Johannesburg — FOR airlines, the Angolan market is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - elusive yet promises riches.

An oil boom has set the country's economy alight, with the International Monetary Fund estimating growth of 15,9 % this year, slowing to 12,8 % next year. The booming economy is driving demand for airline capacity between Angola and SA, Europe and the Middle and Far East.

South African Airways (SAA), Angola's state-owned TAAG, British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France have all added the capital Luanda to their networks or have increased their flights to the city this year and would like to add more flights. Even outsiders such as 1Time and Comair would love a piece of the action.

The trouble is the Angolan government jealously protects its air space and national carrier, an approach that has led to restrictive bilateral agreements that control foreign airlines' access to the country.

Demand far outweighs supply, leading to prohibitive airfares.

A search on SAA's website showed air fares to Angola early next year range between R5000 and R6000 for a return ticket.

1Time CEO Glenn Orsmond said last week the airline was keen to break into the Angolan market but that the bilateral agreement between the South African and Angolan governments had so far prevented this.

"When the bilateral was amended earlier this year to add additional flights, the Air Service Licensing Council handed those to SAA without offering it to other airlines," said Orsmond.

He believes if 1Time were allowed to compete on the route it could halve the average fare.

The limited terms of the bilateral agreement mean that the lucrative Johannesburg-Luanda route is controlled by SAA and TAAG.

As the struggling airline industry battles to keep afloat amid the smallest growth in international passengers in five years, Africa has emerged as one of the three strongest markets, according to data provided by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA).

This is positive news for SA's cash-strapped national carrier, South African Airways (SAA), which has focused its expansion plans on Africa, and the west coast in particular, where CEO Khaya Ngqula felt there would be room for future growth.

SAA added two extra flights this year to Angola, one in January and one in April, taking it to a total of five flights a week. TAAG also increased its flights to five a week.

SAA controls the lion's share of the market, operating an Airbus 340-600 on the route, seating about 400 passengers. TAAG operates a smaller Boeing 737-700 four times a week and a Boeing 777-200ER once a week. Both aircraft accommodate fewer than 300 passengers.

SAA indirectly benefited from the Angolan boom, leasing a Boeing 747-400 to TAAG for use on the Luanda-Lisbon route. This is a "damp" lease, whereby SAA flight deck crew operate the flight and cabin crew are split between SAA and TAAG staff. Nevertheless, both airlines are more than happy with the route and are keen to add more flights.

"Our recent increase of capacity on the route is an indication that the route is profitable for SAA," said Jason Krause, SAA's head of business development, yesterday. "SAA would prefer to add an extra two flights a week in order to provide a daily service ."

TAAG is also thought to be eyeing a flight between Cape Town and Luanda and has been lobbying the Angolan government to open new talks with SA.

But it is not only the Johannesburg-Luanda route that is in demand. Gabriel Leupold, director southern and eastern Africa for Lufthansa and Swiss International, said Lufthansa, which this year introduced a weekly flight between Luanda and Frankfurt, had been well received and was consistently achieving load factors of 85%-90%. He said Germany was in talks with the Angolans to increase flights between the two countries.

TAAG has also added a weekly flight to Beijing and Dubai, while Dubai-based Emirates is rumoured to be considering adding Luanda to its network. However, this could not be confirmed by the airline yesterday.