have set their sights on the African continent as the source of untapped tourist and business travel demand.
United Airlines (UAL) recently launched a spate of new flights to Ghana and South Africa while Delta Air Lines (DAL) is bringing back its routes to Lagos, Nigeria from New York and Atlanta in December 2024. All this followed Norse Atlantic Airways' (NRSAF) announcement of an unexpected new route between London and Cape Town — the 5,188-mile distance between the two cities made it an unlikely choice for a low-cost airline.
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The latest airline to announce an African expansion is Doha-based Qatar Airways. Citing high summer demand, the carrier is upping its flights between the capital of Qatar and the Ugandan city of Entebbe by four more to a total of 11 per week.
Often the go-to transfer airline for travelers on the way to the continent from both Europe and Asia, Qatar Airways operates a vast network of routes to African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Namibia and Morocco. Six weeks earlier, it added a 29th African destination with new routes to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
'Africa is an untapped market with increasing travel and business opportunities'
"The increased frequency now guarantees improved connectivity for passengers traveling from Uganda to the USA, Asia, Europe and North Africa," Qatar Airways Vice President for Africa Hendrik du Preez said in a statement. "[...] With 18% of the world's population and making up less than 2% of air transport activity, Africa is an untapped market with increasing travel and business opportunities."
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The schedule of 11 weekly flights will run between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2024 after which the airline will bring back to the regular seven-flight schedule. The summer flights to Entebbe will run on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays while the return flights (QR1392) will fly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
The Doha-Entebbe flight will depart at 9:50 a.m. and arrive at Entebbe International Airport (EBB) at 15:30 p.m. local time while the return flight to Hamad International Airport (DOH) will leave Entebbe at 17:30 p.m. and arrive at 23:20 p.m.
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Here is how Qatar Airways became a major carrier for African connections
The added routes mean that, at its peak, Qatar Airways will run 180 flights to 29 African destinations per week. Executives have also periodically expressed the airline's interest in being the carrier that connects travelers from far away with local African airlines that fly to smaller destinations not accessible directly from global capitals.
For several months now, the airline has been trying to work out a deal for a 49% stake in Rwanda's flagship carrier RwandAir and recently inked the deal for a 60% stake in Kigali's newly-constructed Bugesera International Airport in the hopes of securing a significant portion of the slots assigned to international airlines and cementing its reputation as the main international airline serving Africa.
"We are expanding connectivity throughout the continent by increasing the number of destinations we serve, and the frequencies we offer, and through partnerships with African airlines," du Preez said further.
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