► CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): Launch of Air CEMAC delayed once more; this time until late 2013.

As prognosticated by The African Aviation Tribune in November 2012, Air CEMAC, the planned regional carrier to link Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and São Tomé & Príncipe, has indeed been forced to delay its intended January 2013 launch date, this time, to November/December 2013.

►► GHANA: Ethiopian makes various operational changes to Accra, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lomé and Ouagadougou flights from late November.

Effective 25 November 2012, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will adjust its operations to Accra, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lomé and Ouagadougou service. Of particular interest is that Accra will receive a daily 787 service, replacing its current 757.

► COTE D'IVOIRE: Air Cote d'Ivoire announces further destination launches.

Following on from our post yesterday, Air Cote d'Ivoire (HF) have announced further details about their intended network launch, set for 12 November 2012. 

► TOGO: ASKY Airlines to resume Bangui, Banjul, Pointe Noire from November.

Lomé, Togo based ASKY  Airlines (KP) is to resume flights to Bangui (Central African Republic), Banjul (Gambia) and Pointe Noire (Republic of the Congo) from November onwards.

► BRAZIL: Ethiopian Airlines delays Sao Paulo launch over lousy slot times.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET), originally meant to have launched their first South American route of Addis Ababa - Sao Paulo, Brazil via Lome, Togo (3x weekly Boeing 787 from December 2012), have now postponed the launch of flights to March 2013 owing to "the inconvenient slot given the airline" by the Brazilian aviation authorities.

► BURKINA FASO: Ariella Airlines launches with aid of Spain's IMD Airways.

Burkina Faso now has a second operator in addition to Air Burkina (2J); Ariella Airlines has now started operations with its first route being Ouagadougou - Bamako (Mali) - Pointe Noire (Congo Brazzaville) and Pointe Noire (Congo Brazzaville) - Cotonou (Benin) - Bamako (Mali) - Ouagadougo.

►► EQUATORIAL GUINEA: CEIBA Intercontinental waves Adios to its 777.

The Boeing 777-200LR (3C-LLS) of Equatorial Guinean carrier CEIBA Intercontinental (C2) (with what had to be one of the coolest liveries ever on a Boeing 777) today left Malabo, Equatorial Guinea for Lisbon, Portugal to be re-registered under White Airways (WI), a Portuguese leisure and charter flight operator out of Lisbon, becoming CS-TQX on the Portuguese registry.

(ex) CEIBA Intercontinental Boeing 777-200LR (sabian404)

It is unclear, however, what purpose the 777 served whilst under the CEIBA name, as the Equato-guinean flag-carrier is on the European Union's Banned Operator's List. In all honesty, it wouldn't be a massive surprise if it turned out that the aircraft had originally been bought for exclusive Presidential/VIP usage given Equatorial-Guinean President Teodoro Obiang's family's penchant for the high life and luxury which of late, has come under increasing scrutiny from the international media.

With the departure of the 777, CEIBA is now left with a fleet of two ATR 72-500s, one ATR 42 - 500, one ATR 42-320 and three Boeing 737-800 on order whilst its network consists of Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Bata (Equatorial Guinea), Cotonou, Douala, Accra, Abidjan, Lomé, Libreville, Pointe Noire and Brazzaville.

[UPDATE]: SkyLinerAviation informs us that the 777 has now been re-registered as CS-TQX and is to be ferried back to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea as of 21 August 2012. Hopefully the plane will now return to operation for CEIBA and we'll see it in possible international service in the near future. Watch this space for further details!