Knowing your customers

Founded in 1947, Air Algerie is the third largest African airline, behind South African Airways and EgyptAir. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to over 30 destinations throughout North and West Africa, Europe and the Middle East, annually carrying nearly 3 million passengers. The airline has earned its place among the best in the continent, but the Beijing-Alger service, with two flights a week, has been in operation for only two years. Is that because Air Algerie gives insufficient attention to the Chinese market? "No," said Boutemadjia.

According to him, partly as a result of Algeria's close proximity to the Middle East and Europe, the airline is more familiar with the culture and travel habits of its current customers, who are generally from these regions. Also, the company has operated short-and-medium-haul scheduled services over the years, and the Beijing flight is only its second long-haul route after the debut of the Alger-Montreal service, its first direct long route, in 2006.

The flight has shortened travel times to and from Algeria and has enticed more Chinese travelers, thereby increasing opportunities in all economic sectors.

"However, it was not easy to enter into the new market, especially the Chinese market, where language, culture and consumption habits were big barriers for us initially," Boutemadjia explained. But he said the airline's slogan of 'Always Caring For You' serves as a guide for all new challenges.

"We have learned more about Chinese requirements through further communication with some Chinese tourist agencies since last year: [We know that Chinese visitors require] safety, Chinese foods, Chinese magazines, and Chinese tour guides, all of which we are working on," he said.

So far, there aren't any Chinese staff onboard, but Boutemadjia said many airline employees are very willing to fly the China route, and are actively studying simple Chinese phrases through our bilingual (Chinese-English) study guide, himself included. He said he has even submitted a proposal to employ a Chinese crew to improve services.

After two years on the Beijing route, the carrier has seen a sharp rise in passenger traffic, posting about an 8 percent growth for the long-haul route during 2009-10. Meanwhile, the route to China accounts for 1 percent of the airline's global market share, higher than that gained by its Frankfurt and Brussels routes, according to data from Air Algerie.

"China offers a huge market to Algeria," said Boutemadjia, who is satisfied with the Beijing office's performance in past two years. He attributes this growth to the closer Sino-African economic and trade ties, China's position as the world second-largest economy, and its growing demand for overseas tourism.

Statistics from the International Air Transport Association show that the global air passenger volume will increase by 800 million in 2014, compared with 2.5 billion in 2009. Of that rise, 214 million is projected to be China related.

"In my opinion, an airline's business decisions usually rely on the analysis of the aviation industry data," said Nicole Zheng, Marketing Manager at Oriental Sky Aviation Service Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air Algerie in China. "Seeing the potential of the Chinese market, African airlines must have compiled detailed data analysis and marketing research on both passenger and cargo services prior to the introduction of new routes in China," Zheng told ChinAfrica.

Safety solutions

This year, however, the passenger traffic on the Beijing-Alger route dropped back to its 2009 level due to political instability in Africa. The opening of a new Shanghai-Alger route has been delayed over safety concerns.

Boutemadjia takes a cautious attitude toward the possible route. "New routes are still under discussion, but the final decision depends on our flights frequency as well as the situation as a whole," he said.

However, from a long-term perspective, he believes the prospects for Sino-African ties will become more positive as the political situation stabilizes and the investment environment improves. "On one hand, there is a need for Chinese visitors to rebuild confidence in Africa; on the other, a stable situation can help us promote the development of the continent's aviation industry now at a near standstill, for example, through the promotion of tour packages with travel agencies."

Africa was opened up to Chinese tourists as early as 2006, with more than 10 countries, including Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia, qualifying as approved destinations. Boutemadjia hopes that his country will be listed among the destinations soon.