The expanded BRICS – what implications does it have for aviation? Part one

When Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs coined the acronym the 'BRICs', meaning Brazil, Russia, India and China, over 20 years ago, identifying them as the economies that would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050, he could hardly have anticipated that South Africa would join them a decade later.

But it did, even though he questioned its value to the bloc openly.

But South Africa has a strategic political-economic status and its admission signified how the (now) BRICS was changing in nature.

Now, and coincidentally at a meeting held in South Africa, another six countries have been invited to join, across three world regions.

Together with the wider aims, a side aviation conference has laid down what the new organisation seeks to achieve in the industry and it is ambitious - mainly in its quest for open skies, something that the continent of Africa (which now has three BRICS members) was unable to achieve in almost 25 years since the Yamoussoukro Declaration.

In the short term, and although the expanded BRICS organisation's influence is being played down by western politicians, it will undoubtedly pose questions to the air transport 'world order' that has comfortably been in place since 1944.