New LOT Polish Airlines livery on a 787

To celebrate the fact that they will be the first European carrier to receive the 787, LOT has rolled out plans to update their livery and the results are terrific. There is always the temptation at airlines –particularly those with drab liveries –to make a big splash and go wild when redesigning. Rather than take that route, LOT has enhanced their longstanding livery by simplifying it and applying some subtle changes. Gone is the dated, Soviet-style cheat line in favour of a clean fuselage with a new tint – not the glaring white of old. The roundel on the tail has been updated, again reducing the amount of white and the red and white streaks on the tail (that reflect the Polish flag) have been given more prominence. If the finished product looks like the renderings, spotter will be in for a treat. More pictures – including interior shots – can be found on the LOT website.

New LOT Polish Airlines livery on a 787

Needless to say the existence of many routes operating in and out of Africa are steeped in historical ties – Air France for instance is very strong in West Africa. However, such historical ties are only a small factor in the broader picture. The formation of global airline alliances, armed conflicts, the discovery of natural resources and a host of other factors make the picture far more complex.

If we compare the footprints of the alliances side-by-side we can see that the Star Alliance has the broadest reach. Notice in particular how the major centers that dot the coast of the continent are well served.

Not far behind the Star Alliance is SkyTeam. Air France and KLM’s long history in Africa coupled with Kenya Airways’ growth and success are the major factors behind this second place.

This leaves OneWorld in third but not by much.

Let’s not ignore non-alliance players. The collective presence Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad put forward is no longer negligible. You might argue that the gulf trio only affords three non-stop destinations outside Africa – Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi – but I would argue that one-stops at the right price are just as good or better than direct services.

With Ethiopian set to join the Star Alliance shortly, the list of African carriers ready to be rolled into major alliances drops to zero – either for lack of quality or lack of size. A lack of carriers however does not mean a lack a opportunities. The difference now is that anyone who wants a piece of the action will have to really put some skin in the game, not simply agree to a codeshare. Brussels Airlines is already doing this by setting up an operation in Lubumbashi (to be called Korongo) but they will not be the last. Numerous European and Middle Eastern carriers have half an eye on such joint ventures as do the new darlings of African politicians - the Chinese and the Indians.

An infographic summary of the three global alliances

While staff turnover, fleet size, and destinations are constantly in flux at all major airlines (and the alliances they belong to) I think the infographic above paints an interesting portrait of the three global alliances. This picture is set to look quite different by this time next year as no less than 10 carriers are in the final stages of negotiation or joining one of these three.

While these carriers play an important role in global aviation one can not discount the titans of the middle east (EK, EY, QR) or the many LCCs around the world. These additional carriers merit an infographic of their own. Coming soon…

AC ship C-FMWY on final approach at LHR – photo by Johannes Pape

Before heading out to Vancouver to catch the Olympics I sat down to contemplate Air Canada’s decision to splash out significant cash to be in the Olympic advertising picture. If reports are to be believed, Air Canada paid anywhere between 15 and 30 million dollars (US) for the privilege of being an “Official Supporter” of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

My question is why? Let’s be honest, the Air Canada balance sheet does not exactly show a lot of wiggle room for costly ego projects. Is it just a case of private enterprise trying to capitalize on patriotic fervor? Future arrangements would suggest that this might be the case; British Airways has locked up similar rights to London 2012 and Aeroflot has locked up Sochi 2014. However, lessons – as the old adage goes – are best learned from the past, not the future. Let’s not forget that Ansett Australia, Canadian and Pan Am all held similar designations for Olympic Games past (Sydney, Calgary and Sarajevo respectively) and none of them are still alive and kicking to talk about the value of those investments.

I’m not saying that the money AC sunk into the games was not worthwhile I’m saying they (and others in the future) should augment their approach – they should attain these designations at the alliance level, not the airline level. I doubt the Vancouver Olympic Committee would have had too much issue with making the Star Alliance (rather than Air Canada) an official supporter. After all they would still get their money, likely even more than AC ultimately forked over. Were such an arrangement made, I’m sure the stakeholders within the Star Alliance would have been able to come to an agreement determining how much each member carrier should contribute – even allowing uninterested members to opt out.

Consider the medal count against the countries of origin of Star Alliance carriers:

		Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Star Carriers
1		USA	9	15	13	37	US Airways, Continental, United
2		Germany	10	13	7	30	Lufthansa
3		Canada	14	7	5	26	Air Canada
4		Norway	9	8	6	23	SAS
5		Austria	4	6	7	17	Austrian
7		Korea	6	6	4	16	Asiana
8		China	5	2	4	11	Shanghai Airlines
8		Sweden	5	2	6	13	SAS
11		Switzerland	6	0	3	9	Swiss

 
To me the above table screams lost opportunity. Air Canada would still have received enough coverage at home to keep WestJet at bay and it would have further benefited from revenue sharing arrangements with a number of its partners – all of whom would also have been able to exploit patriotism in their back yards.

I understand how complex it would have been to facilitate an arrangement such as the one I have described, but I really do feel it would have been a worthwhile exercise. Besides, the top dog at AC is a former lawyer and an expert in such matters and might have been able to handle the legalese himself, saving a few more bucks.