Chikumba’s Challenge

 “We are in an industry in turmoil that has witnessed serious reductions in flights. And in that turmoil, through the grace of God and with the resilience of the Zimbabwean people, we are still surviving,” said Chikumba who cautioned that AirZim’s long-term survival hinged on a stable economy. Indeed Chikumba and his team have done a splendid job of keeping AirZim’s ageing fleet in the air. The operating environment has been unkind to industry players. Zimbabwe Express Airlines, the first privately-owned airline to break AirZim’s monopoly found the going tough, abandoning its ambitious dream in the late 1990s. Affretair, the country’s national cargo airline, had to be liquidated in 2000 under a huge debt that had grounded its only aircraft for close to two years. Other airline projects suffered stillbirths after their promoters failed to convince financiers that they had what it takes to survive the difficult operating environment in Zimbabwe. Over 15 international airlines have so far pulled out of Zimbabwean skies citing various reasons. British Airways was the last to pull out of its London-Harare route in October 2007, citing viability problems. Since 2001, Australian, French, Dutch and Portuguese airlines have withdrawn from Zimbabwe, leaving the state carrier, South African Airways and two other African airlines flying to Harare. Chikumba is optimistic that the country’s inclusive government, which everyone hopes will be the panacea to Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political crisis, would ease the airline’s myriad problems. According to a report by USA Today “demand for international trips (is) in free fall… foreign airlines are cutting international service…They’re reducing the number of scheduled flights or parking big jets and putting passengers on smaller ones to avoid flying money-losing, half-empty flights.” And Air Zimbabwe is not only faced with the task of steering clear off the course of the global economic storm, but to survive a decade-long economic meltdown that has brought the once prosperous nation to its knees. The challenges facing the airline reads like a doctor’s assessment of a seriously ill patient. For instance, a one way flight to China, one of the airline’s last few lucrative routes, consumes 54 tonnes of fuel at US$0,45 a litre using a Boeing 767. The aircraft therefore needs more than US$24 000 on fuel alone for that trip. AirZim, which last beefed up its fleet in 2005 through the acquisition of the Chinese made MA60s, mainly operates an old fleet of Boeing 737s and 767s whose fuel consumption is fast becoming economically unviable in modern times in which more fuel efficient planes are being manufactured. “Maintenance costs for the fleet are high, ground maintenance is long and the aircraft consume 30 percent more fuel than the average newer planes,” said Chikumba. From an annual peak of one million passengers flown in 1996, Air Zimbabwe is now down to 300 000 passengers as the global recession continues to bite. From yet another peak of 650 engineers in 1996 the national passenger carrier is down to about 30 artisans and it’s amazing that the airline has managed to keep its wings in the air under the current economic times. In holding onto the last few viable routes the passenger carrier has engaged a three-pronged strategy: “Cost reduction, efficiency and keeping the necessary”. To reduce costs AirZim is, for instance, terminating its flights to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. Jet fuel in Kinshasa costs US$1,75 a litre compared to US$0,45 in London. To sustain its accident-free record, the airline has maintained its fleet of Boeings in the best possible condition. Currently, the airline is about to conclude a five week-long mandatory C-check on its flagship, the “Victoria Falls”, at a staggering US$600 000. The C-check is carried out after every 6 000 flying hours or 18 months. During the operation the plane is stripped and checked for integrity, cracks and security in an effort to bring the craft, as close as possible, to its original form. A recent tour of one of the airline’s hangars revealed that capacity is grossly underutilised given the fact that a decade ago, Air Zimbabwe used to service aircraft engines from the southern African region at its engine shop, which is down to 15 percent of its full potential. With the organisation’s machine shop also down to about 15 percent, the sky is, however, the limit once the economy recovers.