Reputable international airline Goldstar Air, the wings of Ghana and the belly of America, has introduced an airline alliance under the tradename Afrik Allianz, a multi-modal single air transportation alliance for Africa carriers that connects Africa and beyond.
Afrik Allianz is pivotal to the economic development of the African continent. By enhancing connectivity, reducing costs, boosting tourism, and supporting trade and investment. The partnership will play a crucial role in driving economic growth and improving the overall travel experience.
Goldstar Air, a Ghanaian and United States-registered company licensed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, is focused on the liberalization of air transport in Africa for socioeconomic development. Through Afrik Allianz and Afrik Insurance, the airline aims to become a leading contributor to the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The aviation industry supports $3.5 trillion (4.1%) of the world’s GDP. If aviation were a country, it would rank 17th in size by GDP, equivalent to the economies of Indonesia and the Netherlands and supports 87.7 million jobs worldwide.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), over 960 million tourists traveled internationally in 2022, more than doubled in 2021. IATA reported that airlines carried 3.4 billion passengers in 2022 compared to the 2.2 billion realized in 2021. The African continent received 46.6 million international tourists, generating USD 31.6 billion.
Members of Afrik Allianz will paint one or more of their planes in special alliance colors, creating a tradition among participating airlines. These uniquely painted planes are expected to become highly sought-after subjects for aviation enthusiasts and photographers, who eagerly collect images of such iconic aircraft.
An airline alliance is an arrangement within the aviation industry where two or more airlines agree to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances often provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers in making inter-airline codeshare connections across countries.
Afrik Allianz, a multi-modal single air transportation alliance connecting Africa and beyond, will significantly enhance travel connectivity across more than 121 airports in Africa, making it easier for passengers to move seamlessly between cities and countries. As African carriers collaborate and innovate, the future of the continent’s aviation industry looks promising.
The alliance aims to promote multimodal transportation and connectivity, aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). According to Airports Council International (ACI) World, passenger traffic in Africa is projected to reach 261 million by 2025.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first Prime Minister and President, was a visionary leader who deeply believed in the power of African unity. His quest for a united Africa was driven by core principles and motivations that he considered essential for the continent’s progress and prosperity.
The vision for a united Africa extended beyond immediate benefits, focusing on building a foundation for long-term resilience and adaptability. Dr. Nkrumah believed that unity would enable the continent to tackle future challenges while seizing opportunities for growth and development.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah vision of a united Africa holds immense potential for the continent’s future. By embracing unity, African nations can achieve economic prosperity, political stability, cultural enrichment, and social development. Dr. Nkrumah’s dream of a strong, united, and prosperous Africa continues to be a powerful source of inspiration for Goldstar Air. A crucial aspect of Nkrumah’s vision was the reclamation and celebration of African culture, heritage, and identity. He believed that African unity would foster a cultural renaissance, enabling Africans to embrace their history and traditions with pride.
The continent possesses the resources to make significant economic strides through Afrik Allianz and the collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to eliminate trade barriers. This represents a significant opportunity for Africa to assert itself on the global economic stage.
African countries are already strategizing on ways to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement by developing clear action plans to leverage national, regional, and global markets within the AfCFTA framework. The AfCFTA agreement has the potential to be transformative by complementing Afrik Allianz’s role in Africa’s economic diversification and inclusion. This partnership presents an opportunity for member countries to contribute toward the realization of seamless movement within the African continent.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created the largest free market in the world, therefore Afrik Allianz will be connecting 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion and a staggering 44 million Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) throughout the continent.
The unemployment rate in Africa is projected to reach 7% in 2024. During the period under review, unemployment on the continent peaked at 7.2% in 2021. However, unemployment levels vary significantly across African countries, with South Africa estimated to record the highest rate in 2024 at approximately 30%.
African government must show political will and commitment to amend their local trade and investment laws, for the the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement not to remain only an ideology. Infrastructure development is equally critical to streamline intra-African trade.
According to Eric Bannerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldstar Air, tourism is a vital sector for many African economies. Afrik Allianz will play a crucial role in promoting tourism within the continent. While aviation has been pivotal in promoting global tourism, there exists a symbiotic relationship between the two. The demand for air travel continues to increase as tourism flourishes. Simultaneously, the growth of aviation enables more tourism opportunities. By offering more destinations and seamless travel experiences, the alliance will encourage tourists to explore multiple countries during their trips. This increased tourism will not only generate revenue for airlines but also benefit local businesses, hotels, and attractions. The influx of tourists will help create jobs and stimulate economic growth across various regions.
In 2022, travel and tourism contributed 168 billion U.S. dollars to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), marking a 40.9 percent increase from the previous year. Despite this growth, the value added to the GDP remained below the 2019 figure of 186 billion U.S. dollars. In 2023, travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP reached approximately 183 billion U.S. dollars.
The alliance will bolster tourism by promoting multi-destination travel packages. This approach not only attracts more tourists to member countries but also encourages longer stays and increased spending, directly benefiting local economies.
Afrik Allianz will also facilitate trade by enhancing the efficiency of cargo transportation across the continent. Through partnerships with other carriers, African airlines will provide more reliable and cost-effective cargo services, enabling businesses to transport goods more efficiently. This improved trade infrastructure will support economic development and help African countries compete more effectively in the global market.
Economies of scale are a significant advantage for Afrik Allianz members. Joint procurement of goods and services, shared airport facilities, and coordinated flight schedules will result in reduced operational costs, which will translate into lower ticket prices for consumers.
Afrik Allianz will achieve better financial health by optimizing cargo operations through collaboration, data-driven insights, customer-centric approaches, continuous improvement, and the implementation of strategic initiatives. Success will require adaptability, trust, and a commitment to shared objectives. Learning from the past failures of others will help shape stronger partnerships in the aviation industry and balance the network to provide comprehensive global reach. Coordinating flight schedules, baggage handling, and passenger services across different carriers requires meticulous planning, as ensuring the financial health of Afrik Allianz members is vital.
Afrik Allianz members will collaborate in resource sharing, including lounges, terminal space, ground handling services, common marketing programs, maintenance bases, and IT systems, which will reduce overall costs. This collaborative effort aims to ensure a consistent level of service while maintaining financial independence and brand identity for member carriers, thereby creating millions of job opportunities for the teeming African youth.
Afrik Allianz’s livery, including the distinctive design on its tailfin, will serve as a symbolic ambassador and one of the most visible and familiar expressions of the alliance’s brand identity. It will feature a combination of color schemes, the Afrik Allianz name, and logo applied to the fuselage, wing tips, and tailfin of its aircraft.
The livery has been designed to promote the key brand values of the alliance and visually distinguish its aircraft from others. The design will work with and complement the physical shape and form of the aircraft itself. However, the livery will also make the fuselage susceptible to corrosion, dirt, friction, solar radiation, and other effects experienced at high altitudes.
In the highly competitive aviation sector, establishing a strong brand identity is crucial. Moreover, airline liveries and tailfins help establish an emotional connection with passengers. A carefully crafted livery can evoke a sense of pride and loyalty among frequent flyers. Airlines often incorporate national or cultural symbols into their liveries, fostering a sense of patriotism or nostalgia. By associating these emotional sentiments with our brand, Afrik Allianz will create a strong bond with its target audience, making its planes easily recognizable on the tarmac or in the sky.
Mr. Bannerman emphasized that Afrik Allianz will invest in technology and innovation to improve its services. This investment will lead to advancements in areas such as ticketing systems, customer service, and air traffic management, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and safety of air travel.
Afrik Allianz’s liberalization of air transport in Africa aims to stimulate increased trade volume, investment, and business activities on the continent. This will result in massive job creation, poverty reduction, foreign exchange earnings, and positioning the airlines as financial instruments for Africa’s development.
Expanding air routes necessitates the development of supporting infrastructure, such as airports, ground transportation, and logistics hubs. These developments benefit the broader economy and improve overall connectivity. Offering more destinations provides passengers with greater choice and convenience. A comprehensive network enables travelers to plan multi-leg journeys with ease, enhancing their overall travel experience.
A 2020 analysis by the Financial Times found that Wall Street lenders valued major airlines’ mileage programs more highly than the airlines themselves. One U.S. airline’s frequent flyer program was valued at 22 billion U.S. dollars, while the company’s market capitalization at the time was only 10.6 billion U.S. dollars.
Afrik Allianz will offer various benefits for its loyalty programs, including priority waitlisting, standby, check-in, boarding, baggage delivery, extra luggage allowance, and lounge access around the world, depending on the status level. While Afrik Allianz will not operate a collective loyalty program, members will typically offer the ability to redeem miles from one alliance airline’s loyalty program for flights with another airline within the alliance. To redeem miles, travelers will need to sign in to their airline frequent flyer program and book a flight with a member airline.
Goldstar Air is negotiating with some members of Afrik Allianz to establish an insurance department, known as Afrik Insurance, which will initially provide coverage for aircraft flying within the African continent and eventually expand to other continents. Aviation insurance will address the essential requirements needed for owners, operators, pilots, renters, students, and flight schools where risks to life are involved.
Afrik Allianz will collaborate with insurance companies across the African continent to ensure comprehensive big-ticket insurance coverage is handled by a consortium of insurers. Two types of reinsurance contracts will be utilized: facultative reinsurance and treaty reinsurance. Facultative reinsurance allows the primary insurer to cover one risk or a series of risks held in its books. Treaty reinsurance, on the other hand, involves an insurer purchasing coverage for multiple risks from another company.
Members of Afrik Allianz will benefit significantly from these arrangements, provided there are minimal claims. Additionally, the alliance will arrange “fleet policies” to cover all aircraft owned or operated by its members. The underwriting profits can be utilized as indemnities or guarantees for purchasing additional aircraft, further benefiting the local insurance sector in Ghana.
Afrik Insurance’s financial guarantee will provide contractual guarantees to member airlines for the acquisition of more aircraft. It will maintain joint legal ownership of the asset at inception and throughout the contract’s duration or establish a back-to-back arrangement with a third party that also holds joint legal ownership of the asset over the life of the contract.
Goldstar Air’s vision includes operating over one hundred aircraft and expanding Ghana’s airline industry infrastructure by constructing a world-class Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Tamale. This initiative aims to boost local businesses, attract foreign investment, and position Ghana as an aviation hub for the West and Central African sub-regions, which currently lack a wide-body maintenance base.
Tamale International Airport has been selected for the maintenance base due to its desert climate and the vast land surrounding the airport, ideal for parking numerous aircraft awaiting maintenance or overhaul. This location is excellent for aircraft servicing and repairs. The global market for MRO services in the aviation industry alone is estimated to be worth 50 billion U.S. dollars.
Goldstar Air has secured the architectural designs and building order to construct a 250 x 250 x 75 Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Tamale International Airport. This facility will cater to the maintenance, repair, and refurbishment of Goldstar Air’s fleet and other companies’ aircraft. It will also provide skills training and generate sustainable jobs. Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) is awaiting a clearance letter from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to allocate the proposed land in Tamale for Goldstar Air to start constructing the facility.
The MRO facility will accommodate two (2) Boeing 767, 777, 787, or 747 passenger and cargo aircraft or several smaller aircraft simultaneously. The future of the aircraft MRO industry looks promising, paving the way for safer and more sustainable aviation. Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul are interconnected aspects of aircraft management that ensure safety, reliability, and efficiency, making them a perfect fit for Afrik Allianz’s goals to support safe and sustainable aviation operations.
Economic planning is critical for airport infrastructure in Africa to prepare for the next thirty (30) years of aviation industry growth. The challenge lies in the limited land area available at existing airports to accommodate future expansion. Terminals will require additional capacity, and services such as Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO), cargo handling, and catering will demand more space. However, there will not be sufficient space to meet these needs.
Goldstar Air, the wings of Ghana and the belly of America is ambitious of providing scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo air service initially to North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The airline has chosen Washington, Rhode Island, London, Dubai, Guangzhou, Toronto, Milan, Hamburg, Madrid, Rome, Düsseldorf, Lagos, Freetown, Banjul, Conakry, Dakar, Monrovia, and Abidjan from Ghana, as major originating cities for our initial operations. Direct non-stop services will be deployed where necessary, as Ghana stands to position itself as a critical hub for intra-African trade and commerce.