► ZIMBABWE: Crappy runway lighting at Harare forces South African Airways to bring forward Joburg evening flight departures.

After an incident on Monday last week in which South African Airways (SA) canceled its evening flight from Johannesburg to Harare, Zimbabwe citing poor lighting on runway 05/23 at Harare International Airport, the South African national carrier has now confirmed that it has changed its night flights to Harare to an earlier departure time.  

► CHINA: Egyptair increases Beijing frequencies from December.

Egyptian national carrier, EgyptAir (MS) will, from 3 December 2012, add an additional 4th weekly frequency on its route between Cairo and Beijing, China.

■ KENYA: Its Game On as Jambo Jet granted Air Service Licence; FastJet's A319s approved by KCAA.

The battle for the East African aviation market today heated up significantly when the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) dually announced the granting to Kenya Airways (KQ) of regulatory approval in the form of an Air Service License for the launch of its low-cost subsidiary, Jambo Jet, whilst at the same time, it granted FastJet certification for the use of its Airbus A319s in Kenya.

► TANZANIA: Chaos as Air Tanzania 'sort of' resumes services and Fly540 TZ suddenly drops various domestic routes.

In what turned out to be a less than auspicious relaunch, Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania (TC) made a pig's breakfast of its debut on Friday morning, by canceling its Dar es Salaam to Mwanza via Kilimanjaro flight. A lone flight to Mwanza later in the evening on Friday served as the carrier's return to service, though news reports state that Dar es Salaam - Kilimanjaro flights will be postponed for roughly a week.

► 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.

■ MADAGASCAR: Air Madagascar passes IOSA, EASA audits; wants to be struck off the EU No-Fly Ban List.

After a cabinet meeting which judged troubled national carrier, Air Madagascar (MD), to be on the path to recovery,  the Madagascar government will, before the end of October, send an inter-ministerial delegation to Brussels to lobby for the removal of national carrier, Air Madagascar (MD), from the EU's No Fly Ban List.

►► ZIMBABWE: SA Express launches Durban - Harare from October onwards.

[UPDATE 12 OCTOBER] Following on from its launch of direct Durban - Lusaka flights in July, South African regional carrier, SA Express (XZ), today announced in the Zimbabwean press that it will start a 3x weekly direct Durban, South Africa - Harare, Zimbabwe service using a Bombardier CRJ-200, effective 3 October 2012. 

■ LIBYA: Afriqiyah to remove "infamous 9s" livery in coming weeks.

Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah (8U), have announced via their official twitter account that their next aircraft to arrive in November, will arrive in the carrier's new colours; "the infamous 9s finally being removed." No previews of the new colour scheme have been revealed, though it is said to be "independence flag related."

■ SOUTH AFRICA: 1Time to retire two aircraft and shed 15% of workforce as part of cost cutting measures.

As part of its fight to remain afloat financially, troubled South African LCC, 1Time (T6), has announced that it is to cut its fleet down from 10 to 8 aircraft with plans to trim its workforce down by 15%.

■ GHANA: Government signs MoU with Chinese firm for feasibility study on new Accra airport near Prampram.

Ghana's Minister of Transport, Alhaji Collins Dauda, yesterday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Airports Construction Corporation (CACC) to undertake a feasibility study for a conceptual design for a new international airport to be situated near Prampram in Dangbe-East District, near Accra.

► MOROCCO: Mauritanian Airlines International Boeing 737-700 suffers second technical glitch in three weeks.

A Boeing 737-700 (MSN 34263 | 5T-CLC), leased from Aviation Capital Group and operated by Mauritanian Airlines International (L6), the national airline of Mauritania, on Tuesday, suffered yet another technical glitch; its second in 3 weeks. 

► FRANCE: Air Arabia Maroc launches Casablanca - Toulouse from late October.

Moroccan LCC, Air Arabia Maroc (3O), will from 28 October 2012, start once weekly Sunday flights between Casablanca, Morocco and Toulouse, France, which will increase to a twice weekly service (an added Thursday flight) from mid-November onwards.

►► SWEDEN: Ethiopian Airlines incorporating Cairo stop on Stockholm flights.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is currently incorporating a stopover in Cairo, Egypt on its previously direct Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Stockholm, Sweden flights.

The route change has been in vigour since 10 August 2012 and will last until 10 September 2012, though the GDS has it until late October.

► TANZANIA: FastJet to launch with 3x daily Dar es Salaam - Nairobi flights.

FastJet have announced their debut route; that of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya and return. The route's debut flight will operate as a return VIP flight with 3x daily service between the two East African capitals to follow. No specific date, however, was given for the start of operations, though recent news reports have hinted at a possible November date launch.

■ FRANCE: Egyptair selects Messier-Bugatti-Dowty to overhaul Airbus A320/A340 landing gears.

Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering,  a subsidiary of Egypt's national carrier Egyptair (MS), has selected Messier-Bugatti-Dowty for the exchange and overhaul of landing gear on ten of Egyptair's Airbus A320s, and for the centre landing gears on three of Egyptair's remaining Airbus A340s, prior to their phasing out.

■ UNITED STATES: Air Namibia awards $4million contract to JBT AeroTech for Airport Ground Support Equipment.

As part of its long term expansion strategy, Namibian national carrier, Air Namibia (SW), has awarded a contract worth USD4million to Chicago-based firm JBT AeroTech, to supply it with new airport ground equipment.

► NIGERIA: IRS Airlines Fokker 100 collides with FAAN truck whilst taxiing at Lagos; no casualties.

In an incident that strongly resembles an Arik Air B737's run-in with the wing tip of a parked Nigerian Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft at Jos Airport in July, an IRS Airlines (LVB) Fokker 100, taxiing for departure as flight LVB3306 from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos to Kano via Abuja (Nigeria), this morning (07h48L) hit a truck belonging to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). 

■ SEYCHELLES: Etihad partnership starting to pay off as Air Seychelles quarterly revenues up 23%.

Air Seychelles (HM) has announced Q3 revenues of USD$13.8 million, up 23% on Q2, as the airline's restructuring programme, initiated in February of this year, took effect in the drive towards profitability for 2012.  The growth in revenues was led by a 51% quarter-on-quarter increase in passengers, up from 53,066 to 79,887, as seat factors rose from 43% to 60%.  Air Seychelles’ management team is confident that the airline will achieve its target of profitability in 2012, marking a major turnaround after several years of heavy losses.

► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania resumes flights Friday as Government wants Lufthansa for joint venture.

As we reported last week, Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania (TC) will resume flights on Friday 12 October 2012 using their Bombardier Dash 8-300 (MSN 474 | 5H-MWF) along with two leased Boeing 737-500 of unknown origin. 

► SUDAN: Azza Air Transport AN-12 crashes near Khartoum, 15 dead.

An Azza Air Transport (AZZ) Antonov AN-12BP (*confirmed MSN 402010 | ST-ASA) operating a flight for the Sudanese military, has crashed 40 kilometers west of Omdurman, as it was climbing out of Khartoum International Airport en-route to El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

► SOUTH KOREA: Kenya Airways signs codeshare deal with Korean Air.

Kenya Airways (KQ), has announced the signing of a codeshare agreement signed with fellow SkyTeam member, South Korea's Korean Air (KE), thereby allowing the Kenyan national carrier to offer direct return flights between Seoul and Nairobi.

► ITALY: Algeria's Tassili Airlines launches Hassi Messaoud to Rome-Fiumicino service.

Algeria's Tassili Airlines (SF), last week, launched once weekly direct flights between Hassi Messaoud in south-east Algeria, and Rome Fiumicino, Italy using a Boeing 737-800. This new route marks Tassili's first foray into the regional market, having been an exclusively domestic Algerian charter operator until now.

► GERMANY: Ethiopian to reduce Frankfurt service to 6x weekly from late October 'til late November.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will temporarily reduce its Boeing 767-300 operated Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Frankfurt, Germany service from daily to 6x weekly, effective between 28 October 2012 'til 25 November 2012.

► EQUATORIAL GUINEA: (Pics) CEIBA Intercontinental unveils a new livery on their ATR72!

Enigmatic Equatoguinean carrier CEIBA Intercontinental (C2), fresh from the inauguration last week of their first international route between Malabo and Madrid, have unveiled a new livery, with one of their ATR 72's (MSN 790 | 3C-LLI) being the first to receive it following a paintjob in Las Palmas, Spain.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: CEO Mzimela, two managers jump ship as press reports claim SAA likely to post $140million loss.

South African Airways (SA) CEO Siza Mzimela, along with Theunis Potgieter, the carrier's Commercial General Manager and Sandra Coetzee, its Legal & Risk General Manager, today joined now ex-Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus and seven other non executive board members in jumping the SAA ship.

► MOROCCO: Air France introduces daily Paris Orly - Casablanca flights from 2013.

Air France (AF) will, from 31 March 2013, start daily operations to Casablanca, Morocco using an Airbus A318.

► TANZANIA: KLM boosts Kilimanjaro to 9x weekly from December.

From 27 December 2012 until 10 March 2013, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) is to increase its flight frequency between Amsterdam, Holland and Kilimanjaro, Tanzania from daily to 9x weekly. The added flights will operate on a Thursday and Saturday ex-Schipol.

►► CAMEROON: Camair-Co delays Kinshasa/Lagos services until late October.

[UPDATED 7 OCTOBER 2012] Originally slated to start on 12 June 2012, Cameroonian national carrier Camair-Co (QC) has postponed the start of its 3x weekly Douala, Cameroon - Kinshasa, DRC and Douala, Cameroon - Lagos, Nigeria flights until 23 and 25 July 2012 respectively.

■ KENYA: Kenya Airways pilot's union ends go slow.

In yet another episode of drama at Kenya Airways (KQ), a dispute over "goodwill" - an agreement with KALPA (Kenya Airlines Pilot Association) that requires its pilots to be voluntarily available to work for certain hours during off time, but within legal limits approved by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) - that inadvertently led to flight disruptions and cancellations on Saturday, has now been resolved according to Kenyan press reports.

► 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.

► SPAIN: CEIBA Intercontinental starts Malabo - Madrid flights.

Since transferring its sole Boeing 777-200LR (MSN 40668| CS-TQX) onto the registry of Portuguese airline White Airways, Equatoguinean national carrier CEIBA Intercontinental (C2) has now been able to launch a 3x weekly service between Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and Madrid, Spain, effective 4 October 2012.

► CAMEROON: Camair-Co signs $430million deal for two 787s.

The Cameroonian Government has announced plans worth USD429million to buy two Boeing 787-8s for use by national carrier Camair-Co (QC), with delivery scheduled for 2015. The new deal comes as load factors on the airline's  Douala - Yaoundé - Paris route's load factors have increased to 65.5% last month, against 47.3% for the route's inaugural in April.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: 1Time wants reductions in fuel levy, taxes as private airlines react angrily to SAA bailout.

1Time (T6), the South African LCC, has clarified the air over reports in the press that it had written to the South African government seeking a bail out (akin to what national carrier South African Airways (SA) secured last week), stating that their proposal centred around the South African government subsidising the airline industry as a whole with selected levies and taxes, and not to only offer unfair bail outs to South African Airways and its affiliate SAExpress (XZ).

► LIBERIA: Brussels Airlines increases Monrovia, drops Bamako from early 2013.

Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines (SN) is to terminate its Bamako, Mali flights effective 8 January 2013. Bamako is currently served once weekly in tandem with Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian's first 787 undergoes GEnx engine change as General Electric issues global turbine inspection directive.

Despite having now received their second Boeing 787-8 (MSN 34746 | ET-AOR), Ethiopian Airlines (ET) have only recently finished dealing with their maiden Boeing 787-8's (MSN 34745 | ET-AOQ) first technical glitch: the replacement of one of its General Electric (GEnx-1B64) engines which had experienced problems with its hydraulics and oil leakage.

■ MOROCCO: Air France Industrie to outsource 100 jobs to Casablanca.

In a move bound to have serious repercussions in France and with Air France trade unions in particular, the maintenance wing of Air France, Air France Industrie, has announced it will outsource 100 out of the 450 technician jobs at its Croix-du-Sud Facility at Toulouse-Blagnac, to Morocco.

► ETHIOPIA: (Pics) Ethiopian Airlines takes delivery of first customized Bombardier Q-400.

Ethiopian national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines (ET), on 28 September, took delivery of its first of five reconfigured Bombardier Q-400. Routed Toronto-St Johns-Azores-Lisbon-Rome, ET-AQB (MSN 4419) arrived in Addis Ababa yesterday to much pomp and fervour.

► NIGERIA: Dana Air starts test flights ahead of return of service.

Nigerian carrier Dana Air (9J), following the reinstatement of its Operator's Licence in September by the Nigerian Government in early September, has embarked on a series of test flights in preparation for its resumption of scheduled passenger flight operations in the near future.

► MOROCCO: JetBlue, Royal Air Maroc sign interline deal.

After ending their 12-year-long code-share deal with Delta Airlines (DL) as their American code-share partner in June, Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (AT),  has moved on and today announced the signing of an interline deal with American LCC JetBlue Airways (B6). 

The move will see a wider variety of flights being offered to each other's passengers, that were previously unavailable.

► SUDAN: See Pics of Nova Air's Boeing 737-500 in new colours!

Khartoum based carrier Nova Air (O9) are set to receive their maiden Boeing 737-500 (MCN 29122 | M-ABES), leased from Dutch leasers Sojitz Aircraft Leasing B.V. The airline is currently in Bournemouth, UK having been painted in the company's colours, and is now awaiting its ferry flight to Khartoum where it will be used for charter flights.

■ TANZANIA: Precision Air posts USD400'000 profit despite tough market conditions.

Tanzanian private carrier Precision Air (PW) yesterday presented its  Ernst & Young audited report for the Financial Year 2011/2012 to shareholders, marking the airline's first annual general meeting since the company floated its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in November of last year.

■ MALI: Renovated runway 06/24 at Bamako-Sénou International Airport handed over to AdM.

At a ceremony held last week and overseen by the Malian Minister of Facilities' Planning, Mamadou Coulibaly, and attended by the Ministers of Defense, Security, Communications, the Minister of Handicrafts and Tourism as well as the Minister responsible for Malians Abroad and African Integration, and various government bureaucrats, the capital Bamako's Sénou International Airport's newly renovated, reinforced and extended runway 06/24, was handed over to  Aéroports du Mali (AdM) for immediate operational use.

►► LIBYA: Emirates cancels intended Tripoli service resumption.

[UPDATED 3 OCTOBER 2012] Emirates (EK) are to restart their service from Dubai to Tripoli, Libya that was suspended in February of last year due to the Libyan Uprising. The flights will recommence on 29 October 2012 with a 4x weekly Airbus A330-200 service that will switch to an Airbus A340-300 from 2 January 2013.

► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania set to reach new deal with AeroVista; to resume flights next week, but at what cost?

Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania (TC) is looking to resume flights by 10 October, should it reach an agreement with Dubai based ACMI specialists AeroVista, from whom they leased a Boeing 737-500 (MSN 27354 | 4L-AJB).

► TANZANIA: Delta Airlines opens ticket office in Dar es Salaam.

American carrier Delta Airlines (DL) has opened a ticketing office in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, as the airline moves to strengthen and consolidate its presence in East Africa, a prime tourist destinations for many Americans.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: SAA gets its USD600million bailout from Government.

The South African Government today announced that it would guarantee USD$600 million in loans for troubled state airline South African Airways (SA) over the next two years. The news comes as dust from  last week's mass boardroom resignation settles, with 8 new board-members having been appointed, in addition to a new chairman.

► DUBAI: Emirates looks to partner African LCC airlines in bid to establish feeder networks.

Emirati carrier Emirates (EK) has allured to plans it has for future partnerships with Africa-focused low-cost carriers as the mega-carrier moves to boost its presence on the continent.

► SPAIN: Royal Air Maroc launches Tangier - Madrid flights from October.

In a press statement today, Royal Air Maroc (AT) announced it will start 3x weekly flights between the Spanish capital, Madrid, and the northern Moroccan city of Tangier effective 11 October. The flights will be operated with ATR72-600 aircraft.