The Boeing Company has opened two new offices in Africa, one in Johannesburg and another in Nairobi, Kenya.
The offices will be managed by Boeing International sub-Saharan Africa MD and Boeing Commercial Airplanes Africa international sales director Miguel Santos, in Johannesburg, and market development and government affairs director Chamsou Andjorin in Nairobi.
“Africa is not new territory for Boeing. Since the introduction of the jet airplane, Boeing aircraft have formed the backbone of the continent’s commercial fleet and Boeing continues to be one of the largest US-based companies doing business on the continent,” Santos said.
He added that the aerospace industry needed to start paying closer attention to Africa, as the continent was “clearly on the move” economically and all the trends were pointing in the right direction for the expansion of the sector. “Our job is to be ahead in understanding these emerging trends and opportunities,” he noted.
Indicators show that gross domestic product on the continent will continue to grow by almost 5% a year over the next decade, with Boeing’s most recent 'Current Market Outlook' report predicting that air traffic to and from Africa is expected to grow by about 6.1% a year over the next 20 years, resulting in the need for 1 150 new airplanes.