► ZIMBABWE: PAKAfrica Aviation to use 1time buy out, stake in CATS to establish hub out of Harare.

South Africa-based PAKAfrica Aviation has reportedly acquired a 49% stake in Zimbabwe's Central Air Transport Services (ZO) and intends to use the acquisition, in conjunction with a proposed ZAR15million (USD1.5million) buy out of defunct South African LCC, 1time (T6), to establish a regional hub out of Harare. 

► NAMIBIA: Air Namibia ERJ135s to undergo maintenance in August; adjusts timetable accordingly.

Air Namibia has announced that owing to mandatory maintenance checks on its fleet of four Embraer ERJ135s, effective August 12-31 the following schedule changes have been made:

► ZIMBABWE: Lufthansa not coming back to Harare any time soon: Dünhaupt

German carrier, Lufthansa (LH), will not be returning to the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, any time soon,  group communications director for Africa, Mr Aage Dünhaupt, has said, but would instead continue to maintain a presence in the market via a codeshare with its Star Alliance partner South African Airways' (SA) multiple daily Johannesburg - Harare flights.

► ZIMBABWE: Twice weekly Air Zimbabwe Vic Falls - Johannesburg flights resume from today.

Air Zimbabwe (UM) has pushed back the resumption of its much anticipated Victoria Falls - Johannesburg route to today, Friday, July 26. Originally announced as operating 3x weekly from July 12, flights will now only operate on Fridays and Sundays with an Embraer ERJ145 (MSN 145607 | ZS-BBH) leased from South Africa's Solenta Aviation.

► ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe resumes Vic Falls - Johannesburg from July 12.

Air Zimbabwe (UM) is to tentatively resume its Victoria Falls - Johannesburg flights with effect from July 12. The 3x weekly flights will operate with an Embraer E145. As of this posting however, the flight is not yet open to reservations and further changes to the schedule still remain possible.

► ZIMBABWE: First Embraer ERJ135 deployed into active service for Air Zimbabwe.

Fresh from the recent arrival and deployment into active service of its Airbus A320-200 (MCN 630 | Z-WPM) on its Harare - Johannesburg flights, Air Zimbabwe (UM) has now taken delivery of its first of two Embraer ERJ135 (Reg ?).

► ZIMBABWE: fastjet rumoured to be starting Victoria Falls flights from June.

UK-based Tanzanian LCC, fastjet (FN), is reportedly to commence regional operations to the Zimbabwean resort town of Victoria Falls starting June 4, Swiss aviation newswire ch-aviation reports.

■ ZIMBABWE: Construction of new airside infrastructure at Victoria Falls Airport goes ahead as Bulawayo's nears completion.

Work on the upgrading of airside infrastructure at Victoria Falls International Airport in Zimbabwe has finally gotten under way following a ground-breaking ceremony held in the resort town on Friday, attended by Zimbabwean government dignitaries. The contractor for the USD150million project, to be financed under a China ExIm Bank loan, has been identified as China Jiangsu International Group (CJIG).

►► BOTSWANA: Air Botswana officially announce new destinations; new timetables loaded.

[UPDATE 03 APRIL 2013]  Following on from our previous post on the topic, Air Botswana (BP) have announced their new updated timetable with new destinations including Johannesburg (Lanseria), Cape Town,  Nairobi (Kenya), Lilongwe, Blantyre (Malawi) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) as new destinations from the Batswana carrier's hub, Gaborone. Lusaka, Zambia will also see a third extra Wednesday frequency served in tandem to Lilongwe, Malawi which will receive a twice weekly service (one direct and the other via Lusaka.)

► ZIMBABWE: A sneak peek at Air Zimbabwe's planned N. Summer 2013 Route Network.

Following on from our previous bulletin yesterday, Air Zimbabwe's (UM) planned route expansion and fleet utilization plans have been unveiled. AirlineRoute writes that as per the 06MAR13 GDS timetable and inventory display, as well as OAG Schedules iNet, Air Zimbabwe’s planned Northern Summer 2013 operation are as follows, effective 31MAR13. Amongst the routes being introduced are Bulawayo - Victoria Falls, and tentatively Harare - Lagos - Accra - Harare and Harare - London Gatwick. No mention has been made of the Embraer ERJ135s.

■ ZIMBABWE: Unlucky FreshAir hoping to relaunch in December as 1Time officially heads for liquidation.

Nu-Aero, the 51% majority shareholders in Zimbabwean LCC, Fresh Air (Z7), have stated that flights between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg (ORTIA), South Africa "could" resume as early as next month, in time to capitalize on the Christmas period, if a suitable technical partner can be found.

► NAMIBIA: Air Namibia announces numerous changes to its timetable from January 2013 onwards.

Air Namibia (SW) has announced various changes to its operational schedule. These changes are to take effect from 15 January 2013 onwards.

► ZIMBABWE: Finally, Air Zimbabwe to resume flights in November.

As reported previously by The African Aviation Tribune, Air Zimbabwe(UM), the on/off Zimbabwean national airline, has confirmed its intended return to service in a news conference held last night in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.

► ZIMBABWE: FlyKumba's management venture into the helicopter business.

Lloyd Muchaka and South African based Zimbabwean investor, Patrick Chapwanya, the co-founders of the now defunct Zimbabwean LCC, FlyKumba (FKZ), have been granted a licence by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe for their helicopter company, Chikopokopo Helicopters, set to operate out of Victoria Falls.

► ZIMBABWE: FreshAir to start Vic Falls - Joburg in November, just as 1Time pulls out of Livingstone.

Zimbabwean LCC startup, FreshAir, the 51/49 joint venture between Nu.Com (Pvt) Ltd of Zimbabwe and 1Time Holdings Ltd of South Africa, are set to launch operations on 2 November 2012 with Victoria Falls - Johannesburg (ORTIA), South Africa as their initial route.

 

► ZIMBABWE: Minister admits new Victoria Falls Airport terminal will not be ready for UNWTO event.

Zimbabwean Minister of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development, Nicholas Goche, has come clean on events surrounding the refurbishment and expansion of Victoria Falls Airport, set to be one of the main transit points (the other being at Livingstone, Zambia's Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport) for next year's United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly.

► BOTSWANA: Air Botswana planning Nairobi, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Cape Town, Lanseria flights from October onwards?

Reliable Zimbabwean aviation blog, Harare Airport Blogger, is reporting that Botswana's national carrier, Air Botswana (BP), is planning to launch various new regional routes with effect from 28 October 2012, though these reports have not yet officially been confirmed by Air Botswana itself.

► NAMIBIA: Air Namibia announces numerous changes to its timetable from October onwards.

As part of their strategy of efficient utilisation of their aircraft, Namibian carrier Air Namibia (SW) have again announced various changes to both their regional and international network, effective from October 2012 (the precise dates are subject to each individual post).

► ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe Operations & General Aviation Update.

Over the last 3 weeks or so, we have been in Zimbabwe for business and had the chance to pay Air Zimbabwe and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) a visit to try and try get some updates on the status of Air Zimbabwe (UM) as well as other general info. After all, the interwebs has been filled with vast amounts of speculation and conflicting reports on Air Zimbabwe's status and murky dealings all of which make it very difficult to get an accurate picture of what is really going on there.

This is what we were told by our sources:

• Air Zimbabwe is still flying domestically, albeit using its aging Boeing 737-200Adv fleet to service Harare - Victoria Falls and Harare - Bulawayo. According to our sources, loads have picked up (which is no surprise seeing as there is no other competition on the routes). Harare - Vic Falls costs USD$400 return (lol).

An AirZim 737 awaiting its flight to Bulawayo (24 June 2012)

• Air Zimbabwe has indeed received a second A320 as previously reported by us. The two aircraft are now awaiting CAAZ registration before entering service, though where to, is still unknown. Also, the mysterious deal for two Airbus A340-500s that never was, came up quite often. Seems the deal is somehow "still in the offing" (make of that what you will, but we will believe it when we see it) though how much of that is truth and how much is pure BS is anyone's guess.

Two unknown BAe146s laid up at HRE (possibly Air Zim's)

• The Air Zimbabwe member we spoke to made reference to the fact that staff have gone without pay for 11 months; UM staff are still in court over the USD$40million still owed to them, so any new deal to get UM back in the skies will first have to overcome this serious problem.
• Solenta Aviation, one of the only private players plying the safari routes, shut down its Zimbabwean operation as of May 2012. 
• Harare International Airport is undergoing refurbishment; the main runway and taxiways are being done at the present moment using USD$24million in funds availed by the Ministry of Finance. Bulawayo (Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo) Airport is about to be completed, with Victoria Falls Airport currently a "work in progress".
• No word yet on when SolAir or Phoenix Air will (if ever) take to the skies. Strangely enough, a controversial Chinese mining firm, Anjin Investments, at the centre of a scandal involving Zimbabwean diamonds, has also applied for an airline operator's license.

So there you have it folks. Make of it what you all will, but bear in mind that what a pencil pushing bureaucrat says and what actually happens are usually two completely different things.

► ZIMBABWE: 1Time to start Joburg to Harare and Vic Falls?

The aviation rumour-mill here in Zimbabwe is awash with word that South African LCC 1Time (T6) has just completed a trial Johannesburg - Harare, Zimbabwe flight and will shortly commence service, though no official confirmation has yet been given by either 1Time or the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ).

1Time's Route Network.

In the recent past, Kulula, 1Time and the now-defunct LCC VelvetSky had battled to no avail, enormous red tape and CAAZ protective measures to acquire rights to service the very lucrative routes of Johannesburg - Harare, and Johannesburg - Victoria Falls where the average price for a return ticket from Harare to Joburg can cost anywhere from USD$440 to USD$600 using either South African Airways or BA Comair.

Until now these routes have been dominated by South African Airways, BA Comair and even Air Zimbabwe though with Air Zimbabwe facing possible liquidation, it seems likely that the Zimbabwean authorities would want to free up the route seeing as the only competitors on it, are now exclusively South African.
 

As mentioned above, 1Time is also looking at starting a service to Victoria Falls which, in theory, it does already serve, albeit on the Zambian side of the Falls - Livingstone.

Watch This Space.