How can African airlines turn raw market demand into sustainable, high-yield revenue? According to Sandrine de Saint Sauveur, President & CEO of APG Inc., the answer lies at the intersection of local expertise, modern distribution, and global trust. Spanning a network across 170+ countries, APG has spent decades helping carriers expand beyond their home borders. We sat down with Sandrine to discuss Africa’s most promising offline opportunities, the true value of travel trade partnerships, and why air cargo remains one of the continent’s most underutilized revenue streams
1. From Global Reach to Local Relevance
APG has built a network spanning more than 170 countries, with a particularly extensive footprint across Africa and the Middle East. Your philosophy is essentially “global but acting local.” What does that mean in practice, and why is local market intelligence becoming increasingly important for airlines seeking to grow internationally?
SDSS: Each market is different, and each culture is different. Local presence is key. It allows us to listen to and understand what is said (and not said), and to translate a global strategy into local actions that are effective for the local trade and direct customers.
2. Africa’s Untapped Commercial Potential
You work with airlines across very different markets and business models. When you look at Africa today, where do you see the greatest untapped commercial opportunities for African airlines—and what is preventing them from fully capturing those opportunities?
SDSS: APG focuses on airlines: we are airline people at heart and always look for potential new routes. We have developed our network extensively in Africa
because our growth will come from this continent. We work with MIDT, IATA DDS and OAG data to understand trends and development potential, and we also listen to the market. For example, when we see significant indirect traffic between Lagos and Cape Town, or between Algiers and Sharm El-Sheikh, these may be opportunities for new routes. However, traffic
must be balanced in both directions, and money transfers must be fluid. In general, the more complex the market, the more opportunities we see: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Mozambique and Nigeria, among others. All are difficult markets, and they require strong local expertise to mitigate the risks of doing business.
3. Distribution as a Competitive Advantage
Airline distribution is undergoing a profound transformation, with NDC, direct connect, digital retailing and new settlement models reshaping the relationship
between airlines, travel agents and passengers. For an African airline with limited resources, where should it focus first to build a distribution strategy
that improves revenue while controlling costs? APG now offers solutions spanning GSSA, direct connect, settlement, fare filing and distribution.
SDSS : distribution is the first step to ensure commercial success. It is essential because money flows in the airline industry are very complex. In 2001, APG created a dedicated company specializing in distribution; our expertise is second to none. Many problems can prevent a ticket from being issued or the funds from reaching the airline’s bank account: the way fares or rules are filed, misunderstandings around credit card acceptance, currency restrictions, incorrectly filed flights, a GDS bug, an unstable API or the wrong distributor.A sound distribution strategy is based on opening different direct and indirect channels, with full transparency and variable costs. This is what APG offers. In line with this vision, APG continues to invest heavily in distribution. We created APG DIRECT Connect, a tool that connects airlines’ APIs and full content to travel agencies that we accredit and for which we manage the risk. Almost 50 airlines are now connected to more than 5,000 travel agencies worldwide.
4. Beyond the Home Market
Many African airlines have strong brands and loyal customers in their home markets but struggle to build commercial presence beyond their own borders.How can a GSA and global distribution partner help an African airline enter new markets faster and at lower risk than establishing its own commercial infrastructure?
SDSS: Airlines must always focus their time and efforts on their home and primary markets. Entering a new market is complicated: it requires understanding the market,
analyzing its specific characteristics, gaining the trust of local stakeholders and adapting the way of doing business. The “must-do” list is long, and a good GSSA can simplify the process. APG knows how to navigate different countries because, in most cases, we have had a local presence and represented airlines there for decades.
This is a people business: being known and recognized as trusted airline professionals is what defines APG.
5. Turning Connectivity into Revenue
Africa needs greater intra-African connectivity, but operating a route does not necessarily make it commercially sustainable. How can airlines use interline partnerships, codeshares and broader distribution networks to turn individual routes into commercially viable global itineraries? APG has developed a substantial interline ecosystem as part of its distribution proposition.
SDSS: Interline partnerships are built on cooperation and trust between airlines. I value that philosophy, which is why we invested in our interline tool built around our own IATA airline, APG AIRLINES. Airlines trust us because they know that whatever happens, wherever the ticket is issued, they will get paid for the passenger they transported. I know how difficult it can be to do business in each country, and having a trusted worldwide interline partner such as APG AIRLINES offers tremendous value by making the process simple, quick and safe.
6. The Airline–Travel Agent Relationship
The travel trade remains an important part of airline distribution in many African markets, particularly where digital penetration and payment ecosystems vary
considerably. What do you believe airlines sometimes misunderstand about the value of travel agents, and how can airlines and trade build a more productive relationship in the era of digital distribution?
SDSS: A common mistake is to believe that simply flying an aircraft and building a website will ensure that customers buy tickets and the aircraft is full.
Customers buy when they trust the product and have a good experience, including when they encounter a problem and see how it is handled. Airlines therefore often see travel agencies as a cost to avoid, rather than as a channel for higher-yield revenue. This also depends on trust between the trade and airline communities. Both sides should speak frankly and recognize that unreliable actors on both sides should be identified and should leave the market.
7. The Revenue Opportunity Beyond the Passenger Cabin
APG operates across both passenger and cargo GSSA services. Do you believe African airlines are sufficiently exploiting the commercial potential of air cargo, and what role can stronger global sales representation and interline connectivity play in unlocking Africa’s cargo opportunity?
SDSS: Definitely not. Airlines focus on the passenger side, and cargo often comes much later. Yet a few tons of cargo can help improve profitability, including through offline markets. This is what we do in our cargo division: we have developed our own cargo interline tool, which enables us to fill capacity gaps on routes when needed.
8. Making Partnerships Work for Airlines
Partnerships are often announced with great optimism but do not always translate into measurable commercial value. From your experience working with
more than 200 airline clients, what separates a successful airline–commercial partner relationship from one that simply looks good on paper?
SDSS: We are proud to have worked with airline clients for many years, and I thank them for their trust. We work towards clear targets, and a good partnership is based on transparency, respect, hard work and consistency on both sides. This is simple and therefore very difficult.
9. The Next Five Years of African Airline Distribution
Looking ahead to 2030, what do you think will fundamentally change about the way African airlines sell, distribute and market their products—and which
airlines do you believe will be best positioned to benefit from that transformation?
SDSS : I always say, “change is constant”. Impermanence is a law imposed on us. The best positioned are the ones with a clear vision, great agility, a strong
workforce and humility toward the environment and the competition.
10.One Message to African Airline CEOs
You have a unique perspective from working across airlines, markets and continents. If you could sit down with every African airline CEO and give them one piece of commercial advice to strengthen the competitiveness and financial sustainability of their airline, what would you tell them?
SDSS: Listen to your conscience. If you are a great leader, deep down you know what to do, and it often requires courage.
Closing Question
Sandrine, APG has spent more than three decades helping airlines extend their reach beyond their home markets. Looking at Africa, what is the one thing that makes you
most optimistic about the continent’s aviation future?
Youth