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 COMPANY PROFILE
Ghana Airways has been established as an airline since July 1958. Our record has shown a determination and resilience to grapple with problems and challenges.
Having commenced our Accra-London service with leased aircraft on 15th July 1958, Ghana Airways was not slow to build up its own fleet and within three years, it had acquired as many as 20 aircraft.
Since 1958, the Airline has consistently maintained a high standard of operations and currently has an all-jet fleet of four aircraft – Two DC10s and two DC9s.
Ghana Airways has operated leases to Barbados for Caribbean Airways, Uganda for Ugandan Airways and also carried out a number of annual Hajj pilgrimage flights for Moslems travelling to Mecca, transfer to Ghanaian students to and from Cuba and the transportation of Ghanaian Soldiers on U.N. peace operations.
Our flights to major capital include 4 weekly to Londo, two to South Africa and 3 to New-York, all of which are direct flights.
Ghana Airways is one of only three African Airlines with the United States FAA Category One accreditation, allowing Ghana Airways to fly direct to the U.S. using its own aircraft and crew.
Since December 1997, our regional operations have had a boom, with the resumption of suspended services to Monrovia and Freetown and the inauguration of services to Ougadougou and Bamako.
Recently, Ghana Airways helped in no small measure in the transfer of hundreds of passengers, mostly Americans of African descent, to the Panafest and Emancipation Festivals, both in Ghana.
The airline in the coming months intends to focus on reliability and punctuality. It will expand its route network further to countries such as Canada, Dubai and Angola.
We shall remain committed to becoming the dominant link between Africa and the rest of the world.
For the promotion of responsible tourism to Africa, we received the AFRICAN TRAVEL ASSOCIATION AWARD for 1997.
We have been designated official carrier for the African/African American summit scheduled for Accra in 1999.
To achieve reliability and expand on routes, Ghana Airways will carry out a modest expansion programme and form strategic alliances to improve on our reliability.
In the coming years, the airline intends to continue playing a facilitatory role in the development of Tourism in Ghana and the African continent.
"Above all Ghana Airways remains committed to achieving excellence through being customer driven and improved efficiency in its operations and by maximising profits"
GHANA AIRWAYS ON THE MOVE
At 40 the watchwords for a revitalized Ghana Airways are profitability, efficiency, reliability, expansion and customer service; in short, maximisation of stakeholder value. 1998 proved to be a real watershed for Ghana Airways. The airline turned 40 and embarked on a change process designed to position it as a dominant link between Africa and the rest of the world. It is the aim of Ghana Airways to compete for a place alongside the world’s leading carriers and has already made significant strides towards the achievement of these goals.
During its 40 years, Ghana Airways has taken advantage of the strategic geographic position of Ghana to develop an extensive network that serves the air transportation needs of the countries in the region; regular and convenient schedules link up the major cities of Accra, Lagos, Cotonou, Lome, Abidjan, Freetown, Monrovia, Conakry, Banjul and Dakar. A Sahelian network is being developed with flights to Ouagadougou and Bamako. Plans are far advanced to commence services to Niamey.
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It is a major strategic objective of Ghana Airways to develop its operational base- Accra- into a hub from where flights from all West African cities will connect Ghana Airways’ long haul services to Southern Africa, North America, Europe and the Middle East.
Another major strategy is to develop alliances to expand Ghana Airways’ inter continental reach. Ghana Airways has signed an agreement with South African Airways to enable the two airlines jointly offer services on Southern, West and East Africa and destinations in North and South America. A similar arrangement is in the process of being finalised with Ethiopian Airlines. The agreement would ensure schedule harmonisation and joint utilisation of aircraft for the development of some routes within West and East Africa as well as the North American market.
In 1996, Ghana Airways was granted FAA category one accreditation to fly to the USA using its own aircraft and crew - a privilege awarded only to two African Airlines at the time.
Ghana Airways accepts and moves cargo on time on all its routes. As freight specialists on the West Coast of Africa, Ghana Airways handles all kinds of cargo including cut flowers, live fish, fresh and dangerous goods etc.
Our interline agreements with several airlines ensure shipment of cargo to any part of the world. Ghana Airways’ daily flights along the West Coast facilitate the transshipment of goods and mail from Europe, Southern Africa, North America and other parts of the world.
CHALLENGES FOR 1999 AND BEYOND
These trends, although, emphasise the need to eliminate the weaknesses and harness the strengths of Ghana Airways to enable it take advantage of the opportunities created by the economic growth in the West African sub-region and Africa as a whole. This is the ultimate objective of the change process that has been set in motion.
Ghana Airways has used the occasion of its 40th Anniversary to redefine its corporate mission and values. Our mission now focuses on our role as a dominant link between Africa and the rest of the world. It also emphasises our commitment to be a customer driven company with a dedication to deliver excellence and high customer satisfaction. This redefinition has, among other initiatives, prepared the airline for the challenges of the next millennium. These combined efforts saw the airline win the coveted Ghana Tourist Board Award for Airline of the Year (1997).
The challenges facing Ghana Airways can be summed as maximising shareholder and stakeholder value by pushing through the change process until corporate excellence is achieved in every facet of the airline’s operations.
Among the strategies and targets for 1999 are:
Forging strategic alliances and commercial co-operation with various airlines in order to exploit profitable opportunities on new routes to other parts of Africa, the Middle East and Canada.
Upgrade its technological capabilities in terms of its equipment and systems; the airline’s Y2K compliance project is on course and Ghana Airways would be ready to enter the millennium as far as its IT and other systems are concerned.
To undertake a modest expansion of its fleet thereby making it possible to improve flight punctuality and reliability and develop new business particularly cargo and tourist traffic.
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© World INvestment NEws, 1999.
This is the electronic edition of the special country report on Ghana published in Forbes
December 13th 1999 Issue.
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GHANA
