Can anyone dare to maintain their sanctity while floating on a morass of filth? The state of affairs in Nepal creates an environment that nurtures corrupt practices and that has sadly become a way of life here. It is not much different in public institutions either, as non-performance creeps in slowly, making them unanswerable. It is symptomatic of developing countries with a history of poor governance. Never could one imagine how we were made to acclimatise to prolonged hours of darkness. The problem has become so widespread that it covers virtually every sphere of our day-to-day existence.

Leaving that aside, it is the “wide-body” aircraft I want to deal with this time, as Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is trying to get one soon. It will not be a stopgap measure as in the past. The corporation had leased an A310 (smallest of Airbus wide bodies) many years ago. Later a B767 was leased from Lauda Air. Ironically, Lauda became infamous here, notwithstanding the fact that it was owned by Niki Lauda, the famous Formula One driver. All scandals surrounding the national carrier, be it Lauda or Chase, have become synonymous with high-level political corruption that was made possible by the tail-wagging NAC board. As regards the A330, questions have already been raised as to why the purchase was not made directly from the maker. It does appear that the NAC is trying to make the transaction transparent this time. But the aircraft is not like something one can buy straight from the showroom. Only 66 out of a total of 688 airplanes produced in 2016 were A330s. With a monthly production rate of 5.5, it naturally has a long waiting queue.

A330 is a popular aircraft among airlines given its versatility and cost. It would have been a different matter if there was a “white-tail” A330 available. It basically signifies a finished product that remains undelivered for a variety of reasons. Incidentally, there is one B787 and even a couple of A380s in all white. These generally come cheap as they are disposed quickly. But obviously NAC does not need them.

A role model

It may look out of context, but I need to bring in the India-imposed embargo here, as there was a severe shortage of essential items like fuel and even medicines during the 2015-16 blockade. With airlines facing a severe fuel crunch at the Tribhuvan International Airport, NAC’s B757 was chartered to airlift aviation turbine fuel (ATF) even when it could only bring no more than 26 kilolitres at a time. The volume could have been many times over had it been a fully fledged tanker instead. Unfortunately, there seems to be none in the market, as, unlike us, no other landlocked country ever needed those. But it was a real surprise that the bidders included Ethiopian Airlines.

That was good as there was enough reason to look into its history. Ethiopia is similar to us in many respects; it is poor, land-locked and was ravished by repeated bouts of devastating famine. How could it run a very successful airline while we could not?

Established in 1945 and being a flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has become one of Africa’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success and making profits for most years of its existence. It now commands a lion’s share of the pan African network and serves 13 long-haul destinations using a fleet of 30 wide bodies out of the 76 it has. It only had 15 wide bodies just four years ago. It happened to be the second airline to fly B787 as well as the newest Airbus 359 of which it has ordered 14.

The airline is said to have earned $175 million in net profit last financial year, on revenues of $2.27 billion, shooting nearly 12 percent past its $2 billion projections. It flies to more global routes than any other African airline and aspires to generate over $10 billion in revenue in the coming decade. But as with other big airlines, it is also facing competition from three Middle-East carriers (Qatar, Emirates and Etihad).

Lesson for Nepali policy-makers

It was Emperor Haile Selassie’s desire to set up a world-class airline in Ethiopia to dispel the lowly status generated by the country’s poverty. He was able to inculcate a sense of dignity among Ethiopians to grow up as honest, country-loving and duty-bound citizens to work for the general good. Being the pet project of the emperor, who was greatly revered, the Ethiopian Airlines had a special significance. The airlines’ journey began with such values engrained right at its birth, which seems to be continuing till this day despite the tumultuous political changes the country has had to endure in the interim.

Selassie was also far-sighted in making the airlines completely independent of government interference. Ethiopia has been through a far worse period than what we have undergone and yet the airline has been able to work independently all along, providing good reasons for others to emulate. The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, has also become a centre of expertise for the industry, with a recently expanded pilot school and world-class maintenance facilities that service planes from many African countries, not just neighbouring ones.

What NAC needs is not anything drastic beyond what Ethiopian Airlines had from its first day. Our leaders and their political parties need to look beyond their own interest for a change. Haile Selassie, being an Emperor, had that foresight that our “elected

representatives” seem to lack. Ethiopian Airlines perhaps offers some lessons for our policy-makers about ways to not just run an airline, but to run it successfully.

Arjyal writes extensively on aviation