Afghanistan’s Safi Airways sets aside long haul growth to focus on profitable short haul feeder role

Safi Airways is planning a larger role in its home market of Afghanistan as the country's outlook improves and business returns. In Afghanistan the experience is also a growing presence of hub carriers like Emirates, flydubai and Turkish Airlines. These three carriers have as much international capacity to Afghanistan as Afghan carriers have to the world. Safi believes it needs to respond to these carriers, and others, in order to remain relevant. It plans to make a decision in 1H2016 to acquire 10-20 narrowbody aircraft, for growth and replacement of its existing three narrowbodies.

Previously Safi planned a sizeable longhaul network, but a strategic change - partially necessitated by European blacklist status - has made Safi realise there is greater opportunity to act as a feeder carrier, transferring passengers to and from Afghanistan over foreign hubs such as Dubai. Safi wants to grow interline and codeshare bookings to 30-50% of its total within two years. Already Safi is the preferred carrier of the US government, with passengers transiting from United Airlines over Dubai.