However, connections between the rest of the continents remained uncovered, so to speak, meaning that intercontinental connectivity was still incomplete. This first phase of commercial aviation serving long-haul travel and tourism was carried out mainly by European, American, and Australian airlines (in the European case, the flag carriers such as Iberia, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, and KLM; in the American case, the so-called “Big Three”: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines; and in the Australian case, Qantas). Special mention should be made of the Russian airline Aeroflot, which, with the flights it offered to connect with European countries and some Asian ones, was positioned on the “border” of what can be considered an intercontinental flight, since Russia straddles two continents.

Later, other milestones arrived to complete intercontinental connectivity. Perhaps it is at least worth mentioning the milestone of the emergence of low-cost airlines in the early years of the 21st century. Although they have not been decisive in intercontinental connectivity, they have nevertheless played a part in connections between Europe and Africa (mainly through Ryanair and EasyJet, with flights linking European cities with cities in North Africa) and between Asia and Oceania (connecting some Australian cities with others on the Asian continent).

But without a doubt, the great milestone in the history of commercial aviation that ultimately consolidated intercontinental connection was the establishment of certain Middle Eastern airports as genuine hubs enabling connections between Europe and Asia, between Europe and Africa, between Europe and Oceania, between Asia and Africa, between Asia and America, between Africa and America, and between Africa and Oceania. The airlines that have played a leading role in this process have been primarily Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad, although in recent times others such as Saudia have joined in.

Yet that “boom” did not exhaust the new developments in commercial aviation, since in recent years another type of airline has been strongly entering the global air market: the African carrier Ethiopian Airlines. It has been doing remarkable work to improve connectivity between Europe and Africa, between Africa and Asia, and even between Africa and America. While, as mentioned, these connections had already been at least partially covered in earlier times, Ethiopian Airlines has significantly improved them (this in addition, of course, to the work it has done to enhance air connections within Africa itself).

Perhaps other South African airlines could join the process to complement the work that Ethiopian Airlines has already begun. It would be reasonable for those airlines to come from the continent’s strongest economies, such as South Africa and Nigeria, which also, due to their geographic location, appear key to improving connections between Africa and America: with South America in the case of South Africa (for now, South African Airways only operates flights to São Paulo), and with the Caribbean, Central America, or even North America in the case of Nigeria (we must not forget the cultural ties stemming from an African American population that largely originates from West Africa).

The pending challenge—and therefore perhaps the next phase that could and should be addressed—in global commercial aviation is the connectivity of Oceania with the rest of the continents. This would improve the current precarious situation, in which intra-continental connections are also poor. At present, the possibilities of connecting with Oceanian countries beyond Australia and New Zealand depend precisely on flying to these countries before traveling on to others, with the disadvantage that such stopovers require going much further south than would be necessary if better connections existed. Beyond that, it is worth noting that even New Zealand is not well connected with other continents, since in many cases it is necessary to stop over in Australia to reach the Kiwi country.

Apart from the aforementioned role of Australian and New Zealand airlines, and given the limited capacity of the airlines from other Oceanian countries (although Papua’s Air Niugini already connects cities in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, as well as Papua New Guinean cities, with cities in China, the Philippines and Singapore), perhaps the emergence of an Asian airline determined to strongly pursue this still “untouched” slice of the pie in connectivity between Asia and Oceania (understood broadly and not only as Australia and New Zealand), and by extension between Oceania and the rest of the world, would be necessary. After all, one must not forget that Pacific countries are notably and increasingly attractive in the field of global tourism.

Author: Sergio Gonzalo Rodrigo

Travel advisor, travel writer, and researcher of travel as an activity

as a phenomenon, and as a discipline.