A wish list for aviation investors in Africa
Africa stands out as one of the great undeveloped commercial aviation markets worlwide. It has a huge population (1 billion), tremendous national resources, vast distances and limited ground transport infrastructure. Its economic potential is huge and per capita flight rates are close to the lowest on the globe at about 0.1. Such an environment suggests a rich opportunity for the growth and expansion of civil aviation.

GECAS highlights opportunities in Africa and launches aviation resource network
Africa offers huge potential for growth in aviation and aircraft lessor GECAS forecasts that the aviation industry in Africa will continue to grow as economic conditions improve and more of the 1 billion people on the continent choose to travel by air. It also estimates that approximately 25 per cent of the Western-built narrow body aircraft currently operating in Africa will be retired in the near term, leaving a clear gap in the market. In an initiative aimed at supporting the growth of the industry throughout the continent, GECAS this month launched an innovative web-based portal of aviation law resources in the continent, called the AERIAL Network. Aviation Finance's Sarah McCabe spoke to the portal's creator, David Bartlett, about the project.