ens) BUILDING BRIDGES the Congo, is working hard = us Stn eet eke ROTA ee eee for airsafety. ts business plan became eee ase acy oe eran oer ee Es Pmt corn eet these n Zo ra ee aa ad eeeaeeten ene reer aoa Se oa ee eed eran ee ere fee nase Serer sere een poner erie oe reer el ae ein ees cet cd Peery retin eee eet preg en eee tt OS Jnr retee eC ee ce Ce ees ‘ight-point domestic network. Sa Rec a) Paes ST nd Pome emer ets eo ge Sete eee ee Pens See ery Cee ne Pee eet os eric For more than two decades no western See ee) eee neers poo Pree eaeAIRLINES Congo Airtines Ser atinpteruced pee mar acy peers March 2015 after working asa Freelancer with Air France Consulting éuring the evelopment of the business plan. He reports to CEO Désiré Balazire ‘As wel as continuing to lean heavily fon French expertise ~ the startup ‘collaborates with At France Industies ‘on maintenance and training - Maillet has amassed a team of internationally recognised experts to attain the highest safety standards. Two of his operational ‘managers joined the comaany from Air Cote c'voire, another African flag-carir set up with help from Air France, while his flight safety officer previously helé the same role at Alitalia “We have iillant people, from Congo and also outside of Congo. Operationaly we are very, very strong,” Mallet ‘emahasises. “But we are also very humble, We know we can have an incident ar accident, so we just deploy alot of effort to meet the right standards.” The flag-cariers uncompromising approach to safety sometimes comes at @ ‘ost It suspended A220 flights to Mbuji- May Airport just days before the fatal freighter crash, cting in-house inspections that evealed damage ta the runway. Other local operators - notably FIYCAA, DRC's largest private carvier ~ maintaines narrow- bocy flights to the ety after the Civil ‘Aviation Authority falied to take action. “Dur competitor continues to fy there [with A220-Farily jets)” Mallet says. “What we cae [about] is we did our analysis “One month after we initiated flights we got the French Embassy flying with us. It says a lot. For more than two decades no western embassy flew with Congolese-registered aircraft.” and we decided it was not as pes our standares, We lost money nat flying, of course... bu HS aot just woes when we say we place safety as our cove value truly 38 umber one.” Congo Airways subsequently resumes lights to Mbuj-Mayi with smaller and lighter (94005, whieh can lane ‘more easly on the runway. But tis withhoiing launches to other licrative stations, notably the northern ety of Geriena, whieh Maile accuses of lacking the necessary emergency fire-fighting equipment “Others are flying {to Gemiena]. They are very hapoy, fully booked, people even fighting at the airgort to get a sea,” he says, “The fares are totally crazy — twice the yield ~ and OK, fair enough, good for them. But that Is not how we want to play. “This [more cautious approach) is the Vision of the ehie® of stat, this isthe Vision of the prime minister, so we feel very comfartable It serves Congo Airways, i serves the Chil Aviation Authority it serves the country, and it seves to ring back crediblity ane respectability” Certification under the IATA Operational Sefety Audit (OSA) ~the global benchrark ‘or ei aviation safety compliance ~ sould be the next milestone, Mallet >AIRLINES Congo Airines expects is team to take the exam by December If succesful, Congo Aways wil then approach the EU about being redesignated in Annex B ofits blacklist, securing an exemption from the nationwide ban and opening the dear te European fights in 2018. Before that possible, however, RCs Civil Aviation Authority must also prove tis up to the task, The egulator’s Capabilities nave ntl now deen so deficient that it daes nat even issue Ar Operators Certificates ee (AOC) - one of the roles of any air safer oversight body, Tnssvery surprising but we fly wth no AOC? Mallet acrits. “This is why we Aly only domesticaly. Isnot because we, decided ta stat with the domestic market and then go outside no, is because we annot ge outside the country” ‘The International ivi Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the sviation agency ofthe Unted Nations, has taken an active ole in remedying the situation. Is experts Visited Kinshasa in May to coordinate a “safety oversight capacity-bulding project” fr the Civil Aviation Authority, including a full review ofthe regulator's structure, o;ganisation and taining Mallet says ICAO’ involvement in the ‘country should also enable Congo Ainvays to undergo a one-off certification process, Its four-strong : edetceiccan | | BRT Taney mietictng: were \ Ne teemoe ee the decade going to be the fst JF aisine to get the Congolese AOC” Provided an ‘operating licence is secured ‘swiftly, Congo Aivways expects to launch regional services in te fourth quarter of 2016. Is intial routes wil be Johannesburg in South Aiea, Luanda in Angola and Pointe Noite in Congo- Brazzaville, followed next year by Douala in Cameroon and Librevile in Gabon. “The fag-carter also plans to adé fou more domestic points in the near future Bunia, Kalemie, Bukavu and, pending Upgrades, Gemena Its fou-stiong short-haul leet shoulé reach 10 aircraft by the end of the decade, fate af to units ae year. Stretched A321s may be considered, though tre airine will otverwise retain es existing types Noting that DRC has just ratified the {Cape Town Convention, Mallet says ai- craft lessars are begining to feel more confortable about pacing ther assets inside Long-haul side project DRC inchsion in Annex ofthe European Union (EU) Air Safety List, commonly known as the EU blacks, means that all Congolese-registered airines are banned fom European ses, But Congo Always i ming for an ‘exemption under Annex B~ the same mechanism that allows TAAG Angola Aline to serve Portugal inspite of ts ome nations ban “We'e going to ask the EU probably atthe end ofthis yea, and hopefully Get that by next sure” deputy CEO Jérome Mallet says, outlining details of a “standalone projet” to launch widebody fights in winter 2017-18 “We are talking extensively with manufacturers and we're going to make a Mis ce eee ts reciting the county. That wll mae it ease forthe fiag-carierto secure Finance lenses, rather than continuing ta buy arerat utrignt with equity Talks over te sale of 220% to 25% stace inte company toa strategie investor potential Ethiopian Alnes~ alsa bode we! for its financial future With teritory the size of Western Europe, avast ary of natural resources, an 85 ‘an average ‘economic growth rate of 8% per year, DDRC has all te ingredients fora thriving rillion strong population a Cl avation industry. The peor state ofits road ané ral niastiueture only boosts the appeal of reliable, safe ar transport. Although the country has long fallen short ofits potential inthe skies, willingness to engage wits international ‘experts and invest heavily in the future beginning to pay dividends Weare atthe right moment realy to ‘grow this atne, and to turn a page from lalet concludes, “We have the ‘tong fundamentals, we know were we ‘want to go, andthe idea is just to execute Our ssue, a8 any startup, is having perfect ‘execution. And this is what we fous on” decision, probably by this autumn, to see if we can do that within 18 months, orf we're going to postpone it. It proceeds, We are going to have two alrraf to start with, a minimum of two routes in Europe from the outset, and a reute inthe Middle East continuing to Asa” Mallet does not specify the European destinations being targeted but says that Dubai and Chinas Guangzhou will “very probaby” be served. The widebodies will also be deployed to one regional destination. In te event that Brussels declines to grant Congo Always an exemption, the company ' wiling to partner with ‘an EU-approved operator for wet-iease services tothe continent