• The African Aviation Tribune •

Friday, February 1, 2013

■ BOTSWANA: Ethiopia, Botswana officially ink new BASA; Ethiopian Airlines to start ops in the near future?

Ethiopia has continued its push into southern Africa with the recent official signing of a new Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Botswana, paving the way for possible flights between Addis Ababa and Gaborone by Ethiopian Airlines. Negotiations were concluded in May 2012 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May 2010.

The Liberian Civil Aviation Authority, under the auspices of the Liberian Airports Authority (LAA), has embarked on the renovation of Monrovia's Roberts International Airport (RIA) as the country moves to renovate its decrepit infrastructure, left to decay during the Civil Wars of 1989 - 1996 and 1999 - 2003.

► RÉUNION: Air Austral announces timetable adjustments for Hurricane Felleng.

With the imminent arrival of Hurricane Felleng, Réunion based carrier Air Austral (UU) has, as a precautionary, issued a revised timetable for the next few days.

Brazil's Embraer Defense and Security today delivered the first three of six light attack and advanced training A-29 Super Tucano turboprops to the Força Aérea Nacional Angolana (National Air Force of Angola), at a ceremony held in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, Brazil.

Following speculation in the French aviation press, Air France (AF) has shot down any chance of closer strategic and financial ties with Mauritian carrier, Air Mauritius. The possibility of a tie up was discussed with French President François Hollande during the visit of Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam, to the Elysee Palace on January 21.

Ghanaian carrier Starbow Airlines (S9) has announced the addition of added flights on its Accra - Kumasi and Accra - Tamale routes following strong demand to both destinations.

Gambia Bird (3G) has outlined its intended Summer network plans. Highlights include the launch of two new European destinations in addition to an increase in frequencies to Barcelona and London Gatwick. The fledgling carrier has also mentioned its involvement in early negotiations with two Middle Eastern carriers.

Egyptian national carrier Egyptair (MS) will from 01JUN13 increase its Cairo – Athens service. The Star Alliance member will operate this route 14 weekly flights, compared to 10 weekly in same period (June – October) in 2012.

Rwandair (WB) has announced the resumption of its 5th freedom flights between Mombasa (Kenya) and Dubai with3x weekly flights effective 02FEB13. Additionally, the carrier will from 01FEB13 reduce its current service to the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, from 3x to 2x daily flights, following the suspension of flights to Mwanza (Tanzania) effective 31JAN13.

► MOROCCO: Air Méditerranée to start Marseille - Oujda from mid June.

French carrier Air Méditerranée (ML) is to launch Oujda, Morocco, its fourth destination there, with twice weekly flights to Marseilles, France starting 16 June. The service will operate with a Boeing 737-500.

West African regional carrier ASKY Airlines (KP) has taken delivery of three additional Bombardier Q400s at a ceremony held recently in the Togolese capital, Lomé, which is also the carrier's primary hub. The delivery comes almost 3 years ago to the day that the carrier was born.

[UPDATE 30 JANUARY] Spanish carrier, Iberia (IB), has announced details of its new commercial and routes policies under the Transformation Plan it announced recently with various routes in Africa to be affected, for better and for worse.

National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) Zambia

Zambia's National Airports Corporation Ltd should, in the next two weeks, announce the winner of the contract for the construction of a new passenger terminal at Lusaka's Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. The terminal is part of a USD500million project to upgrade the airport as a whole.

Air Madagascar (MD) has announced a variety of changes to its local and international network in an attempt at improving customer satisfaction and avoiding disruption and inconvenience. Some of the changes have been effect since late January with others set to come into effect in mid February.

In a ceremony held in Sebha, Libyan carrier Afriqiyah (8U) has taken delivery of its sixth and first A320 (MSN 5448 | 5N-ONO) painted in the airlines new "dove" livery.

■ ETHIOPIA: ECAA claims offers for talks with the UAE over a possible BASA have been ignored.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) says its "invitation" to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to negotiate and complete a Bilateral Air Transport Service Agreement (BASA) between the two states, has been ignored.

The Congolese Government is set to take redelivery of its Presidential Boeing 707-138B (MSN 64 | 9Q-CLK) used by strongman Joseph Kabila for international flights. The aircraft is one of 13 unique aircraft built for Qantas (QF) in 1959 and is also a sister-ship to John Travolta's Boeing 707.

Claims by South African Airways (SA) that a 12 day old strike by the National Transport Movement (NTM) over lack of recognition has not affected its operations, have been hotly disputed by the union's deputy secretary general, Liver Mngomezulu.

Nigerian carrier, Chanchangi Airlines (5B), having resumed operations in December last year, is now set to acquire new aircraft under the auspices of the aviation intervention fund as provided for by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

Seychellois national carrier, Air Seychelles (HM), today took delivery of its second Airbus A330-200. The aircraft is scheduled to make its first test flight in February and will subsequently enter active service in March to launch Air Seychelles’ new international schedule, which includes new services to Hong Kong and increased frequencies to Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and Mauritius.

Air Caraïbes (TX), the regional airline of the French Caribbean, has since 10JAN13 expanded its codeshare operation with Corsair International (SS), which covers the latter’s France – Indian Ocean routes to Madagascar, La Réunion and Dzaoudzi (Mayotte).

Further to the press comment made by the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper (“EasyJet’s chairman quits after Stelios rows”, Section 3: Business, Page 1), Five Forty Aviation Ltd confirms that it has instructed its lawyers to recover an acknowledged debt of USD6.8million from Lonrho Aviation Ltd.

► SOUTH KOREA: SA Tourism looks to woo Korean Air as South Africa increasingly looks East to bolster its tourism numbers.

In a bid to woo more Asian tourists, South African Tourism, the South African department responsible for marketing the country as a tourist destination, has said it intends to lobby Korean Air (KE) to start flights between Seoul and Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Bombardier Aerospace has named ExecuJet Nigeria in Lagos as a Line Maintenance Facility (LMF) for its line of Challenger 300, Challenger 604, Challenger 605, Global 5000, Global 6000, Global Express and Global Express XRS business jets. The facility will complement ExecuJet’s centre in Lanseria, South Africa, which has been part of Bombardier’s Authorized Service Facility (ASF) network since 2002.

The "investors" bankrupt Kenyan regional operator, Jetlink Express (J0), mentioned have turned out to be none other than fastjet (FN). In a scenario that resembles its ongoing battle to acquire defunct South African LCC 1Time (T6), fastjet has mentioned that its interest in Jetlink revolves around the latter "owning the traffic rights for all local destinations, as well as a number of regional routes."

Italian carrier Alitalia (AZ) will, starting 26MAR13, commence 3x weekly Rome (Fiumicino) – Oran, Algeria flights on board a CityLiner Embraer E175 aircraft.

In addition to announcing flights to Vilanculos, Mozambqiue, SA Airlink (4Z) will commence a scheduled Johannesburg – Kasane (Botswana) service, from Friday 22 March 2012. The initial schedule will operate on Days 1357 departing Johannesburg OR Tambo at 11h45 arriving back in Johannesburg at 15h50. From August 2013 the service will operate daily.

Kenya Airways (KQ) today released its Operations Report for the Third Quarter of 2012; October to 31st December 2012.

► SAUDI ARABIA: Egyptair to boost services for Summer 2013.

Egyptian national carrier EgyptAir(MS) is to tentatively expand its service to Saudi Arabia during the Summer 2013 season. Planned new routes and/or additional flights as follows.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) this week made good on its threats to remove abandoned and derelict aircraft from airport environs starting with the cleanup of Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport where, it is reported, 13 aircraft are awaiting disposal.

Riding its current wave of strong passenger figures, Rwandair (WB) are to phase out their two Boeing 737-500 in favour of the larger, more economical Boeing 737-700. Rwandair currently operates two Boeing 737-500s.

Struggling Zimbabwean national carrier Air Zimbabwe (UM) is confident about its ongoing IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) with its completion due at the end of February, in time for UM's anticipated roll out of new regional and possibly, international flights.

Ghanaian domestic operator Antrak Air (4O) is to launch daily Kumasi - Tamale flights using an ATR72-500 effective tomorrow Monday 28 January 2013.

Following the withdrawal of Federal Air (7V) from the route earlier this month, SA Airlink (4X) is to introduce 5x weekly Johannesburg (ORTIA) - Vilanculos, Mozambique flights effective 22 March 2013. The flights will initially operate 3x weekly (Days 135) to be increased to 5x weekly (Days 12357) from July 2013.

Relations between Air France (AF) and Mauritian national carrier Air Mauritius (MK) could develop into a closer strategic and financial partnership following a state visit to France on 21 January by the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

Preliminary tid-bits regarding new CEO Matthijs Boertien's future plans for Cameroonian carrier Camair-Co (QC) have been revealed with the creation of 1'000 jobs via an envisaged fleet of 26 aircraft, a training centre, a maintenance unit, and a cargo hub being amongst the highlights. In the meantime, Boertien has moved to improve the carrier's relationship with its suppliers and staff in an attempt at rebuilding the carrier's battered morale and reputation.

► EGYPT: AlMasria Universal Airbus A321 declares fuel emergency after protracted military exercises exceed their time allocation.

Bungling on behalf of air traffic control at Cairo International Airport almost caused a serious incident today when an AlMasria Universal Airbus A321-200, (MSN 666 | SU-TCC) operating flight UJ-107 from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia to Cairo, was forced to declare a fuel emergency after a forewarned military exercise at the airport, surpassed its allocated time.

South African Low Cost Carrier Mango (JE) is set to expand into the East African market in the coming 18 months according to Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout with the strongest contender on the carrier's list said to be Zanzibar, where the carrier operated a limited charter service in December.

The new Immigration Department building at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport was officially handed over on Sunday 14, January. Built on behalf of the Somali Department of Immigration by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the project was funded by the Japanese Government.

Irish low cost megacarrier, Ryanair (FR), has announced that it is looking at starting flights to Tunisia, Libya and Egypt "over the next few years," though any potential flights would depend on the deregulation of their own aviation industries as well as the signing of an Open Skies agreement with the European Union.

Turkey's Atlasjet (KK), is to establish a private airline in South Sudan following the opening of bids on January 23, in the South Sudanese capital, Juba. In September, Murat Ersoy, the President of Atlasjet (KK), led a 25-member strong Turkish delegation to Juba, scouting for potential business opportunities.

■ GHANA: The outcome of talks between the GCAA and Delta Airlines over allegations of the latter's shoddy service.

The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has met with officials of the Delta Airlines (DL) at the GCAA Head Office in a bid to resolve complaints from passengers stemming from flight delays, cancellations and poor customer service.

In a rare show of unity, South African carriers Mango (JE), South African Airways (SA) and Comair Group (owners of BA Comair (BA) and Kulula (MN)) have collectively objected to the South African Air Services Licensing Council, a state regulator set to convene next month, over fastjet's (FN) proposed transfer of 1time’s operators licence, who are applying for a Ministerial exemption in order to fast track the process.

Eagle Atlantic Airlines (EAB) is planning to launch regional operations from its Accra hub should it acquire its Air Operator Certificate (AOC). According to its website, Eagle Atlantic plans to operate a single McDonnell Douglas MD-82 to Abuja, Lagos, Abidjan, Conakry, Freetown, Monrovia, Dakar.

Air Tanzania (TC) yesterday resumed its Kigoma - Dar es Salaam route after its Bombardier DHC-8-300 (MSN 474 | 5H-MWF) was grounded in Kigoma on its début flight 10 days ago following an in-flight cracked windshield.

Effective 27 January 2013, Ethiopian Airlines will adjust its Zimbabwe and Zambia operations with 3 out of its 7 weekly Addis Ababa – Harare – Lusaka – Addis Ababa flights to operate as Addis Ababa – Lusaka – Harare – Addis Ababa. Then, effective 18 February, an additional 3x weekly red eye flight operated with a Boeing 737-700 will be introduced bringing the overall frequency to 10.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Monday, January 28, 2013

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Wednesday, January 23, 2013