► KENYA: Brussels Airlines cancels planned Mombasa route launch; increases Kigali frequency.

Originally planned to go ahead from 1 October via Nairobi, Belgian carrier, Brussels Airlines (SN), has announced it will not be launching once weekly flights to the Kenyan port town of Mombasa "due to administrative reasons".

► ANGOLA: Aeroflot pulls out of Luanda from mid October.

Russia's Aeroflot (SU) is to pull out of the Angolan capital, Luanda effective 16 October 2012. The route - Moscow Sheremetyevo – Hurghada, Egypt – Luanda, Angola - is presently served twice weekly by an Airbus A320.

► FRANCE: Egyptair increases capacity to Paris from December 2012.

Egyptian airline, Egyptair (MS), will from 1 December 2012, replace its current daily Airbus A330-300 operated service to Paris Charles de Gaulle, France with a larger Boeing 777-300ER. 

This comes after the carrier previously announced that from 28 October 2012 it would increase frequencies on the route from daily to 11x weekly.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Airports Company South Africa bounces back with a USD22million profit for FY 2011/2012.

After a heavy loss of USD26.8million during the 2010/2011 Financial Year, The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) announced yesterday that it had made a profit of USD22million for the 2011/2012 Financial Year, though it is unlikely that any South African airlines will be joining in the celebrations, as the main factor behind ACSA's return to profitability - a 70% hike in its tariffs - is one of the reasons why 1Time is in Business Rescue and Comair Limited posted no dividend for the same Financial Year.

► 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.

► GAMBIA: Corendon Airlines to offer Amsterdam - Banjul from October.

Antalya-based tour operator Corendon Airlines (XC), a joint Turkish and Dutch registered airline, today announced that effective 1 October the carrier would launch a weekly Amsterdam, Holland - Banjul, The Gambia service which would increase to a 3x weekly service from 1 November onwards.

► ALGERIA: Emirates starts daily flights to Algiers from March 2013.

Its 22nd destination in Africa, Dubai based Emirates (EK) today announced it will serve the Algerian capital, Algiers, with a daily Airbus A330-200 effective 1 March 2013. With the Airbus A330's belly-hold capacity of 12 tonnes, Emirates SkyCargo expects to export commodities such as frozen fish, lobsters, oil and gas equipment and palm oil to points across its network whilst imports including a variety of manufactured goods are expected to form the bulk of goods shipped into Algeria.

■ NIGERIA: Arik renews its Lufthansa Technik deal as Stella tries to lure Boeing and Bombardier into MRO sector.

Nigerian carrier, Arik Air (W3) and German maintenance service provider, Lufthansa Technik last week renewed a contract signed in 2006, that will see the German outfit along with Lufthansa Cityline - a sister company providing regional European flights under the Lufthansa brand -  providing technical support to Arik Air in the areas of line maintenance, base maintenance, materials and pool parts among others for the next five years.

► 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).

► SOUTH AFRICA: Qantas drops First Class from Johannesburg flights effective October.

Australian carrier, Qantas (QF), will from 1 October 2012 no longer offer First Class on its daily Boeing 747-400 flights between Sydney, Australia and Johannesburg, South Africa, with the last flight to have the service to operate on 30 September 2012.

► MOROCCO: (Pics) Delivery of Royal Air Maroc's 787s deferred until late 2014.

Originally due in Q4 of this year, Morocco's national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (AT), will only, according to press reports, be taking delivery of its first two Boeing 787 Dreamliners in Q4 2014, which now means that Kenya Airways (KQ) will be the second African operator of the type after Ethiopian Airlines (ET), if their Boeing 787 order comes through in late 2013.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Comair Ltd declares no dividend despite rise in revenues.

South Africa's Comair Ltd, the parent company of British Airways (Comair) (BA) and LCC Kulula (MN) today reported that it would not issue a dividend despite seeing a 16% growth in its revenue from USD440million in June 2011, to USD510million for the year ending June 30, 2012.

► GERMANY: Eritrean Airlines drops Frankfurt 6 months after its inaugural flight.

Eritrean Airlines (B8), the Eritrean national carrier, has announced that effective 1 October 2012, it will drop Frankfurt, Germany from its route network. The route is currently serviced once weekly via Rome, Italy using an Airbus A319, down from its original 3x weekly frequency when the route was inaugurated in April.

► NIGERIA: Saudia Cargo launches 9 new West African destinations via its Lagos hub.

Using its various interline partners in West Africa, Saudi Airlines Cargo (SV) is to launch cargo services from Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Accra (Ghana), Cotonou (Benin), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Lomé (Togo), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Niamey (Niger) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) via its new Lagos, Nigeria hub, which it presently serves with a daily Boeing 747F.

► MOZAMBIQUE: LAM Mozambique getting a B737-500, but cash crunch delays launch of international routes.

Mozambican national carrier LAM Mozambique (TM) is, at the end of this month, to receive a Boeing 737-500 (likely MSN: 25418 | ZS-PKV), in addition to its third and final Embraer E190 due in late October/early November, as the carrier moves to consolidate itself domestically and regionally writes the Mozambican national daily, O País.

► ANGOLA: TAAG to resume flights to Soyo with Dundo to come following opening of upgraded airports.

After a 3 year hiatus due to USD43million renovation works which resulted in the completion of a 30m x 2'090m long runway and a 2 storey terminal covering over 5'000 square metres, Angolan national carrier Transportes Aéreos Angolanos better known as TAAG (DT), is beginning 29 October, set to return to Soyo in northern Zaire Province, Angola.

► SEYCHELLES: Emirates to go 12x weekly from December, 13x weekly from February 2013.

Emirates (EK) is to increase its Airbus A340-500 operated flights between Dubai and Mahé, Seychelles from 11x weekly, to 12x weekly with an added Monday flight effective 3 December 2012. From 5 February 2013, the airline is to add a 13th weekly frequency on a Tuesday.

► TANZANIA: AeroVista looks to expand as Tanzanian AOC is awarded for its B737s.

AeroVista's Tanzanian subsidiary, currently embroiled in a dispute with Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania (TC) over a cancelled lease for its Boeing 737-500 (MSN 27354 | 4L-AJB), has applied for and received an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority for its Boeing 737s. The certificate is essentially an approval granted from a national aviation authority to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes.

► GAMBIA: See Pics of Gambia Bird's A319 prior to delivery!

Gambia Bird, the new 90/10 venture between German carrier, Germania (ST) and the Gambian government is shortly to receive its first Airbus A319-100 (MSN 4663 | D-ASTA) as the company looks to enter the West African market with initial flights expected to be between Banjul, Gambia and Conakry (Guinea), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Lagos (Nigeria). London Gatwick has also been mentioned as a likely destination.

► MOZAMBIQUE: Turkish Airlines looks to add Maputo to route network in coming months.

The Turkish media this week allured to a new possible route between Istanbul and Maputo, Mozambique as Turkey aims to extend its carrier, Turkish Airlines' (TK), reach even further into the continent.

Following the recent signing of a new memorandum of understanding between Turkey and Gabon which will see service to Libreville and possibly, another as yet unnamed destination (either Franceville or Port Gentil), the Turkish Ministry of Transportation's Suat Hayri Aka stated that: