• The African Aviation Tribune •

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

►► KENYA: Rwandair boosts Nairobi with 5 additional flights starting 25 January.

[UPDATE 3 JANUARY] Following the announcement late last year of a new partnership between Kenya Airways (KQ) and Rwandan national carrier, RwandAir (WB), the latter have announced an increase in their weekly frequencies to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, served via Entebbe, Uganda. Effective 25 January, Rwandair will add an extra 5 weekly flights to Nairobi using a Canadair CRJ900.

Tunisia is to auction off the Boeing 737-700 (MSN 29149 | TS-IOO) of deposed president Ben Ali, now on display in Dubai. A sale date of January 2013 has been announced though the overseer of the auction, Tunisair's CEO, Rabah Jrad, did not divulge the name of the aircraft's potential buyer.

The Comorian Government on Saturday 29 December 2012, took delivery of a 19 seat LET 410 UVP-E20 (D6-NWD) with the aim of launching a dedicated inter-island air service. The move comes after the crash of an Inter Îles Air (ZXA) Embraer 120ER off the coast of Hahaya, Grande Comore in late November left the islands' local aviation industry reeling.

Nigeria's Med-View Airline (VL) has announced the launch of daily flights between Abuja - Yola and Lagos- Owerri as the airline moves to expand its network following its launch in November.

A Kenya Airways Boeing 737-700 (MSN 32371 | 5Y-KQG) operating flight KQ320 bound for Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday 1 January 2013, was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take off from Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, following an engine failure. No casualties have been reported.

■ TUNISIA: Tunisair to axe 1'700 jobs, dramatically grow Africa network as part of plans to return to profitability.

Rabah Jrad, the CEO of Tunisian national carrier Tunisair (TU), has said the airline intends to reduce its workforce of 8'500 employees by 1'700 workers between 2013 and 2014, as part of a restructuring plan to help reduce its bloated payroll, following a USD98.3million (EUR77.2million) loss for 2011.

Amidst a turbulent political climate, Karinou Airlines (KRN), formerly Africa Airlines, has outlined plans to launch scheduled regional operations out of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, possibly in early January.

The first pictures of Nigerian carrier First Nation Airways (FRN) first Airbus A319-100 (MSN: 647 | 5N-FND) on lease from the International Leasing Finance Corporation (ILFC) have emerged from Ireland.

In confirmation of our previous post, Gambian carrier Gambia Bird (3G) has officially announced new routes to Bamako (Mali), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Douala (Cameroon) with the new destinations set to launch from 10 January. The expansion comes after Gambia Bird (3G) took delivery of their second Airbus A319 (MSN 4691 | D-ASTB) in early December.

A confiscated Georgian-owned Boeing 737-300 (4L-IMA) could soon join the fleet of grounded Chadian national carrier, Toumaï Air Tchad (9D). However, the acquisition is shrouded in controversy as the Chadian private press allege that the aircraft is to be diverted to Sky Air Corp, a local company owned and run by Zakaria Déby, the son of Chadian strongman, Idris Déby, who incidentally, is also the boss of Toumaï Air Tchad.

■ MOZAMBIQUE: Renovation of Maputo's runway 05/23 and other infrastructure to begin in 2014.

Following the October opening of the new Domestic Terminal at Maputo International Airport, Aeroportos de Moçambique (AdM) has announced that work on Phase III of the rejuvenation of the airport - namely the rebuilding of runway 05/23, the apron, and other facilities including all airfield lighting systems at the airport - is to begin in 2014, having previously been scheduled for 2013.

[UPDATE 28 DECEMBER] According to Skyliner.de, grounded Nigerian carrier, FirstNation Airways (FRN), is to lease an Airbus A319-100 (MSN: 647 | 5N-FND) from the International Leasing Finance Corporation (ILFC).

Defunct South African LCC 1Time (T6) has set 27 February 2013 as its intended date of relaunch as talks with suitor Fastjet (FN) and the airline's creditors progress. On 19 December, it was announced that fastjet had entered into an option agreement to buy the entire issued share capital of 1Time Airline from its parent company, 1time Holdings Limited, for ZAR1 (USD0.12).

According to news reports out of Tunisia, Syphax Airlines (FS), Tunisia's largest private carrier, will in April 2013 take delivery of an Airbus A330 with a second due in early 2014 as the airline sets its sights on expanding internationally.

Air Malawi (QM) Ltd is to send "up to 243 employees" on leave pending retrenchment and retirement as part of the government's restructuring of the company, currently being overseen by the Privatization Commission.

The Congolese Association for Access to Justice (l'Association Congolaise pour l'Accès à la Justice (ACAJ)) has slammed the regional government of Katanga Province over its repeated failure to provide adequate security at Lubumbashi Luano International Airport following numerous attacks in the last two years.

Egyptian national carrier, Egyptair (MS), is expected to announce in early 2013 a decision on whether it will purchase a 49.9% minority stake-holding in grounded Ghanaian carrier CTK CiTyLinK (CTQ), following the submission of a Due Diligence report by accounting firm, Ernest & Young, last week.

► NIGERIA: Med-View Airlines wet leases B737-800 from EuroAtlantic Airways.

Nigerian domestic operator, Med-View Airline (VL), has wet-leased its first B737-800 (MSN 1122 | CS-TQU) from Portuguese charter specialists EuroAtlantic Airways to supplement its current fleet of two Boeing 737-400s.

Ethiopia's growing aviation education sector this last week added 100 new trained and qualified professionals to the growing local and regional market with the Ethiopian Aviation Academy (EAA) graduating 20 Pilots and 72 Cabin Crew and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) graduating 8 air traffic controllers.

Tanzania's Precision Air on Sunday 23 December 2012, took delivery of its second ATR42-600 (MSN 1003 | 5H-PWI) following a delivery flight routed Toulouse - Brindisi - Luxor - Dar es Salaam. The welcoming ceremony was held at Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport.

Egyptair (MS) has joined the list of foreign carriers returning to the Zimbabwean capital with plans to tentatively start a 4x weekly Boeing 737-800 operated Harare via Dar Es Salaam service from 1 June 2013. The Egyptian national carrier last served Harare in 2003 as an intermediate stop between Cairo and Johannesburg using an Airbus A340-200.

■ BOTSWANA: Air Botswana selects ADSoftware's AIRPACK for its ERP platform.

Botswana national carrier, Air Botswana (BP), recently implemented French aviation software specialist ADSoftware's "AIRPACK Fleet Management System & Logistics Solutions" as part of its continuing efforts to adopt global best practices.

EgyptAir (MS) will from 1 June 2013, launch a new service to the United Kingdom, with 5x weekly Cairo – Manchester flights on board Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Arizona-based US Airways (US) and fellow Star Alliance member South African Airways (SA) have announced a new bilateral codeshare agreement after receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Department of Transport – South Africa. South African Airways recently signed two other code share deals with two other North American carriers: Air Canada (AC) and JetBlue Airways (B6).

Five years on from the opening of the rehabilitated runway 18L/36R used for domestic flights out of Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport, mobile airfield lighting has finally been installed there henceforth allowing night time landings which were previously only permitted on runway 18R/36L.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) continues its push into southern Africa with the launch in Summer 2013 of a service to Malawi's commercial hub, Blantyre. The new 3x weekly, Boeing 737-800 operated route, Addis Ababa - Lilongwe - Blantyre - Addis Ababa, begins 31 March 2013.

Kenya Airways (KQ) and Rwandan national carrier, RwandAir (WB), are on the cusp of the of forming a strategic partnership with aims of fostering stronger relations in the areas of cargo, maintenance and flight training between the two airlines.

Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah Airlines (8U), last week unveiled a new logo and corporate identity at a ceremony held at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli.

Zambia's third largest city, Ndola, is to see an increase in its regional connectivity with Ethiopian Airlines (ET) set to launch 3x weekly Boeing 737-700 flights to the Copperbelt from 31 March 2013, whilst competitor, Kenya Airways (KQ), is to introduce a once weekly Embrarer E190 Nairobi – Ndola terminator service, also effective 31 March 2013.

Namibia's national carrier, Air Namibia (SW), is set to take delivery of two Airbus A319s (MSN 5366 | V5-ANM) and (MSN 5400 | V5-ANN) following a handing over ceremony in Hamburg, Germany last week.

Celestair Group's Malian subsidiary, Air Mali (I5), as result of the ongoing political and economic crisis in Mali, has suspended operations for nine months effective 24 December 2012.

Malawi's Privatization Commission, the governmental department charged with overseeing the sell off and eventual privatization of national carrier Air Malawi (QM), has announced a shortlist of 5 potential investors for Air Malawi (2012) Limited, whittled down from the original 11.

Thank You. Yes, You! From The African Aviation Tribune.

From today (20 December) until late January 2013, we will be away in Zimbabwe for Christmas and for business and as such, news will likely slow to a trickle. But fear not, we will try our utmost to keep you all updated on any developments if and when they occur!

That said, I want to thank all of you who have supported the site, either through simply reading it, retweeting our articles or by contributing links and info.

My particular thanks go to Tom and the boys over at CH-Aviation and Rich and his crew at AirlineRoute all of whom provide us with large quantities of top quality info. I'd also like to thank Bigogwe Masaka, a regular contributor with articles and also input with comments and the like. To Seb at TravelComments and Wereldreizen who help propagate us via Twitter - Big thanks to you too.

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Anyway, I would just like to take a moment to inform you about TAAT and my plan for its future, which, i hope, will involve you all.

I started this site in April because i was tired of reading articles about African aviation that were weeks, if not months old, and often left me wondering about the real state of the industry as a whole. After all, Europe, the US, Asia, Australia and South America all have their own publications, what about Africa? I'm sure there are many of you out there who were left in the same quandary.

With that in mind, I'd like to try encourage you all to contribute to the site, because after all, it is aimed at everyone and anyone either involved or interested in African aviation. While most of the articles do come from primary news sources, they sometimes get it wrong and that's where you come in. The site, and its articles, are as good as their sources, and the more (accurate) sources we have, the better.

Site wise, we are still small with on average 5'100 unique visitors/month though bare in mind we haven't done any SEO or advertising. Please note that TAAT is, as much as it pains me to say this, NOT a commercial enterprise (hah! i wish! - TAAT's Google ad revenue barely pays for its web url subscription!)

If you are involved in the industry, run an airline (big or small), MRO, ACMI or have worthwhile info/a tip on anything relating to aviation on the continent, please shoot me a line via ivan(at)theafricanaviationtribune.com. The site is about getting Africa informed, for Africa's benefit!

So, Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël/Buon Natale/Feliz Navidad/С Рождеством/Feliz Natal/Frohe Weihnachten/عيد ميلاد مجيد and here's to a prosperous 2013 to us all!

Regards,

Ivan (aka Ted T. Beefcake (Esq))

► SUDAN: Sudanese Air Force plane crashes on landing in El Obeid killing pilot as SPLM rebels shoot down Antonov.

A Sudanese Air Force fighter jet today crashed at El-Obeid Airport in North Kurdufan state, central Sudan, killing the pilot, according to a press release from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

A departing Avient Cargo (SMJ) jet's (type/registry unknown) jet blast caused considerable damage to Lagos' Murtala Muhammed's International Airport's recently completed Arrival area by blowing off part of the roof.

► MOZAMBIQUE: LAM Mozambique Q400 makes emergency landing in Beira following gear retraction problems.

A Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM Mozambique (TM)) Bombardier Q400 operating flight TM205 between Chimoio and Maputo, on Sunday 16 December 2012, was forced to make an emergency landing at Beira airport, following gear retraction problems on take off from Chimoio.

Following that which it signed with Luxembourg in late November, Gabon has signed a modified air transport agreement with France under which airlines from the two countries will be able to operate additional flights to the Central African state.

Ghanaian carrier, Starbow Airlines (S9), on Sunday 16 December 2012, added another BAe146-200 aircraft (MSN: E2059 | 9G-SBD) to its fleet bringing the carrier's total to 4. The added aircraft now makes Starbow the largest Ghana-based airline by fleet size.

Following the recent announcement that it was in talks to buy 1Time (T6), the South African low cost airline that went into liquidation last month, fastjet(FN), has entered into an option agreement to buy the entire issued share capital of 1time Airline from its parent company, 1time Holdings Limited, for ZAR1 (USD0.12). Initially, the airline will operate with three 1Time aircraft before Airbus A319s are added and the airline completely rebranded to fastjet.

► MOROCCO: 5 year old dies on board Mauritania Airlines International flight to Casablanca; flight diverts to Agadir.

A Mauritania Airlines International (L6) Boeing 737-700 performing flight L6102 from Nouadhibou, Mauritania to Casablanca, Morocco, was yesterday forced to divert to Agadir's Al Massira Airport, Morocco, after a 5 year old passenger died following complications from a heart attack.

A leaked document (and we use the term "leaked" in the loosest possible way) purporting to show Turkish Airlines' (TK) intended route expansion time line has been published on the web. According to the document, TK is planning an aggressive expansion into West and Central Africa though Southern Africa appears to remain largely neglected for the foreseeable future.

► LIBYA: (Pic) New Terminals for Benghazi, Misrata as Libyan Airlines moves to expand network in 2013.

The Libyan Ministry of Civil Aviation is to embark on two infrastructural improvement projects in the cities of Benghazi and Misrata as Libyan Airlines (LN) are to launch new regional routes following the delivery of their fifth and sixth brand new Airbus A320s in Misrata and Beiba respectively.

Whilst Africa is becoming an international point of focus, African airlines themselves, are only expected to breakeven in 2013 - unchanged from the previous year's forecast and from 2011, says the International Air Transport Association's boss Tony Tyler in his industry financial outlook for the rest of 2012 and 2013.

The Nigerian Presidency has confirmed the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa of northern Kaduna State, former National Security Adviser (NSA) General Owoye Azazi and four others involved in Saturday's crash of a Nigerian Navy Agusta A109E Power military helicopter in Nigeria's oil rich Niger Delta.

South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, has appointed with immediate effect, Vuyisile Kona to the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Duduzile Myeni as the Acting Chairwoman of the Board of South African Airways following a recent SAA Board meeting held on 7 December 2012.

After a decade under construction, Songwe International Airport, which serves the south western Tanzanian town of Mbeya, on 13 December, joined Dar Es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International, Kilimanjaro Airport, and Zanzibar International as the country's fourth international airport, with Tanzanian carrier Precision Air (PW) amongst the first to announce 4x weekly ATR72-operated flights to the airport, effective 1 February 2013.

Canadian Airways Congo has been operating a McDonnell Douglas MD82 (MSN 49278 | UR-WRE) wet leased from Ukrainian charter/carrier Bravo Air (BAY) to operate flights throughout the Republic of Congo.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Friday, December 28, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

Sunday, December 16, 2012