Angolan airline makes emergency landing in Lisbon

LISBON, Oct 23, 2006 (AFP) - A plane from Angolan state airline TAAG made an emergency landing on Monday in Lisbon just 15 minutes after taking off from the Portuguese capital due to technical problems, officials said.

The Boeing 747, which was bound for the Angolan capital Luanda, landed safely at Portela airport, Portugal's busiest, just before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) as fire trucks stood by as a precaution, an airport spokesman said.

Airline officials did not provide details on the nature of the technical difficulties which forced the plane to land but passengers told the Lusa news agency it appeared to have difficulty gaining altitude and zig-zagged while in the air.

The plane is scheduled to depart on Tuesday and passengers were put up by the airline at Lisbon hotels, said TAAG's representative in Portugal, Abilio Fernandes.

"We're waiting for a piece of equipment to place in the plane," he said.

Last week civil aviation authorities in Angola, a former Portuguese colony, ordered TAAG to suspend its domestic and regional flights in Africa because it said the aircraft used on these routes were not being properly maintained.

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Kenya Airways flies to Paris

Kenya Airways officially launched its inaugural direct flight to Paris on Thursday.

The plane left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday night and landed at Charles De Gaulle airport Friday morning.

KQ will be flying three times to Paris on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The airline's commercial director Mr Hugh Fraser said the flights will provide customers in Eastern and Central Africa with flexibility of flying directly to France as well as connecting to mainland Europe and other parts of the world.

Passengers will now reach Paris within eight hours compared to the previous 14, Fraser added.

Fraser added the direct flight would spur bilateral trade between the two countries.

According to the French Embassy in Nairobi, last year, total value of trade between Kenya and France was Sh18 billion. Out of this, France exported Sh9.8 billion worth of goods to Kenya, and imported Sh8.6 billion.

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Kenya Airways reports surge in profits


The Board is pleased to announce that Kenya Airways has sustained profitable growth in the first half of the 2006/07 financial year over the same period in 2005/06.
Profit after tax for the period reviewed ended at KShs 2,429m compared to KShs 2,231m during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 8.9%.

Passenger Traffic

Overall, passenger traffic for the first half increased to 1.3m, up from the prior year’s 1.2m, a growth of 7%. Areas of high growth included Middle East, Asia & Far East with 14% due to an additional destination of Guangzhou via Dubai. Southern Africa growth of 16% is mainly driven by a positive response to capacity increase on Lubumbashi, Harare, Lilongwe and the new destination Maputo. West and Central Africa growth of 15% is mainly attributed to Bamako, Dakar, Douala, Kinshasa and the new route Free Town. Northern Africa growth at 13% was mainly driven by Istanbul, Djibouti, Khartoum and Cairo operations. Growth on Europe was 4%, East Africa 3% while Kenya remained largely unchanged as there was no significant new operation in this region. The overall seat occupancy dropped by 1.4% to 75.2% compared to prior year’s level of 76.6%.

Passenger Yields

Growth in yields were realised in Kenya by 7% and West and Central Africa by 2%. East Africa and Southern Africa remained flat at close to prior year’s level. Europe dropped by 2%, Middle East, Asia & Far East dropped by 5% and Northern Africa by 8%. Overall, yields declined by 2% partly due to a greater proportion of long haul route expansion with it’s normally lower yields than short haul.

Cargo

Overall, tonnage grew by 15% and yields increased by 3% across the network.

Costs

Global fuel prices during the period under review averaged over 22% higher than the corresponding period last year but the impact of this was reduced to 16% (in USD terms) as a consequence of the Company’s hedging programme. The fuel cost, net of hedging benefit, was 26% above prior year driven largely by price increase of 15% and increased consumption in US gallons of 13% in line with the increased capacity offered. This was partly mitigated by a 4% appreciation of the Kenya Shilling to the US$.
The increase in overheads was 11.6% due mainly to increased level of operations but remained stable at 16% of revenue. Lower finance costs are due to increased interest income on increased cash balances, partly offset by the additional financing costs of the two new Boeing 777s delivered part way through the first half of 2005/06.

Prospects
Whilst the Board remains optimistic that the Company will continue to grow during the remainder of the financial year, the cost of jet fuel and security remain the greatest threats to profitability, with increasing levels of competition in the region continuing to be a challenge to achieving attractive yields.
Nevertheless, the Company is committed to continued expansion with new routes starting to Paris on 26th October 2006 and Mayotte/Comoros on 16th November 2006. Additionally, a fourth new Boeing 777 is due for delivery in February 2007 to facilitate further expansion on existing routes and the Board have decided to replace the current fleet of two Saab aircraft with regional jets.
The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, management, suppliers and loyal customers who have contributed to this continued growth.

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Kenya Airways half-year profit climbs to Sh3.4bn


Kenya Airways has shrugged off high fuel prices to record an 8.9 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to Sh3.4 billion for the six months ending September 30.

During the same period last year the airline returned Sh3.1 billion. Its total revenue grew 12.3 per cent to Sh28.4 billion from Sh25.3 billion.

However, this growth is slower than the record 26 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to Sh6.9 billion for the 2005/2006 financial year.

The bulk of revenues during the six months was earned from carrying passengers, who brought in Sh24.2 billion, up from Sh21.8 billion last year, followed by cargo business at Sh2.8 billion from Sh2.4 billion.

Segments

But income from handling services declined to Sh541 million from Sh587 million.

The airline earned Sh22.7 billion from international routes, with 33 per cent of it coming from European destinations. Domestic flights generated Sh1.5 billion, up from Sh1.4 billion last year.

"All our market segments recorded growth, but Europe remains our biggest market, providing 94 per cent of revenues earned from international routes," Kenya Airways finance director Neil Canty told an investor briefing in Nairobi yesterday.

The airline’s total expenditure shot up 14.4 per cent to Sh24.3 billion mainly due to rising expenses on fuel which increased from Sh6 billion last year to Sh7.6 billion. Employee costs also went up 18.2 per cent to Sh2.5 billion, as the company hired more engineers.

Managing director Titus Naikuni, told the investors at the function held in Nairobi's Serena Hotel, that the airline benefited from the global economic growth and the recovery of Africa’s economy, but fuel prices remained a problem. "The good news is that we started seeing fuel prices declining but they remain higher than they were three years ago," he added.

In 2001, the airline’s expenditure on fuel accounted for 17 per cent of its total costs. Fuel now represents 30.6 per cent of all cost up from 27.3 per cent last year. "Every 1 per cent increase in the unit price of fuel reduce profit after tax by Sh53.5 million," Mr Canty added.

However, the airline signed a contract with a bank to guarantee fixed fuel prices up to April 2007, to hedge against sudden increases in global oil prices. Currently, the airline has hedged 80 per cent of requirements during the period.

This arrangement means that the airline gets 80 per cent of its fuel consumption at a fixed price to cushion itself from sudden global fuel prices changes, and allow the company time to decide the next course of action.

Mr Naikuni appealed to the Government to exempt the airline from paying value added tax (VAT), saying that it reduces the firm's competitiveness against other airlines which do not pay VAT to their respective governments.

great news about all those african airports, my dad went to south africa in 2002 on a city group tour of my city and the pictures he took were amazing, i was really impresse.

Ethiopian airline accuses rival of freezing it out

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 28, 2006 (AFP) - Ethiopia's national airline, Ethiopian Airlines, accused rival Kenya Airways of unfair trade practices on Saturday, as a row broke out between east Africa's two leading carriers.

Company chief Girma Wake said Kenya Airways had blocked it from flying to three regional destinations, Entebbe, Kigali and Bujumbura, from its Nairobi hub despite Ethiopia allowing it intra-African flights from Addis Ababa.

"Kenya Airways' decision is not in conformity with the agreement we have with it, neither with the COMESA agreement and this is not good for Kenya," Girma said, referring to the regional east and southern Africa trading bloc.

"Legally, we have the right to fly from Nairobi to these places," he told reporters at a news conference called to release results from the last financial year.

"We don't prevent them from carrying passengers between Addis and Djibouti, and we won't," Girma said, maintaining the move was retaliation for Ethiopia's refusal to allow Kenya Airways to fly to Jeddah and Dubai from Addis Ababa.

He said the decision was misguided because Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, were in the Middle East and not Africa, where COMESA open skies policies apply.

"As far as I know these destinations are not in Africa," Girma said. "For us it is a matter of principles. We are for the liberalisation of the flights in Africa, for openness."

In Nairobi, Kenya Airways officials could not be reached for comment on the matter on Saturday and Girma said the company had not yet responded to an Ethiopian Airlines complaint.

"For three weeks, I'm waiting for a reply," he said.

State-run Ethiopian Airlines and private Kenya Airways, in which the Dutch carrier KLM owns a 26-percent stake, are among Africa's leading airlines and the two biggest in east Africa.

On Saturday, Ethiopian announced a 57-percent drop in profits over the past year due to soaring fuel prices and payments for new aircraft that overwhelmed a healthy rise in passenger and cargo loads.

On Friday, Kenya Airways said posted a nearly nine percent boost in earnings.

Libya gets first Boeing airliner in 30 years

TRIPOLI, Oct 28, 2006 (AFP) - A Boeing jetliner will be delivered to Libya Sunday for the first time in 30 years after the privately owned Buraq Air airline bought six of the US-made aircraft, the company said Saturday.

"Buraq Air will take delivery tomorrow (Sunday) of a Boeing 737-800," the carrier's Moncef Elies told AFP.

In February last year the company signed a contract with Boeing to buy six 737-800s for 366 million dollars, its chairman Mohammed Abedel Aziz said. The price of the contract includes aircrew training and maintenance.

A second aircraft will be delivered in mid-November, Elies said, without saying when the airline expects the final four aircraft to enter service.

Buraq Air, Libya's first private airline, was established in 2001. It currently owns six aircraft with seven more on lease, and operates services between the interior and the main coastal cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.

The modernisation of its fleet will enable Buraq Air to compete with the country's national carrier, Libyan Airlines.

Libya and the United States began normalising relations after Tripoli's decision at the end of 2003 to renounce weapons of mass destruction.

The two countries now have normal diplomatic relations, and Washington has lifted most of the sanctions it imposed on Libya which for years featured on the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

Sanctions on Libyan air transport were lifted in July.

Washington severed ties with Libya in 1981 and began imposing sanctions two years after radical students ransacked the US embassy in Tripoli.

An alleged Libyan-backed attack on a Berlin disco popular with Americans in 1986 spurred the US to launch air raids against the Libyan capital, killing 41 people.

Libya in 2003 accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a US Pan Am jet over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people, and agreed to pay families of victims 10 million dollars each in compensation.

Ethiopian Airlines profits slump on higher fuel costs

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 28, 2006 (AFP) - Soaring fuel costs caused an 57 percent drop in Ethiopian Airlines profits over the past year, despite an increase in passenger and cargo loads, the state-run company said Saturday.

The firm's chief executive Girma Wake said profits plunged by the equivalent of 32.6 million dollars (26 million euros) due to higher world oil prices and payments for new planes between the 2005 and 2006 financial years.

"Net profit decreased... mainly because of increases in oil prices and payments for new aircraft," he said, adding that fuel cost the airline 1.86 billion dollars over the period, or 36 percent of operating expenses .

Girma gave the amount of the decline as from 309.9 million to 133.6 million Ethiopian birr (37 million dollars, 29 million euros to 16 million dollars, 12.5 million euros).

Higher oil costs overwhelmed a healthy 13.5 percent increase in passengers, from 1.55 million in 2004-2005 to 1.76 million, and a similar boost in cargo, mainly of meat and flowers that Ethiopia exports chiefly to Europe, he said.

At the same time, Girma expressed hopes for recovery as fuel prices gradually come down and the Ethiopian carrier expands its routes in the face of new competition, notably from KLM, Emirates, and Turkish Airlines.

He said the company expected to boost its passenger load to 2.9 million in the coming year, an 18.8 percent increase that would raise total revenue by 26.3 percent.

New routes for Ethiopian Airlines will include Monrovia, Zanzibar, for which it suspended service six years ago, Juba in southern Sudan and Bahrain, he said.

Girma added that the company was not yet ready for privatization but that he believed it would be a "one-billion-dollar airline by 2010."

"Sooner or later it will be time when Ethiopian will be very attractive to buy," he said. "For the moment I think we are not ready.

Ethiopian Airlines is among Africa's leading carriers flying to 47 destinations, 28 of them within the continent. It has a fleet of 21 passenger and cargo planes, many of them Boeings.

On Friday, one of its chief rivals, Kenya Airways, posted a nearly nine percent boost in earnings due to higher passenger loads that overcame higher fuel costs.

Over 100 feared killed in Nigeria air crash

LAGOS, Oct 29, 2006 (AFP) - Over 100 people were feared killed Sunday when a commercial airliner crashed moments after takeoff in the Nigerian capital Abuja, industry sources said.

"The ADC plane took off this morning from Lagos to Sokoto en route to Abuja with around 110 passengers and crew. After dropping some passengers in Abuja, it then took off for Sokoto (north). Some moments after taking off, it lost control and crashed," the source told AFP.

KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EXPANSION, GHANA
Kotoka International Airport serves Accra, which is the capital of Ghana. The massive expansion in usage of the airport has led to calls for upgrading. Passenger usage has increased at an average of 6% per annum throughout the 1990s and cargo usage has risen by as much as 15% per annum. Such a phenomenal rate of growth forces further expansion in the airport facilities to keep pace. :banana:

The latest improvements to the airport are part of an ongoing programme. The first phase was financed through international development funding sources and was completed in 1993. The second phase will be financed from commercial revenues, with the aid of the UK export credit guarantee agency.

The sponsor of the airport improvement programme is the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), which is an agency of the Ghanaian government. The government’s backing and the involvement of foreign development agencies are both linked to the airport’s importance to the Ghanaian economy as a whole.

PROJECT MAKE-UP

Firms that bid for phase 2 included Bouygues and Dumez from France, Fitzpatrick and Taylor Woodrow of the UK, Bilfinger & Berger from Germany, Dragados from Spain, Skanska from Sweden and Vermeer from the Netherlands. Siemens Plessey, which carried out the first phase in the early 1990s, chose not to bid for the second phase.

The Swedish contractor, Skanska, and its consortium won the contract. The total contract was worth SEK 590 million ($74 million) and Skanska’s share was about 40% (just under $30 million). Skanska International Construction pursued the project through Skanska Jensen International, which managed the consortium comprising the local branch of an Irish civil engineering company, PW Ghana and the Danish Intertec.

PHASE 2

The second phase of the airport improvement originally involved the renovation and expansion of the terminal buildings, fire station and cold-storage facilities as well as the renovation and construction of new platforms. The fire station, cold-storage facilities and taxiway upgrade have all now been removed from the expansion programme in order to concentrate funding on the terminal buildings.

Improvements to the terminal buildings include the refurbishment and enlargement of the departure check-in area, incorporating new conveyors and other equipment to improve passenger handling and comfort as well as the installation of air conditioning in the immigration area. The communication facilities in the terminal will also be renovated. The baggage handling hall for arrivals will be given a new conveyor system in order to maximise efficient throughput and the terminal forecourt will be remodelled with a dual carriage way, departure and arrival vehicular areas, and car parks. The facilities for 'meeters and greeters' will also be improved to make the airport seem less congested.

The 03-21 runway was extended by 150m at the 03 stopway and 400m at the 21 end threshold, to allow a fully laden 747 to take off. This greatly enhances Kotoka's ability to handle air freight.

AIRPORT CITY

In 1998, the GCAA announced plans to develop the 40+ acre site in front of the airport as an 'airport city'. This involves the development of roads, communication facilities, power distribution, lighting, water supply, sewage treatment, parking lots, landscaping, drainage, walkways and other ancillary works. The lots on the site are parcelled out among private developers.

FINANCE

The second phase of the project is being financed by loans from the Hong Kong Chinese bank HSBC, British Paribas and Ghana's Ecobank, with support from the export credit organisations ECGD in the UK, EKN in Sweden and EKF in Denmark. The banks provided a $44.5 million loan, which was underwritten by the export agencies. The two Scandinavian agencies are reinsuring ECGD for the supply of equipment from Europe. The UK loan is the largest element to be supplied by any single organisation.

So do you have any new pictures of the new Kotoka International Airport so far when it comes to the expansion project?

Nigeria revokes airline license after third major crash in a year

LAGOS, Oct 30, 2006 (AFP) - Nigeria on Monday revoked the license of the company whose commercial airliner crashed the day before leaving 96 dead, the country's third major civilian air catastrophe in little over a year.

Among those killed Sunday were the country's top Islamic cleric, his son, who was a senator, and an ex-president's son.

"The federal government has decided to suspend the operating license of ADC airlines forthwith," the minister, Babalola Borishade said.

Announcing the ban, the minister emphasized the responsibility of the pilot in the crash of the Boeing 737. The final toll, he said, is 96 dead and nine survivors.

"The pilot refused to take advantage of weather advice and the opinion of the tower to exercise patience and allow the weather to clear for a safe take-off," he said.

He also announced that crash investigators from the US National Transportation and Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, and engine makers Pratt and Whitney would be arriving in the next 24 hours to help with the enquiry.

One survivor described the accident and how she was able to call her father as she lay in the wreckage.

"First it shook violently and then crashed," said Esther Keyiobo, a 25-year-old student. "The force threw me out. I had my GSM and called by father immediately, but initially he did not believe me."

"When I started shouting, he believed me and rushed to the ADC office in Lagos."

Flight 053 from Abuja to Sokoto was carrying 100 passengers and five crew members when it went down Sunday in bad weather.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said he was "profoundly shocked and saddened" by the accident, has ordered an investigation, according to his spokesman, Oluremi Oyo.

While Nigeria does not have the worst air safety record in Africa, nearly 1200 people have died in more than 40 plane crashes since 1991. Accidents in December and October last year each claimed more than 100 lives.

Among those who died in the crash Sunday were the Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammad Maccido, and presided over Nigeria's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and his son.

The sultan, who was 80, was the spiritual head of the more than 50 million Muslims in the west African country of some 130 million people.

The state-run News Agency of Nigeria said that other top-ranking government officials, senators, politicians and the son of Nigeria's former president Shehu Shagari were also on board the ill-fated airliner.

Miraculously, the three daughters of the governor of Kogi State in central Nigeria were among the nine survivors, according the Guardian daily.

One of the plane's black boxes was found and taken by police, the head of Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau, Asgus Ozoka, said on Monday. "I cannot give out any information until it has been given to us," he said.

The director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Rowland Iyayi, said Monday that the pilot of another airline set to take off from the same airport at the same time chose to stay on the ground, highlighting the possibility of pilot error in the crash.

The is not the first major air accident by an ADC plane. Ten years ago, almost to the day, a commercial airliner crashed in a lagoon near Lagos, killing all 143 people on board.

The crash Sunday is the most recent in a string of accidents that have severely tarnished Nigeria's airline sector, which has been plagued with cases of corruption and a poor record of maintenance.

In mid-September 14 soldiers -- including 10 generals -- died when their 228-221 Dornier crashed in the center of the country, prompting President Obasanjo to return to Nigeria from abroad and declare a five-day mourning period.

Confronted with Nigeria's worsening air safety record, the Obasanjo took emergency measures in December 2005, including the banning of three private airlines.

Girma Advises Against 'Tit-for-Tat'

Ethiopian Airlines v Kenya Airways
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The Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake, gave two pieces of advice to the Ethiopian authorities and members of the media during a press conference at the Sheraton on Saturday, October 28.

"Two wrongs do not make a right," answered Girma, when asked whether he wants retaliation by the Ethiopian government to what their counterparts have done in banning his airline from flying from Nairobi to African destinations such as Entebbe (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda) and Bujumbura (Burundi).
Oracle Content & Collaboration

A bilateral agreement entered between Ethiopia and Kenya, and regional trade pact among all Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states require them to open their skies to airlines of each other countries. Ethiopian had for years picked up passengers from Nairobi and flown them to destinations of these East African nations. Nevertheless, three weeks ago, the Kenyan Ministry of Transport prohibited Ethiopia's flagship airline from flying anywhere else in Africa but Addis Abeba.

Kenyan officials were reciprocating for an Ethiopian ban on Kenyan Airways taking its passengers from Addis Abeba to Dubai and Jeddah.

"As far as I am concerned, these places are out of Africa," Girma told reporters, cautioning them not to "play this up out of proportion".

"We are not at war with the Kenyan Airways. Neither are our countries. It is only that the Kenyan authorities were misled by someone in the competition," Girma said.

He told reporters that Kenyan Airways is operating a flight from Addis to Djibouti, while his management has reserved from advising Ethiopian authorities to deny permits when they have applied for another destination from Addis Abeba. Recalling how Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa were the African nations that were pushing for more liberalized airline transport in Africa, Girma said he believes "the move will hurt Kenya more than anyone else."

Girma said he had talked to the Kenyan authorities following the ban and they did admit their mistakes.

"They said that they would reply in 10 days," Girma told reporters. "But, it's been three weeks now. I have still not heard anything from them."

Whether or not they respond or lift the ban, Girma said he is not interested to replay in kind.

"We oppose their decision not so much because we depend on the flight traffics going from Nairobi to these countries, but because principles need to be upheld," Girma said. "And we will under no circumstances stop Kenyan from flying to Djibouti or other African destinations from Addis Abeba."

He said African airlines who close their doors on others cannot ask others to open theirs. Although Girma believes that this was hardly a war between the two airlines or countries, he looked forward to the situation being eased.

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Kenya Airways plans Sh1.5 billion Pilot College


Kenya Airways has set aside Sh1.5 billion for the establishment of a pilot training school.

Head of corporate quality and safety Alex Avedi announced that the national carrier had acquired a facility near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for the establishment of the school, which will also train engineers.

Some Sh500 million will be channelled to physical facilities while Sh1 billion will be used to buy equipment.

Currently, he said, KQ trained its pilots mainly in South Africa, adding that the proposed school would help cut training costs and boost the carrier's operations including passenger safety.

In an interview with the Nation at his office on Wednesday, Mr Avedi said KQ gave priority to safety and used Sh1 billion annually to train pilots on the issue.

Kenya Airways, South African Airways, and Com Air (another South African firm which partners with British Airways), are the only ones in sub-Saharan Africa that undergo International Air Transport Association (IATA) operational safety audit, done after every two years.

"We spent Sh70 million to prepare for the audit and were certified in October 2005," Mr Avedi said.

He said KQ had been elected to chair the African Aviation Safety Council and also represent Africa on the IATA safety council.

He said KQ had also invested in the modernisation of its fleet to enhance safety.

By December, he said, the airline will not be flying Boeing 737-200 planes.

The listed firm's most modern plane is a Boeing 777.

The company has further ordered for 787 Dreamliner planes, to be received in 2010, whose first model will be in the market in 2008.

KQ's 35-seater domestic flight planes will be replaced by 70-seater regional jets.

Mr Avedi said Africa's safety record was poor because many operators used obsolete planes while the quality of engineers and pilots was poor.

"They are flying a lot of old equipment... Many do not also invest in refresher training," the official said.

According to IATA, Africa leads in the number of air accidents although it has the lowest traffic globally.

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New Air Zimbabwe Flights for China and Mozambique

AIR Zimbabwe is to introduce an additional flight into China, the world's fastest growing economy, in response to what officials at the national airline say are increased traffic volumes to the Asian economic giant.

The additional service to China will take off from Harare and land in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong Province in Southern mainland China, and one of the most important centres of industry and foreign commerce in China. Air Zimbabwe is already operating a flight into Beijing, which makes a stopover in Singapore.

Although the airline still awaits landing permits from China, Air Zimbabwe expects authorisation shortly to establish a twice-weekly service between Harare and China.

Air Zimbabwe spokesperson David Mwenga told The Financial Gazette that the airline is responding to increased traffic into China from the region, where the airline has code share agreements with other regional airlines.

"We are opening a new operation to Guangzhou because there seems to be reasonable traffic into the Chinese city," said Mwenga. "Research indicates that it is a very busy commercial centre. The majority of people we are carrying out of Lilongwe and other regional destinations will connect from Beijing to Guangzhou for shopping. So it's ideal to fly to Guangzhou."

Guangzhou, which has express rail and road links to Hong Kong, boasts the largest population of overseas Chinese businesspeople.

Air Zimbabwe introduced flights into Dubai, Singapore and China in 2005 as part of the government's "Look East" policy after falling out with Western countries. Harare says establishing links with the Asian community will help revive its bed bound economy.

In return, China has conferred Approved Destination Status (ADS) on Zimbabwe under which Beijing allows Chinese tour operators to organise tours to a counterpart country while the counterpart government allows Chinese tourists to travel into its territory on a special group visa. This policy has had a significant impact on the Chinese outbound tourism market in other countries conferred with ADS status.

Meanwhile, Air Zimbabwe will resume operations into the Mozambican capital Maputo and port city Beira in December using its 737 aircraft, which recently underwent repairs in Germany after it developed an oil leak in July. The airline, which last flew to Beira in the early 90s, is also set to resume flights to Luanda, the Angolan capital, a business destination that is also increasingly attracting tourists.

African airlines hurt by taxes, compliance costs

Airport authorities in Africa have been accused of charging exorbitant taxes.

Participants at an African Airlines Association (Afraa) conference in Egypt said high taxes led to high airline fares and lower growth in the industry. However, representatives of various airport authorities said the high taxes reflected the costs of running airports.

Mr Bernard Mogambi of Kenya Airports Authority said increased security and infrastructure demands since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US were to blame for higher costs.

"Airports must share these costs with their stakeholders," he told the conference.

Meanwhile, Afraa is seeking a $15 million (Sh1 billion) grant to fund some members’ the change from paper to electronic ticketing before a December 2007 deadline. The move is expected to help cut airline spending as it costs $1 to process an e-ticket compared with $10 for paper.

Ten carriers in Africa have implemented e-ticketing, but two — Kenya Airways and South African Airways — issue more than 70 per cent of Africa’s e-tickets. Globally, the industry has only achieved 67 per cent compliance while Africa has reached 59 per cent compliance.

African Airline Association (Afraa) yesterday said that CDE Pro-Invest, a European Union/African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) fund, was processing the grant for disbursement early next year.

"Cost factors might cause delays in Africa’s implementation of e-ticketing and auditing for safety standards," a representative of the association said. "(We) applied for this grant to assist small and medium sized airlines that are in need of such funding."

Airlines that fail to beat the deadline risk losing their "inter-line traffic". This is traffic shared between airlines for onward carrying and usually makes up 20-35 per cent of an airline’s total traffic.

Of the 17,000 inter-line agreements on file with International Air Transport Association (IATA), only about 500 have been converted to electronic ticketing.

"An additional 2,000 agreements will need to be converted before the end of 2007 to account for 80 per cent of inter-line traffic today," said Mr Thomas Windmuller, senior vice-president in charge of member and government relations at IATA. He added that failing to comply would be injurious to the continent’s airlines.

"Since September 11, 2001, the global industry has lost over $40 billion," he said. "African airlines have not been immune from these losses and are forecast to lose another $800 million this year and a further $900 million in 2007."

However, he said IATA was confident of reaching its 70 per cent target for e-ticketing penetration by the end of this year, and expected to hit 95 per cent next year.

International Civil Aviation Organisation Secretary General Dr Taieb Cherif urged African countries to fully implement the Yamoussoukro declaration on the liberalisation of the African routes.

ICAO team in Nigeria to audit aviation industry after tragic crash

LAGOS, Nov 8, 2006 (AFP) - An international team of aviation experts has arrived in Nigeria to audit its air industry after hundreds of people died in four crashes in one year, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Wednesday.

The five-member team, led by Elizabeth Ghehm from the Montreal headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), began the audit on Tuesday here by briefing Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) officials on its mission, NAN said.

Over 10 days, ICAO experts in the fields of licensing, aircraft operations, airworthiness, air navigation systems and aerodromes, will visit facilities in the west African country's aviation industry, it said.

Almost 350 people, including a dozen soldiers, have been killed in four air disasters in different parts of Nigeria since October last year.

A document released by the team said it would, through its visit, validate the safety oversight conducted by the NCAA.

The document, titled "ICAO Safety Oversight in Nigeria," said the audit schedule would take into consideration a number of factors, including the results of previous audits and the accident incident rates.

The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) was conducted in Nigeria from March 26 to April 2, 2001, with a follow-up audit from May 7 to May 9, 2003.

The current exercise is expected to cover eight critical areas including aviation legislation, operating regulations, structure of the civil aviation administration and safety oversight functions.

Others are technical personnel qualifications and training, technical guidance materials, licensing and certification obligations, continuing surveillance obligations and resolution of safety issues, the document said, according to NAN.

The audit was inaugurated in 1999 to promote global aviation safety in line with the ICAO standards and recommended procedures.

A good rating for Nigeria in the audit will enable its aviation industry to benefit from many of its air service agreements with other countries.

The audit comes barely a week after a Boeing plane belonging to the private ADC company crashed shortly after take-off in Abuja, killing 96 people on board, including the leader of Nigeria's large Muslim community.

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Kenya Airways unveils Sh500m Hangar
10th November 2006

Kenya Airways has unveiled a Sh500 million hangar designed to service its long-haul Boeing 777-200 ER fleet.

With the commissioning of the shed, KQ will now maintain its fleet locally — a development expected to net huge savings for the airline.

Currently KQ’s heavy maintenance service is done in Europe. KQ managing director Mr Titus Naikuni said besides maintaining the KQ fleet, the hangar will also be used to service other carriers in Nairobi.

Currently, KQ has three long range Boeing 777 planes, a fourth one is expected in February next year.

In a statement, the company said the facility would also be used to service the six Boeing 787 Dreamliners expected between 2010 and 2012.

Vice-President Moody Awori officially opened the hangar on Wednesday in the company of representatives from Boeing Company, Singapore Air Leasing Enterprises and aviation industry players in the region.

Also received at the occasion was the first of three new generation Boeing 737-800 planes, leased from the Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprises.

The Boeing 737-800 is a medium-range aircraft that will replace the three aging Boeing 737-200, which have served KQ’s regional routes for the last 20 years.

Once the three aircraft are delivered by next month, KQ will have an active all modern Boeing fleet of 21 aircrafts.

The Boeing 737-800 carries 145 passengers compared to the 116 available on the Boeing 737-200 and a bigger cargo capacity of 44 cubic metres.

Boeing 787 Dreamliners expected in 2010 are equipped with a Heads-Up Display system that projects key navigational data directly in front of pilots, allowing for safer operation in difficult weather conditions or problematic navigational terrain.

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Kenya Airways boosts fleet with the latest Boeing model
10th November 2006

Kenya Airways has received the first of the three modern aircraft it is leasing to boost its fleet.

The Boeing 737-800, one of the latest models in the aviation industry, was received on Wednesday night at a ceremony presided over by Vice-President Moody Awori.

The plane is designed to carry 145 passengers, 16 in the executive class and 129 in the economy class.

It was delivered by Singapole Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, one of the largest leasing firms in Asia. The planes will be leased for eight years.

The company's head of corporate communications, Mr Sean Lee, said the remaining two aircraft would be delivered at the end of the month and mid December respectively.

Mr Lee said Kenya Airways was the first airline in sub-Saharan Africa to acquire the new model noting it was headed to become the leading airline in the continent.

The VP also inaugurated a multi-million-shilling hangar at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Mr Awori described the Sh560 million hangar as a major milestone in the company’s history.

He said the two developments would open the country to the rest of the world, promote tourism and create employment.

Mr Awori commended KQ management, saying since its privatisation 10 years ago, many people had benefited from it.

"I am impressed to learn that at the moment, Kenya Airways employs more than 3,500 Kenyans directly and many others indirectly. This is in addition to having turned over an impressive Sh63 billion during the last financial year," he said and asked the airline to open more routes to boost tourism.

The VP assured the company that the Government would continue to support expansion, citing refurbishment of JKIA, which was recently inaugurated by President Kibaki.

The airline's chief executive officer, Mr Titus Naikuni, said the hangar would not only improve maintenance services but also make Nairobi the hub of Africa.

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New airline 'Fly540' takes to Kenyan skies on November 24

A new airline will be taking to the skies in two weeks.

Fly540 will be introducing flights between Nairobi and Mombasa from November 24 with a choice of four fares. A press statement released by a publicity firm on behalf of the airline said return fares will cost from Sh 5,540.

The airline which starts operation with two 48 seater planes will have two return flights between Nairobi and Mombasa daily.

Daily flights to Malindi and Lamu are also planned.

The Chief Operations officer, Mr Neil Smith, said the airline will provide "a friendly and reliable service for cost conscious passengers".

He said they had chosen Kenya for their business because it was the ideal place as the strong economy drives a higher demand for both domestic and regional travel.

"Nairobi is the most appropriate hub for services in the East African region and we are optimistic about the steady expansion of Fly540," he said.

He also announced that passengers will be able to book their tickets on-line.

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Victoria International Airlines starts flights to Nairobi and Johannesburg


Uganda's revamped national carrier, Victoria International Airlines, has been cleared by Kenyan and South African air transport regulators to fly to Nairobi and Johannesburg.

Victoria's will see an additional 13 flights a week between Entebbe and Nairobi.

Combined with Kenya Airways' 27 flights, travellers will now have a choice of six departures out of Entebbe five days a week, although this will mainly apply to passengers terminating their journeys in Nairobi.

The approval of the Ugandan carrier's application comes against the continued denial of landing rights to Ethiopian Airlines, which in June applied to operate a single daily flight to Nairobi out of Entebbe.

"It has been easy for us to get approvals because we are a national carrier and we did not challenge the status quo by demanding that Kenya Airways withdraw any of its services," Victoria commercial manager Declan Peppard told The EastAfrican.

The Ugandan government owns a 25 per cent equity in Victoria, with the rest of the stock being held by South African and Swiss investors.

According to a schedule released last week, the carrier will also be flying four times a week to Juba in Southern Sudan and thrice a week to Johannesburg.

Except for Monday, when neither South African Airways nor Victoria flies out of Entebbe, there will be the option of a direct flight to Johannesburg six days a week.

The flights to Juba have been positioned to tap into traffic from Nairobi to Southern Sudan as they are a continuation of the morning return leg from Nairobi.

Mr Peppard says further that same-day return journeys will be possible for business people with the return flight departing Juba at 5.10 pm.

Victoria is competing directly on pricing with an economy class return ticket to Nairobi, that costs $138 return, Johannesburg $338 and Juba $278, fares Mr Peppard said are not just promotional but will remain in place.

Victoria's offer represents savings of 25 and 35 per cent on competitor's economy fare offers to Johannesburg and Nairobi respectively.

There was no immediate response to these fare offers by other carriers although fares on the Entebbe-Nairobi sector had in the recent past reached a peak of $409 as demand surged in the absence of capacity and competition on the route.

Analysts said in the absence of a code-share agreement with Kenya Airways, which would allow Victoria to sell onward destinations through Nairobi, the carrier has no option but to position itself to snatch the point-to-point traffic between Entebbe and the Kenyan capital.

The only difficulty for Kenya Airways would be loss of leverage to influence its competitor's pricing policy, whereas a code-share would have bound both operators to agreed minimum fares on all sectors where they compete.

Kenya Airways will hold out because of its global network, which accounts for 70 per cent of its traffic originating from Entebbe, but particularly vulnerable will be its 5 am departure and 10 pm return leg trips, which same-day return travellers to Nairobi have been using as they now have the option of departing at 7 am, returning at 8.45 pm.

Mr Peppard said plans to launch a service between Entebbe and Mombasa were being re-evaluated and the service will most likely be launched as a tie-up with a Kenyan operator from Nairobi. Also planned are flights to Lusaka.

On the Juba route, Victoria faces competition from Uganda's domestic operators Eagle Air and Royal Daisy Airlines. It is offering a fare price of $278 return against the prevailing $440.

Victoria's fleet will initially comprise two Boeing 737-200s, leased from South African aircraft leasing firm Avstar.

Uganda has not had a national airline since the liquidation of Uganda Airlines in early 2001. Several local or partly locally-owned airlines such as Alliance Air, Africa-One and East African Airlines have tried but failed to fill the domestic carrier vacuum over the past couple of years.

An advertisment, with render, of Nairobi's 'Jomo Kenyatta International Airport' (JKIA) when completed:

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Zoomed:

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Kisumu Airport (Kenya) set for Sh2.6 billion facelift, and upgrade to International Status

Kenya Airways will not resume flights to Kisumu despite the airport management and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority insisting that the runway is safe for take off and landing.

The national carrier withdrew from the route, one of its busiest locally, early this month. It said the runway was potholed and dangerous.

But the Kenya Airports Authority denied the claim, as the other airline serving the route, East African Airlines, increased the number of its flights there.

A Nation team that visited the airport last week was told by acting airport manager Leonard Rinchuni that civil aviation authority director-general Chris Kuto toured the facility on November 9 and agreed that the condition of the runway did not warrant suspension of flights by Kenya Airways (KA).

"Our maintenance team has carried out repairs on the runway whenever defects occur. Therefore KA' allegations should be treated as baseless. Operations are going on as usual," said Mr Rinchuni.

KA's chief executive Mr Titus Naikuni has said that the Kisumu Airport runway is dangerous for both landing and takeoff.

Announcing the suspension, he said flights to Kisumu would resume only after repairs on the runway had been completed. The airport has not had Kenya Airways flights for the past 13 days.

Yesterday, an official from the KA office in Kisumu said the flights remain suspended until further notice. The official said the runway was still in a bad condition.

"Our CEO (Naikuni) will make a comprehensive statement once the repairs have been done. As at now, our flights will remain grounded."

Mr Rinchuni's assertion that the runway is in good shape left it unclear whether repairs were effected before or after KA' withdrawal.

Mr Kuto, who was accompanied during the tour by the authority’s chairman, Mr Charles Wako, denied allegations that there was loose murram on the runway.

"Everyone, including all our clients, appreciate the work done by the authority's civil engineering maintenance team. They patch up potholes every time they occur. Safety of passengers is paramount," Mr Kuto’s said.

The matter of Kisumu Airport was raised in Parliament on Tuesday when Transport assistant minister Cecily Mbarire said normal operations would resume after repairs are completed in three weeks.

A Sh17 million tender has already been awarded and the contractor was supposed to be on the site yesterday (Monday), Ms Mbarire told Parliament.

Passengers interviewed at the airport said the ban by Kenya Airways was not fair, but asked airport authorities to speed up repairs to guarantee their safety.

Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) chief executive officer Andrew Otieno expressed dissatisfaction with the manner the matter was being handled. He urged the airport to speed up repairs of the runway, which he said was suspect.

"KA's action is reasonable, bearing in mind the safety of its passengers. But the management should have given an earlier warning to its regular customers, said Mr Otieno.

A Swedish tourist who identified herself as Boska said she was happy to have arrived in Kisumu on time, flying with East African Airlines after her KA flight was cancelled.

American tourists Jonathan Lane and Mark Haustead urged the government to refurbish the airport, but added that its current condition is ‘just fine’.

Mr Rinchuni said KA's decision to cancel flights was ill advised and appealed to the management to reconsider it.

East African airline has recorded increased bookings following KA's withdrawal from the route.

"Our airlines have been fully booked since the ban took effect. The clientele is advised to book in advance to avoid disappointments," said Ms Caroline Mayoya of Eagle Airlinks, a subsidiary of the airline.

The airline has two return flights daily, except on Fridays when it has three, with a capacity of 70 to 80 passengers each.

The airline is yet to increase its flights on the route, as announced by station manager James Waweru two weeks ago after news of KA's withdrawal.

Mr Waweru allayed fears over passengers safety, saying: "We have no problem with the state of the runway. It has little shortcomings, but our flights are designed to operate in such conditions."

Meanwhile, a major expansion project is coming up for the airport, located to the North West of Kisumu town.

The project is set to begin in March next year, and will see Kisumu upgraded to an international airport.

Shillings 2.6 billion has been set aside for it. The design for the new-look airport was to have been completed two months ago by Netherlands Airports Consultant Company (NACO).

Terminal buildings will be expanded and the runway increased to 3.2km, from the current 2.1km, to accommodate bigger aircraft such as the Boeing 767.

Currently, the airport can accommodate only smaller aircraft, with the largest being the 85-seater.

A new control tower and a terminal with separate lounges for arrivals and departures form part of the upgrade.

Others include perimeter fencing and lighting, installation of security screening, baggage, access control and other equipment, purchase of fire fighting equipment and supply of security and communication equipment.

Facilities will be upgraded to accommodate more passenger and cargo traffic. Currently, local fish and flowers are transported to Nairobi by road, resulting in heavy losses in time, spoilage and costs.

Expansion of the airport is also expected to boost tourism in Nyanza, Western and parts of Rift Valley provinces.

The project is funded jointly by the Kenyan Government and the World Bank, through its Northern Corridor Development Programme. The latter will provide more than Sh300 million ($3.9 million) of the total cost.

The rest of the funding will be provided by Kenya Airports Authority.

An upgrade airport will boost KAA's revenue base. Currently, the airport collects more than Sh40 million a year in landing fees. The income is expected to triple with the introduction of cargo handling facilities.

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the compahnies Spanish iberia will take again its flight towards Algiers: According to the program established by the Spanish company, two flights will connect Madrid and Algiers per week: Sunday (departure 18h15, return 20h45) and Thursday (departure 12h15, return 14h50). Iberia specified that the Madrid-Algiers line will be served by planes of the type Airbus A319, of a capacity of 141 passengers. This line will make it possible the Spanish company “to continue its politic of consolidation of its connections with the north of Africa”. the company present towards the Algiers destination are increasingly numerous: air Canada, and china airlines present Algiers in 2007 air Algeria will deservira, New York and Houston in 2007

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Nigeria intercepts explosives at airport

LAGOS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities have intercepted explosives being smuggled onto a domestic flight in an unaccompanied suitcase, the aviation minister said.

The five golden canisters disguised as microphones were found on Saturday, Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode told a news conference on Sunday.

"FAAN (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria) and Bellview Airlines have managed to foil an attempt to bring explosive devices on a Bellview flight," he said.

The find came during the latest shake-up of Nigeria's air industry in the wake of three plane crashes that killed 319 people in just over a year.

Photographs of a man suspected of checking the suitcase onto the scheduled flight from Lagos to Abuja were distributed to the media. Fani-Kayode said the security services were holding the man for questioning.

"Whether these explosives were put there as a device to blow up the plane and kill Nigerians or whether they were there simply to be flown to Abuja for some other mysterious purpose, both courses of action are completely illegal," he said.

Fani-Kayode replaced the previous aviation minister just days after the crash of an ADC Airlines flight last month.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation last week completed an audit of Nigeria's aviation sector but the results are not expected for nine months.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority on Friday suspended the licence of two privately owned domestic carriers -- Sosoliso and Fresh Air -- over unspecified safety lapses.

Two planes operated by two other domestic operators -- Nicon and Spaceworld -- were also grounded for safety reasons.

Fani-Kayode said he would reopen the investigation into the crash of a Bellview flight in October 2005 which killed 117 people.

"I have read through the relevant reports and I am not satisfied," he said.

The investigations into that crash have never been made public and the black box from the Boeing aircraft was never found.

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Paris Offers Kenya Airways Smooth Landing to Lucrative European Market
November 20, 2006

It is 6.30am on a Friday and the skies over Paris are beginning to light up.

We are on the Kenya Airways' maiden flight to France's premier airport, named after its wartime President, Charles De Gaulle, and are preparing for touchdown after a more than eight-hour flight from Nairobi.

Passengers - clutching onto bouquets and certificates, tokens for flying the inaugural flight - are delighted to land in this famed city of romance, fashion, gastronomy and arts.

Paris, the French capital, is one of the most visited cities in the world. It receives more than 30 million visitors a year, a pale comparison to Kenya's slightly more than one million visitors.

The new Paris route will enable Kenya Airways tap the southern Europe and the US travel markets. It will also offer customers in Eastern and Central Africa the option of direct flights to France as well as connecting to other destinations. Of interest are southern European countries such as Spain and Portugal.

Kenya Airways Managing Director Mr Titus Naikuni says Paris will act as an alternative hub. It will complement the traditional London and Amsterdam connections.

Since most US tourists connect through France, Paris will offer the airline a base to tap this lucrative market. US arrivals to Kenya have been on a steady increase, growing by 13 per cent in the first nine months of the year.

Paris also offers the airline - which last year became the first in sub-Saharan Africa to win the IOSA certification for safety standards - an opportunity to increase its share of the lucrative European route, which accounts for 94 per cent of revenues from international routes.

Ms Greta Swings, the Kenya Airways manager for France, told The Standard in Paris that the response from the travel industry had been positive and sales were growing steadily since the October 28 inaugural flight. The carrier flies three times a week to Paris. The new flight is also expected to spur bilateral trade between Kenya and France.

According to the French Embassy in Nairobi, last year's total value of trade between the two countries stood at Sh18 billion, out of which France exported Sh9.8 billion worth of goods to Kenya, and imported Sh8.6 billion.

The writer and KTN business reporter Yusuf Ali at Arc de Triomphe, a monument erected to celebrate Napoleon Bonaparte's conquests.

The horticulture and agriculture industries are expected to benefit from the additional cargo capacity, thereby supplementing the traditional Amsterdam route. Tourism is looking up too. The Kenyan Embassy in Paris hopes that it will bring better tidings given the additional capacity on this route.

Earlier, tourists and businessmen travelling to Kenya and the region had to connect through other destinations or use expensive charter flights.

Said the Kenyan Ambassador to France, Ms Raychelle Omamo: "Many tourists have been using Crossair (a budget operator now a fully-fledged airline). Now Kenya Airways is going to give them an alternative".

Also available to tourists is the KLM route to Nairobi via Amsterdam.

"Past complaints by tourists and businessmen have been about their inability to access Nairobi and the region directly, but with the new KQ flights, this will be a thing of the past," said Omamo.

The envoy said while the number of tourists from France had gone below 30,000 per year following terror threats, recent efforts by the Kenya Tourist Board had paid off and the numbers were now edging towards 42,000. These numbers are expected to grow by a further 20 per cent following aggressive campaigns.

Kenya Airways' 10-year-old partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was evident again, ensuring a smooth landing in Paris for the Kenyan flag carrier. KLM merged with Air France in May 2004 to create Air France-KLM.

The Kenyan airline has continued to post impressive financial results, reporting a pre-tax profit of Sh6.9 billion in the year ending March 31, 2006, on a turnover of Sh52.8 billion, a 25 per cent increase over the previous year.

Mrs Greta Swings, the Kenya Airways manager for France during the interview at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Up to June 2006 Kenya Airways, which flies to 35 destinations worldwide, had a strong passenger growth of 12 per cent on all routes.

It carried more than 2.5 million passengers during the year and has acquired a Boeing 737-800 aircraft as part of its modernisation programme. It expects two similar aircraft this year to replace three ageing B327-200.

Said Naikuni: "By bringing in this new generation aircraft, we expect to offer our passengers more space in addition to (increasing) capacity on the local and regional routes.

"We will also be able to ferry more cargo within the rapidly expanding trade routes in West and Central Africa".

In the past three years, Kenya Airways has acquired three Boeing 777 and expects one more by February. The carrier has also placed a firm order for six new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, to be delivered between 2010 and 2012.

Already, the airline has unveiled a modern hangar to service the B777 fleet, which were previously handled in Europe. It plans to invite other carriers to use the facility, therefore providing an additional revenue stream.

The airline, voted the Best African Airline for five consecutive years by African Aviation magazine, has a codes-share agreement with Turkish Airlines, which - together with Special Prorate Agreement - offers both companies a better access to each other's network. It flies to Istanbul twice a week.

The airline continues to grow wings everyday. Its latest destinations are two Indian Ocean Islands, Comoros and Mayotte.

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Precision Air to Buy Six New Aircraft

Tanzania-based Precision Air will acquire six new wide-bodied aircraft at a cost of $97 million under its fleet modernisation programme.

The airline's managing director, Alphonce Kioko, last week said the carrier was undertaking the programme in partnership with Avions de Transport Regional of France.

This would involve sending at least four Tanzanians to France annually for training in aircraft engineering beginning next year.

Mr Kioko said the airline turn-over had increased from Tsh7 billion ($6.6illion) in 1999/2000 to Tsh34 billion ($32.4 million) in 2005/06.

"Projections indicate that the airline will make a turnover of Tsh40 billion ($38 million) this fiscal year and the number of passengers will reach 400,000," said Mr Kioko.

Precision Air introduced e-ticketing last March, thus becoming the third airline in Africa to embrace the e-ticketing technology.

"Our aim is to become 100 per cent e-ticket-compliant by the end of the year," said Mr Kioko.

Only South African Airways and Kenya Airways use the e-ticketing technology in Africa.

Precision Air was voted Tanzania's 2006 airline of the year.

The airline underwent the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in September and expects to be certified by December.

Precision Air, a Tanzanian private carrier with a global outlook, was started in 1987 as a crop spraying company and in 1993 became a schedule and charter air service firm.

It initially operated a five-seater Piper Aztec aircraft, providing connections to tourists visiting Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania, and Zanzibar Island. The airline then introduced a seven-seater Cessna 207, a seven-seater Cessna 402, two 11-seater Cessna 404s and a 19-seater LET-410.

But its turnaround came in 2003 when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 per cent stake in the airline.

It has since become a partner with KQ/KLM/NWand now AF, with a focus on niche markets, said Mr Kioko. Currently, the airline has a fleet of seven aircraft with a total capacity of 339 seats.

Precision Air flies to 15 destinations - 11 domestic and from regional, boasting 324 departures a week. It offers connections to all major towns in Tanzania, including Mwanza, Arusha, Tabora, Musoma, Shinyanga, Kigoma, Bukoba, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Lindi, Mtwara and Arusha.

In the region, the airline flies to Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya as well as to Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi. Plans are afoot to start flights to Pemba in Mozambique as well as Hahaya in the Comoro Islands.

In June 2005, Precision Air started direct flights between Dar es Salaam and Dubai in partnership with Air Malawi. The carrier operates three flights a week to Dubai - on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday - with return trips on Monday, Thursday and Sunday.

Its partnership with Kenya Airways, means Precision Air passengers to Dubai have a total of 13 flights to choose from as the Kenyan carrier makes 10 weekly flights to Dubai.

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Kenya Airways planning to fly cargo planes
24th November 2006

Kenya Airways (KQ) plans to introduce dedicated cargo planes on selected regional routes.

The airline’s Commercial Director, Mr Hugh Fraser, said the move would boost cargo haulage capacity on routes serviced by the Boeing 737 series.

"Where we fly the 737s, we are constrained with space for passenger baggage. We are evaluating the possibilities of introducing small dedicated freighters to destinations in the region," said Mr Fraser.

On Thursday, KQ officials said these routes include Entebbe, Dar es salaam, Burundi, Kigali, Zambia and Malawi.

Part of the evaluation will involve assessing cargo potential to and from Nairobi. KQ has previously operated freight charters to Zanzibar, Mwanza, and Bujumbura on ad hoc basis.

Fraser was speaking in Comoros soon after the airline inaugurated its maiden flight to the Archipelago, which consists of Comoros and Mayotte.

The islands are situated between Northern Madagascar and Northern Mozambique. The main commodity exported from the islands is Vanilla, and they wholly dependent on imports of goods and commodities like fruits and vegetables shipped in by traders from mainland Africa.

The Comoros and Mayotte route comes two weeks after the launch of direct flights to Paris, France, on October 26.

KQ is the seventh airline to serve the two Islands and the only one from mainland Africa. Other Indian Ocean islands airlines serve the islands from Mauritius, Re-Union and Madagascar.

"We feel that with the right connections, we can take business from the French speaking Indian Ocean islands to France and all over Europe," said Fraser.

Air Italy to launch flights between Rome, Milan and Nairobi
1st December 2006

Air Italy will launch direct flights from Rome and Milan to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi on December 23.

The airline has been flying to Mombasa as a charter service in the last two years.

The new, twice weekly scheduled flights to Nairobi will be extended to the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) as well as Greece as soon as ongoing talks between the airline and other partners to serve the routes are finalised.

In an interview with The Standard, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Italy, Captain Dr Giuseppe Gentile, said the move indicates of cooperation between the two countries.

‘’Italians are part and parcel of Kenya, we have houses in Kenya, and our presence in Malindi is a clear indication on this issue," Capt Gentile said.

The Saturday and Tuesday flights will be departing Nairobi at 10.30 and arrive in Rome 15.45hrs, and Milan 18.00hrs at an introductory fare of $449 dollars.

The airline will expand its services to Kenya by Flying Boeing 757s. Currently, the airline has three B 757s and two B 767s, and will soon introduce two more B757s.

The airline is targeting businessmen from both countries, and is targeting seat occupancy of over 70 per cent in the next six months.

Gentile said says the carrier has a distinct Pan African approach, and hopes to finalise interline agreements with Kenya Airways so as to connect to more African destinations. Air Italy is already operating in partnership with another European carrier, Air One, to connect better to more Italian cities.

"We hope this initiative will bring more business to Kenya, expand the Internet Safari tourism sector, and attract Kenyan visitors to Italy’s famous historical sites, fashion and its cuisine," he said.

The airline currently operates flights to the Caribbean, Mauritius, Maldives, Brazil, Venezuela, Egypt and Zanzibar. Air Italy is a privately owned airline, operated by old-timers who are well experienced in the aviation industry, Gentile said.

Ms Jackie Arkle, the sales and marketing manager of Air Italy’s general sales agent in Kenya, Coventry Holidays, said Air Italy fills the vacuum that has existed on the sector over the last few years.

Air Italy to sign deal with Kenya Airways
2nd December 2006

An Italian airline is poised to strike a deal with Kenya Airways for interconnection flights on African routes.

Air Italy president and CEO Giuseppe Gentile said on Wednesday evening that an agreement pertaining to African routes was nearing conclusion.

Air Italy will fly directly twice a week from Milan and Rome to Nairobi. The inaugural flight takes off on December 22.

"We are finalising interline agreements with Kenya Airways to serve the demand to and from African destinations and with Air One to serve Italian cities," he said at function celebrating the Kenya operation. The airline will fill a vacuum left by Alitalia, which dumped the Nairobi route seven years ago, following the collapse of the tourism industry. Another Kenyan carrier was barred from the Italian airspace some years back over safety concerns.

The Coast is an important destination for Italians especially around Malindi, Catholic church members, and people dealing with international agencies like the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Transport minister, Ali Makwere, welcomed the flights, saying they would improve tourism and trade between the two countries. Air Italy, the successor of Air Europe, which was gobbled up by Swiss Air in 2000, has been operating charter flights to Mombasa in the last two years.

South African Airways adding 6 new destinations

SAA is to start flights to Chicago, Buenos Aires, Munich, Point Noire, Libreville and Bamako. They're also looking at aquiring 9 new long haul aircraft.


Extract from Engineering News:

SAA general manager for business development Nomfanelo Magwentshu said that SAA was negotiating with both Airbus and Boeing to acquire nine aircraft. She noted that the company would add the nine new aircraft to its fleet in 2008. Ngqula pointed out that SAA's current fleet had the capacity to operate the planned new flights.

Meanwhile, Magwentshu revealed that the airline would launch its third destination into the US on May 8, with four weekly flights scheduled between Johannesburg and Chicago.

“Chicago is the largest hub of our Star Alliance partner United Airlines and will offer seamless connections to 91 destinations in North America and our Star Alliance partners.”

In addition to this new route, SAA also said that it would start operating non-stop flights between New York and Johannesburg in May, saving at least six hours of flying time. Flights between Johannesburg and New York currently fly over Europe.

Magwentshu reported that SAA was launching new flights to Buenos Aires, in South America, on July 1, with three weekly flights scheduled.

“These flights will allow SAA to capture emerging South to South traffic flows associated with growing trade and investment between emerging economies in the Southern hemisphere, including Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India and Malaysia.”

The new flights into South America, which would offer connections to seven countries in that area, including Chile, Uruguay and Peru, would complement SAA current operations to Sao Paulo. Magwentshu said that Sao Paulo was one of the airline's most profitable routes.

Moreover, SAA would add an additional three weekly flights to Sao Paulo, bringing the number of flights to ten a week. These flights would originate in Mumbai, in India, and operate through Johannesburg to capture growing trade between these countries, generated by the India-Brazil-South Africa forum.

She also unveiled that SAA was already looking at expanding its route network to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, as well.

On July 1, the airline would also launch its fifth destination in Europe, Munich, in Germany, which would allow it to offer seamless connections to 63 destinations in Europe. SAA planned to operate three weekly flights. It currently offers one flight to Germany, Frankfurt.

The local airline would also be spreading its wings in Africa, with the planned launch three flights a week to Libreville, in Gabon. Magwentshu explained that Gabon had strong trade ties with Brazil and that this new route, which would be launched in April, would complement the additional planned flights to Brazil.

New flights would also be launched twice a week from Johannesburg to Point Noire, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to Bamako, in Mali, in January

www.engineeringnews.co.za

Great news for South African, leading the way. I wonder which model they will decide to aquire.

Apparently they're looking at the A340-600 and 777ER.

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Founded: 1934

Hub and Focus Airports: OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg) | Cape Town International
Airport | Durban International Airport

Alliance: Star Alliance

Passengers (year ending 31 Mar 06): 6,500,000

Fleet

11 Airbus A319-100
21 Boeing 737-800
6 Airbus A340-200
6 Airbus A340-300
9 Airbus A340-600
8 Boeing 747-400



Destinations (incl. future):

Domestic Destinations


Cape Town
Durban
East London
Johannesburg
Port Elizabeth



International Destinations


Luanda
Abidjan
Accra
Nairobi
Blantyre
Lilongwe
Mahebourg
Maputo
Windhoek
Lagos
Dakar
Dar es Salaam
Zanzibar
Entebbe
Lusaka
Livingstone
Harare
Victoria Falls
Bamako
Libreville


Intercontinental Destinations


Hong Kong
Mumbai
Paris
Frankfurt
Munich
Zürich
London
Chicago
New York City
Washington D.C.
Melbourne
Perth
São Paulo
Buenos Aires


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http://www.kenya-airways.com/kq2/image_bank/logo.gif
Founded: 1977

Hub and Focus Airports: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi) | Moi International Airport (Mombasa)

Alliance: SkyTeam Alliance

Passengers (year ending 31 Mar 06): 2,400,00

Fleet

4 Boeing 737-300
4 Boeing 737-700
3 Boeing 737-800
7 Boeing 767-300ER
3 Boeing 777-200ER

Future Fleet Aquisitions

3 Embraer 170
2 Boeing 777-200ER
6 Boeing 787



Destinations (incl. future):

Domestic Destinations


Nairobi
Mombasa
Kisumu
Lamu
Malindi



International Destinations


Cotonou
Bujumbura
Douala
Yaounde
Moroni
Kinshasa
Lubumbashi
Djibouti
Cairo
Addis Ababa
Accra
Abidjan
Lilongwe
Dzaoudzi
Maputo
Lagos
Dakar
Mahe
Freetown
Johannesburg
Khartoum
Dar es Salaam
Zanzibar
Entebbe
Lusaka
Harare


Intercontinental Destinations


Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Bangkok
New Delhi
Mumbai
Amsterdam
London
Paris
Istanbul
Dubai


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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/EthiopianAirlinesLogo.gif
Founded: 1945

Hub and Focus Airports: Bole International Airport (Addis Ababa)

Alliance: N/A

Passengers (year ending 31 Mar 06): 1,500,00

Fleet

5 Fokker 50
1 Boeing 737-260
5 Boeing 737-76W
6 Boeing 757
8 Boeing 767-300ER

Future Fleet Aquisitions

10 Boeing 787



Destinations (incl. future):

Domestic Destinations


Addis Ababa
Arba Minch
Asosa
Axum
Bahir Dar
Beica
Dembidolo
Dessie
Dire Dawa
Gambela
Gode
Gondar
Gore
Inda Selassie
Jijiga
Jimma
Jinka
Kabri Dar
Lalibela
Mekane Selam
Mek'ele
Mizan Teferi
Shilavo
Tippi



International Destinations


Abidjan
Accra
Amsterdam
Bamako
Beirut
Brazzaville
Brussels
Bujumbura
Cairo
Dakar
Dar Es Salaam
Delhi
Djibouti
Douala
Entebbe
Frankfurt
Guangzhou
Harare
Hargeisa
Johannesburg
Juba
Khartoum
Kigali
Kilimanjaro
Kinshasa
Lagos
Libreville
Lilongwe
Lome
Luanda
Lusaka
Nairobi
Ndjamena


Intercontinental Destinations


Bangkok
Beijing
Dubai
Hong Kong
Jeddah
London
Mumbai
Paris
Rome
Stockholm
Tel Aviv
Washington D.C.




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Kenya Airways voted 'Most Respected Company' in East Africa

Kenya Airways (KQ) has been voted as the most respected company in East Africa for the second year in a row.

The airline takes the 2006 East Africa’s Most Respected Companies Award for the second year in a row after business leaders threw their support behind it’s massive expansion into Africa, the Far East and Europe.


KQ also emerged as the most respected company in Kenya, with Tanzania Breweries taking the honours in Tanzania. MTN won Uganda’s most respected firm award at the 7th annual survey, whose results were released on Saturday.

Within the industry sectors, Homegrown was for the third year voted the top firm in agriculture sector.

Standard Chartered Bank won the financial services sector for the second year running, while Serena Hotels came out top in the hotels and tourism sector.

East African Breweries took the manufacturing sector award, while Nakumatt, thanks to its growing market share and massive expansion programme, was named the top company within the Services sector.

Safaricom, with a subscriber base of 4.7 million, maintained its lead in the Telecommunications and ICT sector even though it had to beat off a tough challenge from MTN Uganda and Celtel (Tanzania).

New entrants among the to-ranked companies were Precision Air of Tanzania, which was third in the Services sector, and Kempinski Hotel (Uganda), which took the second position in the hotels and Tourism Sector.

Mumias Sugar moved from the third place in 2005 to second this year in the agriculture, while Mukwano Group of Uganda took the third place in the manufacturing sector after EABL and Bidco Oil.

PricewaterHousecoopers (PWC) country leader, Mr Charles Muchene, the director of the survey said a total of 308 CEOs participated this year’s survey, an increase from the previous year’s 291.

Participation levels in Uganda had increased to 96, while Tanzania had 102 respectively.

Muchene said business leaders are placing more premiums on the need for focused expansion, strategy and visionary leadership.

The quality of services and products were also key factors that influenced the voting patterns.

Nigeria accuses foreign airlines of tax evasion

LAGOS, Dec 5, 2006 (AFP) - Nigeria's Aviation Minister Olufemi Fani-Kayode has accused foreign airlines operating in the country's airspace of evading payment of taxes totalling 500 million dollars, state media said Tuesday.

"A total of 500 million dollars is being owed the country as backlog of taxes by the foreign airline operators,'' the minister was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as saying on Monday.

He said most of the affected airlines were "not even registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and have a backlog of unpaid taxes," he added.

The minister, who was appointed last month to sanitise the ailing industry, urged the defaulting airlines to pay their taxes and register with the appropriate authorities.

He said the west African country needed the money to overhaul the under-performing industry which has seen several air crashes in recent months.

Some 400 people had been killed in the past seven months following a series of fatal air crashes, blamed in part, on ageing planes, lack of maintenance and poor weather.

Ethiopian Airlines Aims to Become Top African Carrier By 2010

ETHIOPIAN Airlines has developed "Vision 2010" where it aims at becoming Africa's world-class carrier. Catherine Namuddu talked to Girma Wake, the chief executive officer.

How is business?

It is very good. We fly to 48 destinations worldwide and to 22 domestically.

Our strength is in our human resource and our facilities. We have a workshop for maintenance and repairs. We have three maintenance hangers, engine overhaul facilities, engine-testing equipment and , a B757/767 simulator. Soon we shall have a 737 simulator. We also have a cargo-handling facility.

We have a pilot-training school, which will be upgraded to an aviation academy soon. We train our pilots every six months. We do maintenance for ourselves and other organisations. We have the best school for pilots, technicians, marketing and finance people and cabin crew. We train people already working and those who are taken directly from the training school. We are approved by the Federal Aviation Authority of America.

We also operate a number of freighter aircraft. We are affiliated to the International Civil Aviation Authority. We do something else that other airlines don't.

How are you planning for the future?

We want to grow our traffic and expand our network. We have ordered for 10 Boeing 787 aircraft worth $1.3b that will be delivered in 2008.

We have two aircraft on lease to cater for the increasing number of passengers. We plan to start a $12m catering facility, a $30m hotel near Bole International Airport and have embarked on a re-positioning strategy. We want to be a hub in West and South Africa for distribution of traffic.

Many airlines have been forced into partnerships. Do you have plans of doing the same?

We can exist without entering into partnerships. The advantage of partnerships is that they increase your presence in the market and help you grow more.

What is your relationship with civil aviation authorities in Africa?

It is good, be it in Africa or outside Africa.

In Africa, it is even better. Africa is a big continent and we cannot say the relationship is the same everywhere. Our relationship with the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is exceptionally good. CAA has been one of the leading civil aviations in the African aviation field.

Cape Verde and Uganda are two exceptionally good civil aviation authorities in Africa. The relationship with Tanzania and Kenya civil aviations is good.

But the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has denied you permission to resume operations on the Nairobi-Entebbe route?

We have complete rights to operate between Nairobi and Entebbe. There is no restriction in the bi-lateral agreement. KCAA has not restricted us on their own free will. I don't think they believe what was done was right. We have no problem with Kenya Airways. Unfortunately, some individuals in Kenya Airways misled the Kenyan authorities.

It is the first time this kind of standoff is happening?

Naturally, Kenya Airways has to be protected. To me, that is short-sighted. It is divisionary for Africa. I don't know the intention of the person who did this. He must have had an intention that is completely different from Kenya Airways. I am sure Kenya Airways understands that this is not in their best interest.

The authorities admit that this was wrong. By the way, Kenya Airways operates between Addis Ababa and Djibouti. We could have stopped them.

They claim they denied to fly to Jeddah from Addis Ababa. But they have never asked. Jeddah is not in Africa. Saudi Arabia is neither a member of the African Union nor a member of COMESA.

The rules that govern Jeddah are different. Even if they were denied, they should not have used that as an excuse to deny us the Nairobi-Entebbe route.

Who misled the authorities?

I can't pin-point at anyone. The authorities admit that someone misled them.

They may not even be Kenyans.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority welcomes all African airlines.

Can the authorities in Addis Ababa stop Kenya Airways from operating there?

We will never restrict Kenya Airways. Two wrongs don't make one right. We shall continue to follow bilateral agreements.

The Ethiopian government can talk to the Kenyan government. We don't believe it is a government issue yet. It will become a government issue if they continue to do that. The Ethiopian government has no intention of talking to the Kenyan government. That is what the people who are doing this want to see.

Kenya Airways is monopolising the Nairobi-Entebbe route, yet their fares are too high. Are the authorities doing anything about this?

We are talking to them. One of the reasons they gave for restricting us was that if we operate on the route, the fare will go down.

If the fare goes down, people will move to us or Kenya Airways will have to adjust theirs. We charge what we think is reasonable and appropriate.

If Kenyans don't want to do that, it is a different story. They charge less than us in Addis and we never stop them.

It is okay if they can support their operations, but I believe the fare is not the main issue.

Air Austral heads east


Air Austral, the Reunion-based French airline with an extensive route network between the Indian Ocean islands, is expanding its long-haul network to include destiantions in the Far East.

After starting its routes to mainland France two years ago (Paris daily, and bi-weekly flights to Marseilles and Lyons) with its B777, Air Austral is now inaugurating its first destination in the Far East.

As from 24 November 2006, two flights a week will be operated from Reunion to Bangkok. Direct flights leave Reunion on a Monday and a Friday, return on a Tuesday and a Saturday.

Flights are operated in code-share with Air Madagascar with a B767.

An agreement concluded with Thai Airways will enable passengers to connect from Bangkok to numerous destinations in the East, among others Singapore and cities in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Regionally, within the Indian Ocean and Africa, Air Austral flies to Johannesburg, Mauritius, Madagascar (four destinations), Mayotte, Comores and Seychelles.

Air Austral is more than ever committed to promoting Reunion Island and is increasingly investing in the Indian Ocean region.

Their weekly flight on a Sunday takes travellers from Johannesburg to Reunion in just under four hours, while additional flights on a Thursday cater for increased demand in high season.

The airline currently has a special offer to Reunion of R2300 return and to Mauritius (via Reunion) return for R3560 excluding taxes. These fares are subject to availability and valid until 10 December.

If you're planning on hopping around the region, the Indian Ocean pass (in collaboration with Air Mauritius and Air Seychelles) allows for easy travel between a range of stunning tropical islands. The pass can only be bought by passengers residing outside the Indian Ocean region, in conjunction with an international air ticket and fares are based on sectors required.

Air Austral operates several flights a day between Reunion and Mauritius, daily flights to Mayotte, several flights a week from Reunion and from Mayotte to Nosy Be as well as regular scheduled flights to other Indian Ocean destinations.

Moroccan airline plans tender for new aircraft

RABAT, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Moroccan low-cost airline Atlas Blue will launch a tender to buy new aircraft this month as part of a plan to expand its fleet to 18 from eight by 2013, it said on Wednesday.

"A tender will be launched before the end of the current year to acquire new-generation planes to increase its fleet to 18 in 2013," it said.

Atlas Blue, a subsidiary of state-owned flag carrier Royal Air Maroc, said the planned purchase was designed to trim plane use costs and make its fleet "homogenous".

It has seven Boeings and one Airbus . It did not specify how many planes it planned to buy in the December tender.

Based in Marrakech, Morocco's main tourist destination, Atlas Blue's turnover has grown rapidly since 2004, when it began operations.

It expects a boom in passenger traffic this year and next, as Morocco aims to increase the number of tourists to 10 million in 2010 from about 6.5 million expected this year.

EgyptAir made profit of $88.4 mln in 2005/6

CAIRO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Egyptian state carrier EgyptAir, 20 percent of which the government is preparing to sell, made a profit of 505 million Egyptian pounds ($88 million) in the financial year ended June 30, the cabinet spokesman said on Monday.

EgyptAir made 431 million pounds in the previous year, the chairman said in March.

Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said the company's total revenue in 2005-6 was 9.8 billion pounds, compared with 3.8 billion in 2002/3. He did not give a 2004/5 figure.

The government has been talking about a partial privatisation of the company since at least February but has given different versions of its plans.

Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq said in June that the partial privatisation would take the form of a capital increase to raise money for new planes.

He said in June that one preparatory study for the privatisation was almost complete but a second study by an international bank would also be needed. ($1 = 5.71 Egyptian pounds)

Delta Airlines in Ghanaian Skies
11th December 2006

As part of Delta Airlines global expansion strategy, the airline has begun its four times a week service to destinations throughout the United States from Accra.

Mr. Frank Jahangir, Vice President, Sales and Affairs Europe, Middle East and Africa disclosed at a press briefing in Accra yesterday to outline the activities of the airline and its operations in Ghana.

He said in 2006 Delta has experienced a massive expansion and " is the fastest growing U.S. carrier to Latin America and the Caribbean with a goal of reaching number two position in destinations over time."

He said the airline is the only airline to serve five continents from New York City The airline decided to operate in Ghana because, "We are very confident that Ghana is firmly on the move".

He explained that an estimated one million Ghanaians are living in the US and with the operation of the airline Ghanaian can come home very easily without going through the stress of transiting from country to country.

He said: "A key to our success is the network strengths" and explained that the airline serves more destinations worldwide than any other carrier and it's the only airline to serve all fifty states.

He explained that Delta would operate the new service with a Boeing 767-300ER and the aircraft has been configured to carry 214 passengers with 35 seats in BusinessElite.

Mr. Jahangir said the airline has upgraded its BusinessElite seats on B767s and the contour sleepers' seat on select B777 in 2008 and five more languages added on their website.

Martin Mireku, Acting Executive Director, Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) said the Board was very happy Ghana has been selected as part of the airline's Africa Expansion Strategy.

He said Ghana stands to gain from the operation of the airline which is number one in several areas.He said the operation of the airline in Ghana is very timely because "in 2007 the country is going to have major events and without easy access to Ghana, these events wouldn't achieve the economic impact on the country."

He revealed that "All effort to get Charter next year to make Ghana very accessible has failed and therefore the operation of Delta airline couldn't have come at a better time." Martin Mireku stated that over forty thousand US tourists come to Ghana annually and with the operation of Delta, the number may double because it will be so convenient for visitors connecting to Ghana from any part of the USA.

He appealed to management of Delta to support GTB's promotional efforts as its will be mutually beneficial to all.

Virgin Atlantic announces London - Nairobi route
16th December 2006
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143962553

Britain’s most bitter airline rivalry will soon be very familiar to Kenyans as Virgin Atlantic Airways begins flights to Nairobi next year.

The airline British Airways once tried to "kill off" in a so-called ‘dirty tricks’ campaign plans daily flights between London and Nairobi from June 1. Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, was quoted confirming this in a joint statement with the Kenya Tourism Board.

He added that his airline was attracted to Nairobi by its status as "the leading hub for East Africa".

"Around 500,000 people fly to Nairobi each year to enjoy the beautiful Kenyan scenery and wildlife it has to offer," Branson said.

"We are delighted by this decision," said KTB Managing Director Dr Ongong’a Achieng.

"This announcement is a result of several months of discussion." Ms Rebecca Nabutola, the permanent secretary in the Tourism ministry, said the airline’s entry would help meet growing demand on the route.

Branson, the UK’s best known entrepreneur, has previously expressed interest in doing business in Africa, mentioning mobile telephony and banking as areas he might be interested in.

Tourist arrivals by air and sea have been growing at an annual average rate of ten per cent and are expected to increase by an additional five per cent next year. The UK is Kenya’s largest tourist source market, contributing 20 per cent of the total international arrivals.

Currently only two airlines offer direct flights to the United Kingdom — BA and South African Airways. The former has had a long-standing rivalry with Virgin Atlantic since its inception.

In the early 1990s, Branson accused BA of "sharp business practices" including poaching Virgin customers and tampering with confidential company files.

When BA directors dismissed the allegations and said he was simply seeking publicity, Branson sued for libel. BA counter-sued over Mr Branson’s original ‘dirty tricks’ allegations but later withdrew the counter-claim after a protracted legal battle that cost them over $7 million.

Nairobi is Virgin Atlantic’s fourth service to Africa. The airline will run an Airbus A340-300 aircraft with 240 seats — 34 Upper Class, 35 Premium Economy and 171 Economy — from Heathrow to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The flights from Heathrow will depart at 7.15pm and will arrive in Nairobi the following day at 6.05am. Return flights from Nairobi depart at 8.20am from JKIA and will arrive at 2.55pm at Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic can count on its sister company Virgin Holidays for some of its traffic.

"Virgin has offered holidays to Kenya in our worldwide brochure for a number of years and it has always proved popular with our customers," said Ms Amanda Wills, the travel arm’s Managing Director. "Now that Virgin Atlantic will be offering direct flights we are sure that demand will grow."

Since it was founded in 1984, Virgin Atlantic has become Britain’s second largest carrier serving the world’s major cities. Now based at both London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it currently operates long haul services to 27 destinations around the world.

Virgin Atlantic currently has a fleet of 36 aircraft, which includes thirteen 747s and five A340-300s and eighteen A340-600s. The airline plans a route launch to Chicago in April next year and Mauritius in October 2007.

Kenya Airways Sign Deal for 3 Additional 787s-8s
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061215f_nr.html

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Nine 787s to join four 777-200ERs as East African carrier expands its international fleet

Seattle, Dec. 17, 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Kenya Airways signed an order in Nairobi on Dec. 15 for three additional 787-8 Dreamliners. The airline now has nine 787s on order, and also holds four options for Boeing's fast-selling new airplane. The airline's original order for six Boeing 787s was made in March and included six options. The three additional 787s will be added to Boeing's Orders & Deliveries Web site this week.

"We have had remarkable success with Boeing's 777," said Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer. "When one weighs the operational advantage these two models bring in tandem, we felt it most prudent that we move now to ensure Kenya Airways retains the best value, and brings a world-class standard of service, for visitors flying to the wide open spaces of Africa."

With the delivery of a Boeing 777-200ER in 2004, Kenya Airways became the first carrier in sub-Sahara Africa to offer 777 service to and from the region. The airline will take delivery of its fourth 777 in February, and has complemented its fleet of Next- Generation 737s with three new 737-800s this year. Kenya Airways will receive its first 787 in October 2010 with the deliveries of the nine Dreamliners extending out to late 2012. Since 1996, Kenya Airways has ordered 19 aircraft directly from Boeing and currently operates another 12 Boeing airplanes on lease.

"It's wonderful to see such a good Boeing customer like Kenya Airways experiencing phenomenal growth," said Lee Monson, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' vice president of Sales for the Middle East and Africa. "We look forward to our ongoing collaboration and the shared insight from an airline team that continues to demonstrate such a high degree of professionalism."

Mauritania Airways set up in joint venture with Tunisia

NOUAKCHOTT, Dec 18, 2006 (AFP) - Mauritania and Tunisia have joined forces in creating a new international airline that should begin service next year, the two countries announced Tuesday.

With 51 percent Tunisian ownership and the rest split among Mauritania's private (39 percent) and public (10 percent) sector, Mauritania Airways -- initially counting just three airplanes -- will offer flights to west and north Africa and Europe, officials said. Service will eventually expand to the Middle East.

Still officials fret the new airline may pose competition for ailing Air Mauritanie, expected to cede 51 percent of its capital shortly to Royal Air Maroc.

Kenya Airways to add three Embraer 170s to fleet

Embraer announced that Kenya Airways has chosen to add the EMBRAER 170 to its current fleet, continuing its network expansion. The airline, based in Nairobi, Kenya, will operate three EMBRAER 170 jets under an operating lease with GE Commercial Aviation Services’ (GECAS) existing orders. There will be no changes in Embraer’s orderbook due to this announcement.

Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled to the second quarter of 2007, when the airline celebrates its 30th anniversary. The company intends to deploy the aircraft in its growing domestic market, replacing turboprops, and on some of its significant medium-haul routes. The aircraft will be configured in a comfortable single-class 72-passenger layout with a 32-inch pitch (81 cm).

Embraer already delivered more than 1020 commercial jet aircraft from both the E-Jets and the ERJ-145 families, which are currently flying with more than 70 airlines in 43 countries around the world.

Kenya Airways serves more than 2 million passengers, annually, with the largest network in Africa. The carrier is going through an aggressive expansion program. Its network currently includes such new additions as Bamako, Dakar, Maputo, Istanbul, and Guangzhou, in China. The airline recently launched flights to Paris and to Comoros and Mayotte. The thrice-weekly flights to Paris complement the 17 weekly flights to London and Amsterdam and the regular schedules to select destinations in Asia, including Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.

SAA and Ethiopian have a great logo..

Virgin Atlantic to start price war on London - Nairobi route

The entry of Britain’s second largest airline, Virgin Atlantic, on the London-Nairobi route starting this year, has elicited mixed reactions in the Kenya travel and tourism industry, with predictions ranging from reduced fares and convenience for travellers to loss of or reduction of commissions for travel agencies.

The airline will operate a 240-seater Airbus 340-300 offering 34 upper classg, 35 premium economy seats and 171 economy on its daily flights from Heathrow to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Sources in the travel industry say they are anticipating a price war by Virgin Atlantic — famed for its rock bottom prices and dubbed “the people’s airline” — as it seeks to break the dominance of Kenya Airways and British Airways, the only two airlines currently operating direct daily flights on the Nairobi-London route.

Other airlines operating the Nairobi-London route are Swiss Air, Sabena, South African Airways Ethiopian Airways and Qatar through their home bases. Virgin has had to fight fierce pricing battles with BA over control of Britain’s travel market and the war is expected to spill over into Kenya.

“We are expecting a price war that will cut the cost of travel, which is beneficial to travellers. But there are many factors that determine the eventual rate and it is difficult to say how low the price will go,” said Nital Modasia, a sales and marketing executive with Bunson Travel.

She said Virgin Atlantic will give travellers and travel agents an option, which is good for competition.

Currently, Kenya Airways and BA are charging $699 exclusive of taxes, with a special promotion fare of $449 minus taxes. Sabena and Swiss Air currently offer the cheapest rate on the route, but both are indirect flights through Brussels and Zurich respectively. Sources in the travel market predict that Virgin Atlantic could force the fares down to $400. But industry sources say that most fares have conditions such as minimum stay or duration of the ticket that determines their real value, which the customer has to consider when buying a ticket.

A source in the airline industry however allayed fears of a fierce price war, saying the Nairobi-London route is still under serviced and there may be no need for undercutting by the few airlines.

But recent history indicates that undercutting is a norm for every new entry into a major route. “It was the case when Qatar Airlines entered the market and even on domestic routes when Fly540, a no-frills airline, launched the Nairobi-Mombasa route,” said Narendra Thakrar, managing director of Travel Plaza.

However, some travel agents are saying the entry of Virgin Airline and others into the Kenyan market is not necessarily good news for them. They are predicting that the growing competition in the local travel sector could push some of them out of business.

Efforts to contact Peter Karanja, chairman of the Kenya Air Travel Association (KATA), were fruitless.

“Our commission rates are set on the price of the ticket and lower prices will reduce our earnings and possibly push many of us out of business,” said a manager at a major travel firm in Nairobi. He said the current commission rate is $50 per ticket and he expects it to drop to $20 with the introduction of lower ticket prices.

He also cited the growth of e-ticketing that allows travellers to buy tickets directly from airlines as one development that has cut earnings for travel agencies. Reduced flying prices will only compound their loss. “We have no idea how low Virgin Atlantic airline will go, but history from other routes it flies is worrisome,” he said.

Mr Thakrar said the entry of the airline into the Kenyan market will offer more connections for travellers from Kenya and the region and will expand the scope of international travel in the region.

“Virgin’s vast network will obviously offer greater convenience to travellers who have had to endure long delays at overseas airports as they wait for connections to various destinations,” he said.

He added that the airline will be of particular importance to Kenya’s tourism because of its connection with the US tourist market, whichlacks direct flights to Kenya.

In a joint statement by Virgin and the Kenya Tourist Board last week, Sir Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin, said that the airline is attracted to Nairobi by its hub status in East Africa.

“Around 500,000 people fly to Nairobi each year to enjoy the scenery and wildlife,” he said.

The UK is Kenya’s biggest tourist market contributing 20 per cent of total arrivals, and the entry of Virgin is expected to boost the existing travel business.

“The Virgin brand has a strong following and its daily flights will offer quality service for the top end tourist segment we are trying to attract,” said KTB chairman Jake Grieves-Cook.

In another development in the Kenyan aviation industry, Wilson airport-based Phoenix Aviation Ltd, a chArter and aircraft maintenace company, recently took delivery of an additional Beechcraft King Air200.

The aircraft is equipped with a cargo pod that provides additional load capacity. The twin-engined prop jet aircgraft will be used for charter and medical evacuation with capacity for two patients, one nurse and a doctor. It also has a cabin for up to 10 passengers.

Managing director Sati Reel said, Phoenix Aviation has an arrangement with the Amref Flying Doctor Service for the provision of around the clock medivac srvices within Africa and Europe. Having the ability to land and to take off from short landing strips, the Beechcraft King Air fleet is used for rescue missions.”

The company further said depending on client requirements, the normal high density seating can be replaced with luxury executive seats and table for four passengers.

Qatar Airways to fly to Dar es Salaam next week

Qatar Airways will next week start flying to Tanzania to boost its East African network.

The four-times-a week flight from Doha, which starts on January 9, will see Qatar Airways spreading its wings by adding its second route in the region after that to Kenya.

The airline’s chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker told The East-African from Doha, Qatar, that the Dar es Salaam route joins the airline’s rapidly growing international network.

Mr Al Baker said the route will be operated with an Airbus A319 aircraft in a two-class configuration of eight seats in business class and 102 seats in economy.

“With the addition of Dar es Salaam, Qatar Airways’ global reach will extend to 71 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East,” he said adding that the Dar es Salaam route is expected to be popular with tourists from around the world.

Qatar Airways has a five-star ranking for service excellence awarded by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency.

The airline operates a modern fleet of 49 all-Airbus aircraft, which will more than double in size to 110 jets by 2015. Qatar Airways is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck Airbus A380 “super jumbos.”

With four aircraft on order and scheduled for delivery from 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport, a state-of-the-art facility being built on reclaimed land, corporate communications manager Salam Al Shawa said the airline will be offering passengers from key markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia convenient connections through Doha to and from Dar es Salaam.

Kenya to spend $230m on upgrading of major airports

Investors in Kenya’s tourism industry are positioning themselves for a boom as the government commences an ambitious multimillion dollar project to rehabilitate infrastructure.

At the unveiling of the $3 million expansion and sprucing up of the Moi International Airport in Mombasa, key officials in the Ministry of Transport said the project was part of a five-year plan that will see all major travel facilities in the country upgraded to international standards.

Kenya Airport Authority managing director George Muhoho said the government was going to spend about $230 million over the five year period to upgrade all airports to international standards.

Although the rehabilitation of the Moi International Airport is targeted at the 2007 Mombasa International Cross Country Championship, the general growth in tourist numbers is expected to yield up to 500,000 more passengers passing through the airport annually.

The total figure is there-fore expected to increase to 2 million passengers annually from the current 1.5 million.

“Over the past four years, the Moi International Airport has experienced unprecedented growth in passenger traffic of about 35 per cent, from 860,000 in 2000 to 1.16 million in 2005.

“At the same time, there has been a growth in cargo from 6,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes over the same period,” said Mr Muhoho.

The growth in passenger numbers, the director said, can be attributed to the strong recovery of the tourism sector, a trend that is projected to continue, hence the need for preparedness.

Mr Muhoho said other airports set to benefit from the major face-lift are Jomo Kenyatta International, Kisumu and Eldoret International and the smaller Malindi and Wilson airports.

Players in the tourism industry at the Kenya Coast have been calling for the expansion of the Malindi airport to boost the number of European tourists flying directly into the town.

Italian tourists alone are expected to hit the 25,000 mark annually up from the current 15,000, once rehabilitation and expansion of the Malindi airport, estimated to cost about $1 million, is completed.

Likewise, the government had set aside billions of shillings for the rehabilitation of major roads including the Nairobi–Mombasa highway, which leads to Coastal resorts, marine and game parks.

Work on the Mombasa–Malindi road is also set to begin following the allocation of about $3.5 million in the current financial year. Also earmarked for rehabilitation is the Mombasa–Diani road on the South Coast, which leads to one of the leading tourist hubs in Kenya.

Meanwhile, hoteliers are planning expansion to tap the growing numbers of tourists, whose numbers had surpassed the 1 million mark by early last December, going by statistics from the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB).

The manager of Club Temple Point Resort in Malindi, Isaac Rodrot, said investors were looking for more land for expansion. “If we get land, we will certainly expand our facilities, because the figures are overwhelming, forcing us to turn down many tourists because we do not have space,” he said.

“The interest in Kenya as a tourist destination has increased considerably in international market and this has led to increasing numbers of tourists who want to visit the country,” said Mr Rodrot, who manages the 100-room hotel, a popular spot with Italian tourists.

Mr Rodrot attributed the good business to a vigorous and sustained marketing of Kenya by the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB). “Disasters like the tsunami that hit South Asia in December 2004 also favoured us but there is greater need to develop the facilities so that when the affected countries recover, we shall still command the market,” he said.

KTB managing director Ongong’a Achieng said efforts by the government to invest in the rehabilitation and improvement of infrastructure will boost Kenya’s image in the face of competition from neighbouring countries.

“Things are looking up in the industry. We are expecting to record over $1 billion in earnings for 2006, up from about $600 million the previous year, but for us to sustain the trend, there is a need to critically look at the infrastructure,” he said.

Players in the industry have been up in arms over the poor state of the road network and airports, electricity and water supply among other infrastructure since it hampered efforts to market Kenya as a leading tourist destination.

At one point, the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers, (KAHC) had threatened to withhold taxes due to the government and use the funds to rehabilitate the infrastructure.

A senior KAHC official, Mohamed Hersi, said the government was too slow in meeting its obligations to improve roads leading to key attractions such as game parks and beach resorts. thus threatening the industry’s revival from a major slump that hit it in the 1990s.

Tourism and Wildlife Minister Morris Dzoro said recently that the government was luring international investors to develop tourism facilities to cope with the increasing number of tourists.

He said the campaign was yielding fruit following the entry of a Canadian hotel chain that was already developing hotels in the country.

“We are optimistic that the campaign to market Kenya as a leading tourist destination will bear fruits and more investors will be coming because the government has given incentives,” he added.

Mr Dzoro said the government was now encouraging the development of ecotourism because it attracted high premium tourists.

“Ecotourism is the way to go because it attracts high spenders like celebrities and top business executives who are interested in nature and Kenya is heading towards that direction,” he said.

the african aviation is really growing up for wath i've seen

the african aviation is really growing up for wath i've seen

Aye, the African Aviation industry is really taking off (excuse the pun). Tourism is a great source of income for many African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Morocco etc. so improving air-links around Africa top priority to them.

Here are some of the project underway in some African cities, towards aviation infrastructure:


Khartoum - Sudan

- Increase capacity to 7.5 million.
- Sudan Air hub.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/6929/airsidepressreleaseix3.gif


Murtala Muhammad Airport - Lagos - Nigeria

- Domestic Traffic Terminal.
- Virgin Nigeria hub.

http://static.flickr.com/118/290502798_f172081035_o.jpg


Jomo Kenyatta International Airport - Nairobi - Kenya

- Increase capacity to +10 million.
- Kenya Airways hub.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5403/jkiaexpansion4cj.jpg

Mogadishu airports to re-open: Somali PM

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 2, 2007 (AFP) - Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi announced Tuesday the resumption of air traffic to airports in Mogadishu after last week's closure of the country's airspace.

"From tomorrow, planes will be allowed to land in Mogadishu. All kinds of planes: commercial or humanitarian planes," Gedi told a press conference in Mogadishu.

Fly540 to maintain low fares policy

Low cost airline to start Nairobi - Kisumu route on 12 January

Fly540 top officials have confirmed the carrier’s long-term policy of providing cheap air fares within Kenya and in the region will be maintained.

Operation’s Director, Mr Nick Ooko, said they will offer low fares on all flights regardless of the season. Fly540 will launch two daily flights from Nairobi to Kisumu with effect from January 12.

"In line with other low cost carriers around the world, we advise customers to book early and pay in good time to secure seats," he said.

Ooko said the airline would break-even despite offering affordable rates to customers in comparison to its competitors. "We have begun on a clean sheet. The other companies operate on historical costs which is why we will give them a run for their money," Ooko said.

He talked to The Standard in Kisumu when he made a courtesy call to Nyanza Provincial Commissioner Mr Paul Olandoon Thursday.

Fly540’s return charges are the lowest compared to those of East African Safari Air Express (Easax) and Kenya Airways (KQ). The new company will charge Sh6, 540 return plus taxes while Easax charges Sh6, 450 one way, while KQ charges Sh7, 055 one way including taxes.

Fly540 Chief Operating Officer Mr Niel Steffen said the company would break even if customers using its ATR42s were few. "The planes are efficient, suitable for short trips and are environment friendly," Steffen said.

"In the beginning customers may think it’s impossible, but we are out to beat the notion," he said.

The affordable costs, the officials said were arrived after removing luxuries like beer, and other foods served on the other flights.

Olando said the airline’s entry to the Nairobi-Kisumu would offer customers alternatives and overcome the problem of missing in flights due to overbooking. "Competition is healthy," he said.

Ooko said they will open up offices in Kisumu and at the airport to popularise its brand in Western Kenya.

The carrier has two aircrafts, while plans are underway to introduce a third aircraft next month.

Ooko said they were considering expanding their operations to the East African region, Sudan and South Africa.

jomo kenyatta's new terminal rendering is great! looked like CDG1, but this is better i think..

Qatar Airways touches down in Dar es Salaam

Qatar Airways has celebrated the launch of its first new route of 2007 with its inaugural flight to Tanzania touching down in the country’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam. Government, airport and media officials were out in force at Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere International Airport to receive QR544 from Doha with the airline’s Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker and a high-level delegation from Qatar onboard.

Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker was joined by Tanzania’s Honourable Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Development, Andrew Chenge and Honourable Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Jumanne Maghembe for the official cake-cutting ceremony at the airport.

Dar es Salaam is the first of nine new routes planned by Qatar Airways during 2007. Al Baker said Dar es Salaam was a key city in the airline’s strategy to build a stronger network of destinations across the African continent.

“I am absolutely delighted to see a Qatar Airways aircraft land in Tanzania for the first time to a wonderful and colourful welcome reception,” he said.

“On behalf of Qatar Airways, I would like to thank the government, airport and Tanzania Tourism Board for their efforts in making this route a reality today and I am sure social and commercial ties between our two countries of Qatar and Tanzania will be strengthened with the success of this route. Tanzania is a strategically important country for Qatar Airways as we build our operations across Africa and provide our passengers with greater choice and a wider network of destinations with our award-winning Five Star service.” Addressing the media, he added: “There is strong traffic between both Europe and the Indian sub continent to east Africa and we, at Qatar Airways, look forward to facilitating travel via Doha for the tens of thousands of passengers a year who fly to and from your wonderful country here in Tanzania.”

“Africa presents huge opportunities and we see this region as a growth area for Qatar Airways. Dar es Salaam is one of the premier business destinations in Africa and the gateway to fantastic holiday retreats such as Mount Kilimanjaro and many game reserves. We expect Dar es Salaam to be a highly popular route with tourists from around the world. All indications show from intensive analysis and research that this will be a highly successful route,” emphasized Baker.

“Dar es Salaam is our 71st route and the first of what promises to be yet another exciting year for Qatar Airways with plenty of wonderful new routes planned during the course of 2007.”

Qatar Airways’ African network currently covers Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis, Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Khartoum, Tripoli, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nairobi. Lagos joins the network in the first quarter of 2007.

Al Baker added that 2007 would be a year of massive expansion in frequencies, routes and fleet size for the airline.

“This is a year of huge celebration. We have come a long way since our relaunch in 1997 when we operated a handful of aircraft to a handful of routes. Now, in our 10th anniversary year, we have exciting new destinations joining Qatar Airways’ growing family of routes, together with more flights on existing routes to give passengers more choice, and brand new Airbus and Boeing aircraft joining the fleet. We take delivery of the first of our Boeing 777s towards the end of 2007.”

Ecoairlines targets Africa’s $11bn aviation market

A pan-West African private sector airlines is in the works, aiming for a significant cut of the $11.3 billion per annum African aviation market.

Going by the name Ecoairlines, the incipient airline is being promoted by private sector interests within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with Togo-based bank, Banque Atlantique, in the forefront.

Speaking at a technical session for stakeholders in Lome, Togo, Kofi Egbeto, the project director, lamented that whereas West Africa contributed a very significant percentage to Africa’s air traffic, an overwhelming portion of the revenue generated from the region went elsewhere, mostly outside Africa. This is as a result of the very weak presence of African operators in the airline industry since the liquidation of Air Afrique that was owned by nine West African and three Central African countries in 2001.

In a presentation to the session, Lufthansa Consulting which is the technical partner to the project, said that whereas the number of airlines globally is expected to double in the next 18 to 20 years, Africa still remained on the margins, showing little prospects for change.

Of the 72 airlines serving the West African sub-region, Lufthansa Consulting said, 38 percent are IATA airlines, and within this bracket are only three west African airlines.

Reviewing the state of the aviation industry in West Africa, the consultants said that Nigeria was by far the dominant market, with 46 percent of passenger capacity. But it however described the country as a domestic island.

Virgin Nigeria, the consultants say, is currently the dominant airline in the region in terms of frequency of flights.

Other notable regional airlines include Air Senegal and Air Ivoire.

Egbeto said that the coming of Ecoairlines will complement the work being done by these airlines, and that collaboration more than competition shall be the mode of operation.

Besides the commercial motive, Ecoairlines hopes to serve a social function. Egbeto pointed out that it is often easier to travel from West Africa to European cities than to other West African cities.

Ecoairlines, he says, plans to reverse this. The competition that the incipient airlines hopes to bring, will also bring down the cost of air travel in the region.

A return ticket from Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) to Lome (Togo), costs as much as $600 for a flight time of about 45 minutes. Some airlines charge about the same amount for the six hour flight between Lagos and London.

Ecoairlines hopes to become the leading airline in West Africa and beyond. It plans to operate with a modern fleet which will help ensure safety.

This is against the background of the analysis of the consultants which shows that Africa has the oldest airline fleet amongst the regions of the world. Africa’s 728 registered aircraft have an average age of 18 years each.

The privately owned and operated airline shall serve the west and central African regions, and will have a strong West African identity. It hopes to play in the league of Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, South African Airways and Tunisair, which are the prime African airlines at the moment.

Presently, the airline industry in Africa accounts for about 470,000 jobs and contributes some $11.3 billion to Africa’s GDP.

Kenya slated to become an international aviation hub

16 January 2007, by Evans Wafula in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has launched a grand USD1.23 billion (Ksh9 billion) expansion programme for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which will see the facility transform into Africa’s preferred aviation hub. Expansion of the facility is expected to roll out in three phases, up to 2009, with areas planned for expansion being the construction of a new apron, taxiways, and an extended fuel hydrant system similar to the modern Unit 4 terminal at Heathrow and an ultra modern three-storey car park.

Upon completion of the expansion programme, JKIA will compare to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, receive International Civil Aviation Organisation’s and the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Category One rating, enabling the national carrier Kenya Airways to have direct flights to the US.
The amount of cargo flowing through the airport rose from 192,300 tonnes in 2004 to 220,900 tonnes in 2005, while the number of passengers had hit a high of 4.4 million by 2006, says Kenya Airports Authority managing director.

In terms of output, the increasing outflows have meant an improved revenue base of up to USD75 million by 2005, but lesser accommodation space, which was initially built for a capacity of about 2.5 million passengers a year. “This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to lose”, said KAA managing director, George Muhoho. “We want the expansion to be complete as fast as possible.”
Collaboration between Kenya Airways, and partners like KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, Precission Air, Northwest Airlines, and Rwanda Air, will see a significant increase in the volume of freight handled by the airport, added the KAA managing director.

The expected entry of Virgin Atlantic in early 2007 for London-Nairobi route will also boost freight and passenger numbers that the airport is able to handle.
Passenger Traffic is expected to climb steadily after the completion of the project, with the figures now in excess of 4.4 million passengers a year, to become Africa's busiest airport. JKIA's greatest success lies in its commercial transformation.

According to Hugh Fraser, Kenya Airways commercial director, expansion of JKIA is a clear indication of the country’s increasing competitiveness as a fleet destination and the growing confidence of Kenya as an international transit point. “This is a signal that Kenya Airways can benchmark itself with other international aviation hubs,” he said.
KAA has already signed one of the renovation contracts with a Chinese company, Wu Yi Company, amounting to USD37.2 million.
Of the total USD120 million total sum needed for the renovation, USD 9.2 million will be provided by the World Bank, while KAA has set aside USD46.2 million. The balance, according to Muhoho, will be outsourced from local financial institutions or through a bond issue.

JKIA’s expansion and improvement also means that Kenya is spearheaded to meet the International Air Transport Association (IATA) e-ticketing targets by end of 2007. Kenya is among three African countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe, whose aviation industries are on course to embracing electronic ticketing fully by end of 2007, said IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani.

Nigerians on trial over airline

LAGOS, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) - Five Nigerians went on trial here Tuesday charged with attempting to smuggle explosives onto an aircraft, legal officials said.

One of the five, Samuel Dickson, was arrested on November 18 at Lagos Airport as he tried to check in baggage containing explosives on a flight to Nigeria's capital Abuja.

Four alleged accomplices -- John Awojirin, Edward Adebisi, Uche Eni and Fisayo Omoyemi -- were also arrested, and charged with a range of offences including the procurement, possession, concealment and attempted smuggling of explosives onto the aircraft.

The explosives were contained in four metal cylinders inside a suitcase, prosecutors said.

The plane was operated by regional carrier Bellview Airlines.

Judge Mohammed Shuaib of the Federal High Court in Lagos adjourned the case till February 6.

Nigerian aviation authorities have ordered security at Lagos and some 20 other airports to be stepped up.

South African Airways IPO years away-minister

CAPE TOWN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - An initial public offering of South African Airways [SAA.UL] (SAA) could be years away, South Africa's trade and industry minister said on Tuesday, adding that the government did not intend to bail out the embattled airline.

In comments to a parliamentary committee debating a bill to spin off SAA from transportation parastatal Transnet, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said it would "take years and not months" to conclude the IPO process.

The bill would transfer SAA shares to the government and convert it into a public company with share capital. But Erwin said the government would recapitalise the airline only in "exceptionally pressing circumstances."

SAA, which has struggled to cope with high fuel costs, fewer passengers and stiff competition from a burgeoning low-cost airline sector, turned a profit in its last financial year after several years in the red.

Erwin added that he supported the principle of using the IPO as part of a turnaround strategy for the airline, which he said had a strategic value for tourism and other sectors of South Africa's economy.

But he said he did not favour a long public debate over the prudence of moving ahead with the IPO.

"I think, really, (it) would not be a very useful exercise. In fact it would probably jeopardise the option and foreclose our options," Erwin told parliament. He said the state needed to be confident the airline would attract capital and hold its value after the IPO.

SkyTeam pact to raise Kenya Airways status

Story by NATION Correspondent
Publication Date: 2007/02/03

Kenya Airways has signed an agreement with SkyTeam, the global airline alliance.

The move indicates that the airline is on track for Official Associate Airline status.

Kenya Airways managing director Titus Naikuni said the airline was certain to benefit from the expertise of all SkyTeam carriers as well as from greater global recognition and SkyTeam’s worldwide network.

The agreement outlines the carrier’s commitment to meet SkyTeam’s standards before it can be recognised as official associate airline. The programme allows SkyTeam to build a broader network and provide travellers with access to additional regions of the world.

Beneficial

KLM Royal Airlines senior vice-president for alliances, Mr Hans de Roos said: “Having African representation will be beneficial to the alliance as passengers travelling to and from this area will have access via SkyTeam”. He was speaking during the signing ceremony in Nairobi yesterday.

KLM owns a 26 per cent stake in Kenya Airways, while the Government controls 23 per cent. The rest of the shares are held by individuals.

SkyTeam offers its 373 million annual passengers a worldwide system of nearly 15,000 daily flights covering 728 destinations.

SkyTeam steering committee chairman Dominique Patry said its associate airline programme illustrates the alliance strategy to develop a global network, with particular emphasis on certain markets.

Spanish police arrest Air Mauritania hijacker

MADRID, Feb 16, 2007 (AFP) - Spanish police on Thursday arrested an armed Mauritanian man seeking political asylum in France who had hijacked an Air Mauritania aircraft with 79 people on board and forced it to land in the Canary Islands.

"The hijacking finished in a satisfactory manner," Canary Islands police chief Jose Segura said on Spanish national radio, adding that the 71 passengers and eight crew members had been freed.

Spanish police said late Thursday that the hijacker was a Mauritanian. The government had indicated earlier that he was Moroccan.

The unidentified hijacker, who was carrying two guns, did not resist arrest, Segura said. He had been overpowered by passengers as the aircraft landed in Las Palmas, and was slightly injured, witnesses said quoted by Spanish media.

The hijacker was seeking to take the plane to France, a source close to the Spanish government told AFP, adding that the man had no link to terrorism.

He "wanted to force the pilot to fly to France. He (the pilot) answered that there was not enough fuel," said one airport security official.

According to a report on Moroccan television station El Ayoun, several of the passengers were "lightly wounded."

"The passengers were lightly wounded while trying to gain control over the hijacker who was carrying a gun," El Ayoun reported, quoting airline attendant Mouloud Kourina, who was at the Las Palmas airport waiting to start his shift onboard the hijacked plane.

Emergency service workers meanwhile told Spanish media that several people had suffered "contusions" and that a pregnant woman had had a nervous breakdown.

The plane, a Boeing 737, had taken off from Nouakchott at 5:40 pm (1740 GMT). It was scheduled to stop over in Nouadhibou, Mauritania's second city in the north of the country, within 45 minutes of flying out of the Mauritanian capital, but was diverted.

It tried to land at Dakhla, a small coastal city in Western Sahara, about 1,770 kilometres (1,100miles) south of Rabat, but was refused permission, security forces sources said.

"They wanted to refuel in Dakhla, but the Moroccan authorities refused. They then went to Las Palmas to re-fuel," with plans to proceed to France after that, one source said.

The Las Palmas airport remained on alert after the hijacking, Spanish national radio reported. It reopened at 2100 GMT.

Somali gunmen attack Mogadishu's airport

MOGADISHU, Feb 22, 2007 (AFP) - Gunmen fired explosives into the main airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday as insurgents stepped up attacks in the city, officials said Friday.

They said there were no casualities, but the report was not independently confirmed.

"I saw the attack and was scared," said Mohammed Ahmed, a resident who lives near the facility in southern Mogadishu.

Earlier, two local Mogadishu officials in the increasingly lawless capital were shot dead by unidentified gunmen, highlighting the worsening insecurity in the seaside city, home to about a million people.

When the latest airport attacks occured, planes owned by Kenyan-based African Airways and Air Djibouti were at the facility that is controlled by the weak government of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.

Insecurity has forced Yusuf to set up shop in the backwater, provincial outpost of Baidoa, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the capital and his repeated vows to relocate to the traditional capital have failed to materialise.

The recent attacks that have killed dozens of people have also forced thousands of people to flee to safer locations, notably in southern Somalia where a few aid groups are struggling to help the needy.

The attacks were among a series of raids in the coastal city since Ethiopian troops helped Somali government fighters oust the powerful Islamist movement from Mogadishu late last year.

The Islamists had managed to maintain law and order in Mogadishu, one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

The transitional government, supported by many of the clan warlords whose rival militias carved up Somalia after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, has pledged to restore order in Mogadishu.

But until neighboring Ethiopia intervened, the Islamic Courts Union had controlled the capital since June last year and established its authority over other southern towns and regions, where it had managed to restore law and order.

Ethiopia justified intervention by claiming the Islamists were a direct threat, and was backed by the United States which accuses them of Al-Qaeda links. The move has prompted mixed feelings among Mogadishu residents.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi has repeatedly called for an urgent deployment of African Union peacekeepers to Somalia, a country of about 10 million people.

But gunmen believed allied to the Islamists have been accused of raiding the positions in the capital, killing dozens of people in the past month and complicating efforts to exert its control across the country.

The African Union, hamstrung by disagreements as well as funding and manpower problems, has so far managed to raise half of the required 8,000 peacekeepers with officials saying they have received troop pledges from Nigeria, Burundi, Malawi and Ghana.

The United States has urged African countries to take part in the AU that was approved Wednesday by the United Nations Security Council but still lacking half of the troops needed.

In addition, the violence pours cold water on Yusuf's pledge to convene a national reconciliation conference to heal rifts in the country torn apart by systemic bloodletting.

Somalia, home to 10 million people, has lacked an effective central authority since 1991 coup, after which warlords established their authority and started imposing their own rules.

Virgin Atlantic aims for 25 percent of Kenyan market

NAIROBI, March 19, 2007 (AFP) - Britain-based Virgin Atlantic has set its sights on 25 percent of the market share when it launches its London-Nairobi route later this year, its chairman Sir Richard Branson said Monday.

Branson said the daily service, to be operated by a 240-seater Airbus A340-300 aircraft, would be launched June 2 and will target a quarter of the market share currently dominated by British Airways and Kenyan Airways.

"The total market is about 500,000 passengers (per year) and we expect to get around 100,000 in our first year," he told a press conference here to promote the route.

"If it is successful and we put on two planes, we hope to capture bigger than 25 percent," he added.

Nairobi will become Virgin Atlantic's fourth African destination. The company also plans to launch a London-Mauritius flight in November. It already flies to Cape Town, Lagos and Johannesburg.

Kenyan Tourism Board (KTB) chief Ochieng Ong'ong'a said the move would boost Kenya's tourism sector, the keystone of the east African nation's flagging economy.

"The launch of Virgin Atlantic flights is an endorsement of Kenya as a safe tourism destination and investment," Ong'ong'a told AFP.

Since an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa in 2002, the United States has maintained a travel warning advising its nationals to exercise caution in Kenya for fears of terrorism.

Kenya has in recent months reported a surge in violent crime across the country, mainly in the capital Nairobi.

Kenya Airways ready for Virgin entry, Naikuni insists

ABDULSAMAD ALI

Faced with serious competition on its home turf from other airlines, Kenya Airways is appealing to its clients to maintain their faith in the national carrier.

Chief executive officer Titus Naikuni said the airline was not scared of competition and called on Kenyans to be “patriotic” and remain loyal to the carrier.

He told The EastAfrican that the airline was prepared for the planned entry of Virgin Atlantic Airlines and was ready for the competition posed by the airline on the Nairobi-London route. The airline is also ready for the expected upgrade of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to a Category One airport that will accept direct links with American destinations.

He said KQ’s management has laid down strategies to counter the entrance of Virgin, whose chief executive officer Sir Richard Branson took Nairobi by storm in his initial foray to market the airline two weeks ago.

“We sat down and worked out strategies and we are ready for the competition,” he told KQ clients when he opened the company’s booking office at Nakumatt Nyali in Mombasa.

Mr Naikuni, however, did not disclose these strategies.

Virgin Atlantic has announced it will start daily direct flights from London to Nairobi, a move that could trigger a price war with British Airways.

Virgin expects to carry 100,000 people from the UK to Kenya in its first year, Sir Richard said. A second daily flight might be added if demand is high, he added.

Nairobi is Virgin’s fourth African destination. The airline already flies to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Lagos.

BA and Kenya Airways currently dominate the market for direct services between the UK and Kenya.

Other airlines on the route include Ethiopian Airlines, KLM, Swiss International Airlines and Qatar — all flying through their home bases.

Return fares for the flights, which begin on June 1, will start at about £385 ($750).

Kenyan Tourism Minister Morris Dzoro said the move would be a “great boost” to the country’s economy.

Mr Naikuni, however, remains optimistic that KQ will not feel the heat of Virgin’s entry because most of its business is based on transfer traffic.

“We transfer about 80 per cent traffic into and out of Africa and that is our core business,” he said.

He asked Kenyans to seek improvements where necessary. “We are your airline and we will listen to what changes you want us to implement to make your flights memorable,” he said.

Mr Naikuni said the slogan “Pride of Africa” was derived from the fact that the company had offices spread throughout the continent.

He said the airline has a major effect on the lives of Kenyans through the multiplier effect of its presence.

“By supporting KQ, you will be supporting the Kenyan economy,” he said.

Mr Naikuni said no one understands the African market better than KQ and that the airline will continue expanding.

He announced the opening of two new routes — Cotonou in Guinea and Monrovia in Liberia — as part of the strategy to strengthen the African market.

The Cotonou office will be opened in the next few days, he said, while a date was yet to be set for the Monrovia one.

“We also have plans for other routes in the continent that we cannot make public at the moment,” he said.

The charismatic marketing by Richard Branson is expected to boost tourism bookings from Britain and the US, Kenya’s source markets, where the airline flies direct.

The airline will join a host of others that fly to Britain including KQ, British Airways, SN Brussels that flies via Belgium, KLM via Amsterdam and Emirates via Dubai.

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), expects the airline to push up American arrivals in Kenya because it is one of the preferred airlines in the US and Britain. British and American tourists account for almost a quarter of total tourist arrivals.

KTB chairman Jake Grieves Cook said the airline has already started booking passengers for its flights to Kenya although it is yet to open an office in Nairobi.

“They are already receiving bookings online and we expect the airline to be a favourite due to its worldwide image as a class airline,” said Mr Cook.

“Increasing air access to Kenya is good news that we as KTB laud. We hope to increase the number of tourists visiting the country,” said Mr Cook.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation in its February newsletter says Africa, led by Kenya, has outpaced all other regions in tourism growth with almost twice the rate of global growth reaching 8.1 per cent in 2006.

This star performance was led by sub-Saharan Africa with 9.4 per cent. North Africa also ended the year above average at 5.8 per cent.

Kenya led major destinations such as South Africa and Morocco to continue to post excellent results. The country’s tourism earnings rose 15 per cent in 2006 to Ksh56.2 billion ($799.4 million) due to aggressive marketing in the existing markets and new targets in Asia. The KTB said earnings in 2005 were Ksh48.9 billion ($698.5 million).

Kenya received 1.8 million visitors in 2006, up from 1.6 million in 2005, with the largest numbers arriving from Britain, the US and Germany.

“The earnings exceeded our projected figure of Ksh53 billion ($757 million) by 5.6 per cent,” KTB managing director Ongong’a Achieng said.

KLM to deploy a bigger jet on Nairobi route

By Brian Adero

The Air France and KLM Group will replace their Boeing 777 on the Nairobi route with a wider Boeing 747 – 400 aircraft during this year’s summer schedule.

The groups say it has increased long haul capacity this year by 5.4 per cent compared with last summer, and by 4.3 per cent on the medium haul network. Capacity from Europe to Latin America will increase by 11.4 per cent and Asia up by 7.3 per cent, and to North America by 10.1 per cent. In a statement, the Group’s Media Relations Manager, Mr Bart Koster, says Africa will see a lesser increase capacity, up 3.1 per cent.

A Boeing 767 aircraft, which has been operating on the Abuja — Kano and Entebbe routes, has been replaced by an Airbuss A330. Entebbe will see an increase of frequencies from three times to five times weekly. The capacity to the Middle East and the French Caribbean and Indian Ocean networks will undergo the usual seasonal adjustments. "KLM and Air France continue their policy of growing the number of destinations and the amount of capacity in emerging markets like China, India and South America," said Koster. The number of weekly KLM return flights to China will increase to 34, including seven code share flights with partner China Southern from Amsterdam to Beijing and Guangzhou. This is the third consecutive season that KLM has expanded frequencies to China. "Together with Air France the weekly number of flights to China will expand to 69, which is more than any other European airline group," Koster said.

Through its successful transatlantic joint venture with North West Airlines, KLM will drastically increase the number of destinations and flight frequencies on the routes. New flights will be introduced between Amsterdam and Hertford, between Detroit and Brussels and between Detroit and Dusseldolf.

Northwest Airlines will also double the number of flights to be operated with Northwest’s B757 aircraft in a special transatlantic two-class configuration.

Increases on Los Angeles and Boston routes include an early morning departure from Amsterdam, offering a good connection for passengers arriving from the Middle East, deploys a bigger jet for route to Nairobi

Kenya Airways: A rising star in aviation skies of the world

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Kenya Airways Far East Area Manager Julius Thairu

Africa is a rising destination on the world travel map today, so it is no surprise when we hear that Kenya Airways has been seeing increasing success in the Australian travel market in the recent months. When speaking to e-Travel Blackboard, Kenya Airways Far East Area Manager Julius Thairu said that Australia was one of the biggest growth markets for 2006.

In fact, the exact word that was used by Thairu was “phenomenal”. Only a year after a GSA was introduced into the Australian market, the results have been outstanding. The 25 per cent growth in sales over 2006 have made Australia the third biggest growth market for one of the best and most respected airline companies in Africa.

This is most likely because of Kenya Airways’ policy of operating to the niche regions of Africa. Australians should not be mistaken by the fact that the airline will only operate to its namesake in a continent of many countries. As Thairu said: “Discover Africa with Kenya Airways.” They do not only fly into Africa to their capital hub, Nairobi; they ferry holiday makers, missionaries and aid workers throughout the continent to under serviced destinations such as Sudan, Mali and Malawi.

“We offer one of the biggest networks within Africa and we pride ourselves as an operator to the niche markets of the continent,” explained Thairu. “All-in-all, we fly to 33 regional destinations and have the aim to eventually fly to every point in Africa.”

But what Thairu continually reinforces is the fact that their extensive network is world-class and Kenya Airways is working towards being recognised as an international carrier in the global aviation industry.

“Perception is something that we have to continually fight,” explained Thairu. “Many people think that because we are an African carrier, we do not operate with the highest international standards. What they don’t realise is that we were voted to have the fourth best in-flight product by Skytraks and we have one of the widest lie-flat beds in our business/first class.”

Another significant factor that easily puts Kenya Airways in the category of international carrier is its success in implementing the IATA plan for 100 per cent e-ticketing in all global carriers by 2008. “We are all e-ticket compliant,” Thairu proudly said.

But what really puts Kenya Airways in the league of international travel is the fact that it has just recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SkyTeam; it is expected that they will come into full membership with the international airline alliance by June.

With such great plans, Kenya Airways is an airline that will be expected to make huge waves in the future. As Thairu said in reference to the Australian market: “It is showing great progress but there is definitely a need for more to be done.” This is why it is already in talks with the Australian government to gain the rights to fly into Australian airspace. This can be paired with the plans for the carrier to introduce a number of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners by 2010 to not only replace the Boeing 767s operating on existing routes, but also to operate in other “interesting long-haul routes”.

Kenya Airways’ plans for expansion are highly exciting for the global aviation community. “As Africa opens up to the world,” concluded Thairu, “We want the world to accept Kenya Airways as a preferred carrier. We want people to think Kenya Airways when they think Africa.”

Kenya Airways resumes flights to DR Congo

By Brian Adero

Kenya Airways (KQ) has resumed flights to Southern Democratic Republic of Congo after a nine-day suspension last month to allow for repair of the runway at Lubumbashi Airport.

Mr Michael Okwiri, the airline’s marketing and communications manager, said the flights will be on Mondays and Saturdays through Harare, Zimbabwe.

"We will operate a circular KQ 426 on Mondays and Saturdays via Harare," he said in a statement.

KQ will fly a Boeing 737 that with a capacity of 16 business-class passengers and another 100 in the economy class.

Okwiri said the return flight from Lubumbashi is scheduled to depart at 1250 hrs (local time), arriving in Nairobi at 1625hrs. The return flight on Wednesday will depart from Lubumbashi at 0950 hrs arriving in Nairobi at 1600hrs.

The airline will also operate a direct flight to Lubumbashi on Wednesdays departing at 0950hrs.

Okwiri said the resumption of the flights on this route is meant to significantly benefit air passengers traveling to both Europe and Asia through Nairobi.

On March 22, KQ announced it would suspend its flights to Lubumbashi for 13 days to allow the runway renovation.

Battle for the Kenyan skies
April 19, 2007
By Peter Thatiah

Industry faces tough test as airlines seek strategic expansion

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The Britain-based Virgin Atlantic airline comes at a time when most of the local airlines are either on a grand route expansion or major restructuring exercises. KQ recently added Liberia and Benin to its route schedule.

The touted entrance into the golden age of the local airline industry is just about to face its toughest test so far or, depending on which side of the hill you view it from, its most ringing endorsement yet.

With estimated annual earnings of the local airline industry now scaling towards an unprecedented Sh20 billion mark, coupled with the entrance of Virgin Atlantic Airlines just in a month’s time, the dice can roll either way.

The maiden Virgin Atlantic flight, an Airbus A340-300 with 240 seats on board in which 34 are upper class and 35 premium economy with the rest 171 in the economy class, arrives in Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from London’s Heathrow at 06.05hrs on June 1, 2007.

The premier airline will be running daily shuttles between Nairobi and London before rolling out what founder Richard Branson has called a strategic network soon after.

If the figures of both the local industry’s earnings and flight volume are promising, then projection figures offer glittering prospects. Already, more than 500,000 passengers are flying direct into the Nairobi hub annually.

The Kenya Tourism Board projects the number of tourists coming to Kenya to peak at five million by 2012. When you put into the fare the growing stature of Nairobi as an international conference centre, coupled with a booming economy that is spurring international travel by the local population, the picture cannot get rosier.

But just what threat does Virgin Atlantic pose to the airlines already established in the country? There has been mixed reactions from the major players in Kenya, with the biggest number opting to remain noncommittal.

But when the pros and cons have been settled, vague as they may be at the moment, industry analysts are unanimous that something unique is happening in the local airline industry.

Major restructuring exercises

Mr John Mmweywa, the Operations Manager of the locally-owned Aero Kenya, says: "For domestic and regional fliers like us, who are the majority of the airlines in the local scene, the entrance of the Virgin Atlantic Airlines is good news.

Since the newcomer is strictly long-haul, it means it will be the opening of another window of opportunity for us. It is one more long-hauler from where we can in return get connecting passengers."

The Britain-based airline comes at a time when most of the local airlines are either on a grand route expansion or major restructuring exercises.

Kenya Airways, which controls up to 60 per cent of the local industry’s pie, has been the most ambitious so far in route expansion in the recent past with a raft of new direct routes to Europe and the Great Lakes region.

Daallo Airlines, which has in the recent past dominated the cargo hauls to the volatile Horn of Africa region, is also in the process of an expansion programme of its Nairobi office, a sign that the airlines’ Country Director, Mrs Perveen Cocker, says are the regional airline’s perception to the importance of the Nairobi hub.

The latest entrant into the expansion race is the industry’s new kid on the block: fly540.com. Barely half an year since it was established in Nairobi, fly540.com will start flying to regional destinations beginning September 2007.

Already, the nascent player in the local scene has caused a stir in the local aviation industry with the introduction of their concept of low-cost domestic flights. Mr Nixon Ooko, the airline’s operations director, says the low-cost flights were never an introductory offer, as has been suggested before, but that it is their policy and it is there to stay.

The airline will fly to Kampala, Dar-es-Salaam, Juba and Kinshasa, posing competition to Kenya Airways, which has several flights on the routes.

Serving the world’s most lucrative routes

According to Mmweywa, with virtually no airlines currently based in Kinshasa and Juba, still deemed insecure by airline investors, and with Kampala and Dar-es-Salaam increasingly depending on Nairobi for connection flights, the airlines serving the regional routes are bracing themselves for any boom to be occasioned by the introduction of the Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

With 27 destinations worldwide (three of which are already established in Africa) and with a route to Chicago in April next year and Mauritius in October 2007, Virgin Atlantic is not new in Africa.

Indeed, according to a past interview with Amanda Wills, the Managing Director of Virgin Holidays, a subsidiary of the airline, Kenya has been in their pipeline for quite some time now.

She says: "Virgin Holidays has offered holidays to Kenya in our worldwide brochure for a number of years and it has always proved popular with our customers.

Now that Virgin Atlantic will be offering direct flights, we are sure that demand will grow." From its inception, Virgin Atlantic has always made it clear that it is not in the business of global domination of routes.

The airline’s concept has been that of exclusively serving the world’s most lucrative routes. Bulk has held little resonance for the airline. Class has been the airline’s forte.

Henceforth, in the face of this competition, industry analysts are of the view that long-haul flights flying to and from Kenya will have to give a critical look-see on the onboard service front.

When Virgin Atlantic started operations in 1984, one of its main competitors in the lucrative transatlantic route was British Airways.

What irked the British national carrier was the version of its bold interior design, then considered outrageous in the conservative industry dominated by national carriers.

Today, what it started has over the years become the rule rather than the exception. Among a raft of coveted awards it won last year included "The Best Business Class Airline".

The onboard frills of the premier airline’s aircraft, which read like an opera script, might be worthy food for thought for the local airlines: "Virgin Atlantic’s new upper class suite consists of a reclining leather seats for takeoff, a place to sit and eat a three-course meal opposite your partner, the longest fully flat bed in the world and a proper mattress for sleeping on, a private onboard bar to drink at with your friends, a private massage zone and four limousines per return trip — all at a price thousands of pounds less than the airline’s first class. The upper class experience also includes drive-thru check-in, the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, among others.

Africa Records World's Highest Growth Rate in Air Travelers in 2006

The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)

The increase in the number of air passengers recorded in Africa in 2006 was higher than in the rest of the world, Xinhua reported from Dakar.

The report quoted Vinod Chidambaram, vice-president for the African region of International Air Transport Association (IATA) as saying that the "increase in the number of air passengers recorded in Africa in 2006 was 8.6 per cent, a rate which was higher than that of other world regions".
Africa 2007

Describing projections for the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa estimated to be 5.2 per cent for 2007 and 5.3 for 2008 as encouraging, the regional vice-president said. The number of air passengers in Africa will continue to grow this year and in the future, he added.

He however warned that conditions such as the reduction of air transport costs and improvement in efficiency and reliability of services as well as dealing with matters affecting the sector must be met in order that air transport companies in Africa can reap real benefits from this growth.

Malaysia, Kenya Agree To Establish Direct Air Links

From S. Retna

NAIROBI (KENYA), April 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Kenya have agreed in principle to create direct air linkages between their capital cities Kuala Lumpur and Nairobi, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Wednesday.

The prime minister said the agreement was reached during a meeting between him and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, Wednesday morning.

"If we are to boost trade and ties between the two countries, it was agreed that we would need to have direct air linkages. I spoke to the president about it and he agreed.

"And now we are leaving it to the respective airlines to work out some mechanism to make this a reality," he told a news conference after the Malaysia-Kenya Business Forum luncheon here.

Abdullah is on a two-day official visit to Kenya, which began yesterday. It is part of his whirlwind eight-day tour of three African nations, namely Sudan, Kenya and Namibia.

Elaborating, Abdullah said he would inform Malaysia Airlines of the government's proposal and then "we would let the companies talk".

It is likely that Kenya Airways, which now flies to Bangkok, would be involved in the negotiations.

"This is something we require if we want more contacts among the people and for business and joint-ventures between the two countries to flourish.

"Moreover, we want more Kenyan students to come to Malaysia to further their studies. This (direct air links) would make it easier for us to attract these potential students," he said.

Currently, there are about 600 Kenyans pursuing their studies at various public and private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia.

Abdullah also announced the setting up of a Malaysia-Kenya Joint Commission which would meet at least once a year.

He said the commission would be tasked to implement and oversee matters that had been agreed upon by the two nations and help sort out problems that would crop up from time to time.

"These can be issues pertaining to business set-ups to immigration matters. We have also agreed that our High Commissions be used by the joint commission to settle matters instead of waiting for the annual joint commission meeting," he said.

On another matter, Abdullah said Malaysia would find a way to make it easier for Kenyans to obtain student visas.

"The authorities in Kenya are concerned about the various checks and the time taken for these students to get a Malaysian visa," Abdullah added.

Earlier, he attended a bilateral meeting between the Malaysian and Kenyan delegations and witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding, namely on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Planning and Implementation of Road Projects.

He will also attend a high tea with members of the Malaysian community in Kenya before attending a state banquet tonight.

Thursday morning, Abdullah will leave for the famous Maasai Mara game reserve in the Serengeti plains before leaving for Namibia in the afternoon.

Brussels Airlines launches extra flight to Nairobi

Story by NATION Correspondent and Agencies
Publication Date: 2007/04/26

Brussels Airlines has launched an extra flight to Nairobi, bringing its service to six flights a week.

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Kenya Tourist Board Chairman Jake Grieves-Cook (left) with Brussels Airlines country manager, Philippe Saeys-Desmedt during the launch.

Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) chairman Jake Grieves-Cook said the additional flight would increase the number of tourists into the country, through the airline to 80,000 annually. “The increase in frequency ties very well with our promotion activities by bringing more visitors into our country,” he said during the airline’s briefing in Nairobi.

The extra sixth-weekly flight operates on Sunday and is expected to link Kenyan businesses with Europe through Brussels.

Brussels Airlines regional manager Philippe Saeys-Desmedt said the extra flight reflected the increasing demand for travel to Kenya from Benelux countries— Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

“Coming as it does just a few months after our $12 million (Sh828 million) in-flight upgrade, which included flatbeds in business class, it demonstrates our commitment to offering the best service to our services to and from Kenya,” he said.

Brussels Airlines formed November 7, 2006 from the merger between SN Brussels Airlines – the largest full service Belgian airline – and Virgin Express, the first of the European low cost airlines.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s 2007 tourism earnings are seen rising by 6.8 per cent to 60 billion shillings, thanks to expectations of more than one million foreign arrivals this year, Grieves-Cook said.

Tourism was the highest earner in 2006 for the country famous for its sandy beaches and wildlife safaris. “This year, for the first time, we will have over a million visitors flying into our two main airports,” he added.

He said there were 954,000 arrivals in 2006. “Earnings will be 60 billion Kenya shillings, it’s moving up. Tourism gives us a huge opportunity here.”

The industry brought in 56.2 billion shillings in 2006 after years of decline following terrorist attacks in 1998 and 2002. “A few years ago, we were seeing airlines going out of Kenya, now we are seeing airlines come back to Kenya and that is a very welcome move,” he said.

Rescuers comb jungle for Kenya Airways wreckage

05 May 2007 22:28:14 GMT


By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, May 6 (Reuters) - Teams of rescuers and villagers combed thick tropical forest in southern Cameroon on Sunday for the wreckage of a Kenya Airways passenger plane which crashed after takeoff in the central African country, officials said.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which was carrying 114 people from more than 20 countries, went missing on Saturday after leaving Douala airport bound for Nairobi in torrential rain. It was reported to have come down in thick jungle.

Military helicopters backed up by villagers on motorbikes had searched a swathe of the forest-covered terrain southwest of the capital Yaounde on Saturday.

But they failed to locate the plane, which initially set off from Ivory Coast, before darkness fell.

"The crisis committee ... has decided to set up several teams made up of villagers to continue the search throughout the night," Placide Ndobo, a local government official in the southern region, told Reuters.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said he had sent a high-level government team led by Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere to help the Cameroonian authorities find out what had happened to the plane.

"I wish to assure all that we have put in motion a mechanism to help establish the status of the Kenya Airways plane," Kibaki said in a statement.

Kenya Airways Group Managing Director Titus Naikuni said on Saturday the authorities in Cameroon had picked up an automatically generated distress signal from the area where the plane went missing.

Radar-equipped helicopters, including one sent by the French military from a base in neighbouring Gabon, were focusing on an area between three or four towns, a French diplomat in Cameroon said.

The aircraft, which was only six months old, was carrying 105 passengers and nine crew, including Africans, Chinese, Indians, Europeans and an American.

Kenya Airways said the Douala control tower had received a last message from the aircraft right after takeoff. It had been due to land in Nairobi at 6:15 a.m. (0315 GMT) on Saturday.

Kenya Airways has three 737-800s in its fleet and Naikuni said they had not decided whether to ground the others.

I heard about that. How sad. :(

As for this thread, great stuff SE9! I'm just discovering it, lol.

Reconstructing the last moments of Kenya Airways Flight 507
11 May 2007

DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) - Three jetliners sat ready for takeoff at Douala International Airport, their crews waiting for a massive thunderstorm to move away.

Just a few minutes past midnight, all three radioed air traffic control to check the weather report. They were told the storm would take another hour to dissipate, and the Cameroon Airlines and Royal Air Maroc crews opted to wait it out.

But Capt. Francis Mbatia Wamwea of Kenya Airways Flight 507, already delayed for an hour and carrying scores of passengers with onward connections to catch, judged the weather had improved sufficiently to permit departure for Nairobi, Kenya.

It was a fateful decision that investigators believe may have cost the lives of the nine crew and 105 passengers of Flight 507, which was ensnared in the raging storm this past Saturday and crashed into the jungle less than a minute after takeoff.

After Wamwea gave the go-ahead, the Kenyan Airways crew radioed the tower, pulled away from the gate and taxied toward Runway 12, heading roughly southwest from the airport.

Douala tower cleared the flight for takeoff a few minutes later, instructing it to report on reaching 5,000 feet (1,500 meters).

The pilot acknowledged. It was not clear what time that final voice transmission was received from the Boeing 737-800.

The plane nose-dived into a swamp on the outskirts of Cameroon's commercial hub just 30 seconds after becoming airborne, killing all aboard. The passengers included Cameroonian merchants, an American AIDS expert, businesspeople from China, India and South Africa, a Tanzanian returning from peacekeeping duties in Ivory Coast, a U.N. refugee worker from Togo. Anthony Mitchell, a Nairobi-based correspondent for The Associated Press, was among the victims.

The six-month old plane was of the newest generation of the world's most popular airliner and has an excellent safety record. This is only the second time a 737-800 has crashed with the loss of all on board. Last September, an airliner belonging to Brazil's Gol airline collided in mid-air with an executive jet over the Amazon jungle.

One Cameroonian investigator and a government pilot assisting the probe, both speaking on condition of anonymity because fact-finding is still underway, said Wamwea's decision to depart into one of the violent tropical storms that regularly ravages parts of equatorial Africa during the rainy season was most likely the pivotal factor in a sequence of events that led to the crash in which all 114 aboard perished.

In Kenya Friday, Kenya Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni said investigators would have to make the final assessment. The probe was likely to take months.

"We don't want to start speculating here," he said. "So whether the pilot did the wrong thing or the right thing, I cannot answer that."

Flight crews are responsible for the decision whether to take off or land in bad weather, usually depending on guidelines prescribed by their airline. And while air traffic control can take measures to prevent flights, including closing down airports, such drastic measures are highly unusual outside the northern hemisphere where heavy winter snows can block runways and bring traffic to a standstill.

Douala airport is not equipped with weather radar, but the 737-800 is. Pilots routinely take off into stormy weather and then rely on radar to guide them around the towering cumulonimbus thunderheads that can cause structural damage to airframes.

Wamwea, 53, was an experienced flyer with about 8,500 hours on jets. He had joined Kenya Airways 20 years ago and enjoyed the reputation of a diligent and professional pilot.

The co-pilot, Andrew Kiuru was only 23. He joined the airline a year ago after completing flight school in South Africa.

The cockpit voice recorder has not yet been found, so no details of the final exchanges between Wamwea and Kiuru are available. It remains unclear which man was flying the plane at the time, but Wamwea would have been the ultimate authority.

The flight data recorder has been recovered.

Two minutes after Flight 507 would have been expected to reach 5,000 feet, the point at which it had been instructed to check in, Douala Area Control Center issued a distress message. This is normal practice by air traffic control when unable to immediately establish contact with an aircraft, a fairly frequent occurrence. But controllers, who had lost sight of the plane fairly quickly because of the storm, were not unduly worried because the plane had fuel for six hours flying time.

A search was launched at 2:44 a.m. when a French radar station sent in a message that an airplane distress signal had been picked up. A Cameroonian air force plane and two helicopters first flew over a region far to the south, basing their search on the distress signal which was in fact hundreds of kilometers (miles) away from the actual crash.

It is unclear why the signal was so far off the mark, but it appears the plane's emergency locator beacon's final signal was garbled -- indicating a false position.

And although the crash site is virtually directly beneath the flight path for planes taking off from Douala, nobody saw it because of the jungle canopy that covers the area.

The wreckage was found 40 hours after takeoff by a local hunter who chanced upon it in a mangrove swamp and reported it to the air force. It was located just 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles) from Runway 12. Using speed calculations, experts estimate the plane had been in the air for just 30 seconds and had never climbed over 3,000 feet (914.4 meters).

Commercial jets regularly fly over the area, one of several standard departure routes from Runway 12. Villagers living near the swamp said they heard planes passing overhead during the night, and a particularly loud boom which sounded like a thunderbolt.

Since there were no witnesses to the crash itself, investigators have pieced together the known facts and formulated several theories on what could have happened.

The wreckage in the thick jungle indicated the plane flew nose-first into the ground at a nearly 90 degree angle. It was found buried deep in a crater of reddish-brown muck with only tiny bits of the rear fuselage and wings left above ground. Trees nearby were smashed, but otherwise the jungle canopy remains intact, making the site almost invisible from the air.

Investigators said the nose-dive indicated that a violent gust of wind within a thundercloud may have flipped the airliner over, throwing it into a fatal dive. Although modern jets can usually fly through storm clouds, storms in Africa are particularly violent at this time of the year, investigators said.

The location of the wreckage also indicates the pilot was maneuvering at the time, banking sharply to the right. This would have exposed the raised left wing to the gust, investigators said.

The low altitude, would have made it impossible to recover from the resulting dive.

Investigators said they cannot yet discount other factors, including mechanical failure, pilot disorientation or even sabotage. But no sign of a blast or fire has been found so far by the search teams, which include seven experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and two Boeing representatives.

Investigators say it will likely take months to collect and analyze the evidence. They said a final report on the crash would probably not be completed this year.

Korea and Kenya reach Open Skies Agreement

Korea to grow trade with Kenya and Africa with aviation deal

Written by Wangui Maina
14-May-2007

Kenya and South Korea’s recent “open skies” aviation agreement could be a stepping stone for the East Asian country to make moves into Africa as its neighbours, Japan and China, have done.

The agreement allows Korean airlines to fly into Kenya and vice versa. Currently, the nation’s flagship carrier, Korean Air, does not fly into the country but code shares with Kenya Airways (KQ), allowing passengers to reach Seoul from Nairobi, via a third destination served by both airlines.

Open skies agreements, which can be bilateral or involve multiple partners, are meant to liberalise the often heavily nationalistic and regulated rules for international aviation between countries. The deal should minimise government intervention on issues of passengers, cargo and the number of scheduled flights.

The international Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 heralded the era of Open Skies in international aviation.

The agreement between allows for unlimited cargo and passenger movement between the two countries. However according to the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Transport, Gerishon Ikiara, connecting flight rights to carry on to a third destination, were not included in the deal.

That means that, for example, Korean Air cannot fly into Nairobi, then on to Johannesberg, under this deal.

“If they wished to fly to another destination from Kenya, authority would have to be negotiated,” added Mr Ikiara. In Africa, South Korea has rights to fly into Egypt only.

Officials from Seoul, the Korean capital, said the agreement would allow their airlines greater access to Africa, which they are eying as a region of potential growth. In a statement issued by the South Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation, the deal would open up more trade opportunities for the two countries.

Several South Korean companies already operate in Kenya, and the country is known for making cars such as Hyundai, and electronic brands like Samsung and Daewoo.

According to Mr Ikiara, Kenya could benefit from technical expertise of Korea — Asia’s third largest economy after Japan and China — as the deal will allow for more technical and training corporation between the two countries.

Some are viewing a less high-handed motivation in the deal, as Kenya pledged to support Korea’s bid to gain a seat on the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) board in September, when the United Nations air travel body holds board member elections.

Korean Air, the largest airline in Korea, has been voted as one of the best in the world in categories such as service quality. And Seoul’s biggest airport, Incheon International, is one of the biggest, and the sixth busiest hub in Asia. A 2006 survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) ranked Incheon one of the world’s best airports.

In January, South Korea signed an open skies agreement with Malaysia. Open skies deals have gained momentum in the industry recently, as airlines have pushed for less regulation and more open competition.

The recent agreement inked between the US and EU countries is seen as a landmark in such deals.
The open skies agreement removed barriers and allowed airlines, for the first time, to offer service from any city in the EU bloc to any US city and vice versa, with no restrictions on the number of flights, aircraft used or routes.

In most cases, government-to-government bilateral agreements often limit where international carriers fly, the number of flights they can schedule and even the fares they can charge.

Virgin Atlantic arrives at Nairobi today


Story by PAUL REDFERN, Nation Correspondent in London
Publication Date: 6/2/2007

Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight to Nairobi from London is due to touch down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) this morning. The A340-300 Airbus, carrying international journalists on a brief weekend visit to Nairobi, will be the first of regular daily flights between London’s Heathrow airport and JKIA, and will add competition to the services already offered by British Airways and Kenya Airways (KQ).

Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Atlantic and head of the Virgin Group of Companies will be aboard the airline’s inaugural flight that arrives today.

He will join Vice President Moody Awori and Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere at a Press conference called to mark the launch of Virgin Atlantic flights in Kenya, at the airport.

A statement said the conference will link the arrival of Virgin to tourism and the economy

Tourism experts believe the extra capacity is needed, as Kenya continues to see a rapid growth in UK tourist numbers. The UK accounts for among the largest number of European tourists that visit Kenya each year. The latest statistics for February of this year continue to show a rising trend in UK arrivals, with 16,779 Britons visiting, an increase of over 20 per cent on the previous February.

Overall, 2006 saw another increase in UK arrivals with 171,409 arrivals from the UK a near 11 per cent increase on 2005.

Potential

The new travel focus tends to be on safaris and eco-tourism lodges, highlighting the need for extra capacity at Nairobi rather than Mombasa.

Virgin will offer a full range of services on its flights, from the upper class option featuring flat beds and a private massage zone, to an economy class offering that provides seat back televisions for all passengers and video on demand.

One key result of the new competition could be a lowering of prices between London and Nairobi but Virgin Atlantic clearly feels there is enormous potential for growth in its new route. Announcing the launch last year, Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson said Nairobi was Virgin Atlantics fourth service to its Africa routes which were expanding at a vast rate.

“Passenger numbers have doubled over the past five years and we predict its popularity will continue to grow in years to come.”

The flights start at Heathrow at 19.15 and arrive at 6.05 the next day.

Return flights depart at 08.20 and arrive at London Heathrow at 14.55.

Kenya’s Tourism ministry has been making efforts to persuade Virgin Atlantic to start its flights to Nairobi for some time. Permanent Secretary Rebecca Nabutola said that Virgin offered “quality and high standards” and was “one of the worlds premier airlines.”

Virgin Atlantic’s arrival heralds fare cuts (London - Nairobi)

JOHN KARIUKI
Special Correspondent

Air fares on the Nairobi-London route dropped last week as major carriers reacted to the entry of Virgin Airlines into Kenya’s most lucrative travel route.

Kenya Airways (KQ) cut its fares from $699 to $550, to go level with Virgin’s while British Airways (BA) was down to $549. And in an unexpected nervous shift, BA offered a seat auction which was mostly significant for its timing.

“There have been online ticket auctions in the past but this is a clear reaction to Virgin’s entry,” said a senior manager with a Nairobi travel company.

Other airlines with indirect Nairobi-London routes have also lowered fares with Emirates down to $550, Qatar $450, Ethiopian Airways $ 470 — all on return flights.

The reduction has been expected ever since Virgin announced entry into the route but industry sources still expressed surprise. Industry analysts predict a further drop as the current high season slows down.

“Virgin put their timing to coincide with the high season; the real pricing war will kick off later in the low season,” said Dodo World travel company’s Bob Inyangula.

Travel analysts say the fare could stabilise at the current level but see it dropping further to an average $400 return.

According to the Kenya Tourist Board, there has been a consistent growth of the passenger load on the Nairobi-London route. Last year, the figure stood at 171,406 passengers, an 11 per cent growth over 2006 while provisional figures for this year, as at February, were 16,779 — a 20 per cent growth over the same period last year. The number is expected to grow significantly by the end of the year. But at the start, Virgin will have to compete with KQ and BA for the lucrative London direct route.

The initial view was that KQ would be hardest hit by the new arrival, but so far indications from major travel companies show Virgin eating more into the share of BA than that of KQ — indeed, the Kenya national carrier may not be that adversely affected after all.

“It is a strong brand and I notice a strong sense of patriotism among Kenyan travellers who are choosing to fly KQ as long as it is available,” said Mr Inyangula.

Marketing manager of Fly Air, Rose Kavaya, supports this view. She said there were more bookings for Kenya Airways in the past week as Kenyans appear to rally to support the national carrier.

Previously, this element of belonging has worked in favour of British Airways, but it may now have to share passengers with Virgin Airlines as they are both from the same country.

“Both are good brands, but Virgin has a greater allure for quality and has a big name internationally that will certainly help swing clients in its favour,” said Suresh Raman, managing director of Somak Travel.

Some in the industry see the swing in the Virgin versus BA rivalry go to Virgin due to the better refined leisure inclination it is known for.

However, the flights schedule are likely to be a strong factor in favour of BA and KQ as they both have day and nights flights. Bookings are notably higher for night flights due to the greater convenience it offers for especially business travellers on a short turnaround trip.

“A day flight means a hotel night that could be avoided by a traveller going to London for a day’s business. In such cases, travellers want to arrive in London in the morning, attend to their business and travel back in the evening — which saves time and cuts hotel costs,” said Mr Raman.

He said that people who are pressed for time are more likely to choose BA or KQ. Virgin flights leave Heathrow at 1915 and arrive at 0605 the next day. Return flights depart from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 0820 and arrive at Heathrow at 1455.

The onward connection point to the United States and other parts of Europe has been thought to favour the two British carriers but local analysts see clear advantages for KQ over the two rival airlines who connect from Heathrow or Gatwick in London while KQ uses Amsterdam.

According to travel agents who spoke to The EastAfrican, most African travellers would rather avoid the stringent security checks in the UK that many consider cumbersome and even hostile. They prefer to fly KQ and connect to US and other overseas destinations via Amsterdam which many consider a lot more friendly, Ms Kavaya said.

Most travel agents also said that the short-lived visa requirement for transit travellers connecting through UK airports has worked against the British carriers in favour of KQ.

“Many travellers have not realised that it was withdrawn and others simply do not care and just want to avoid UK airports altogether,” said Mr Inyangula.

Even as the airlines fight for market share, relations with travel companies over commissions are a crucial factor for walk-in clients.

Currently, Virgin is offering a nine per cent commission to agents while KQ gives six. But BA is on a zero commission policy, which has forced travel companies to put a mark up on the published fare.

“It has created an inconvenience for travel agents having to explain to clients that they have to pay a service charge on top of the published fare,” said Mr Inyangula.

However, travel agents agree that the zero commission rate is the way all airlines will go and agents will have to find a way to justify their mark up to stay in business.

“Survival in this business will depend on adding value,” Mr Raman said.

This will include extras like airport transfers and other services.

Chinese airlines to seek KQ partnership

By Brian Adero

Chinese aviation officials say they want their airlines to partner with Kenya Airways (KQ) on direct flights from Kenya to their country. Mr Yang Guoqing, the deputy minister in-charge of China Civil Aviation, says that due to KQ’s wider spread in terms of market expansion, they have identified the national carrier as a strong airline in Africa worth working with.

He said that although China signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (Basa) with Kenya three years ago, there is no need for airlines from China to launch direct flights to Nairobi. "Though the agreement allows airlines from both countries to operate between us, we want our airlines to work with KQ," he said.

He spoke during a visit by a Chinese aviation delegation to Transport minister, Mr Chirau Ali Mwakwere, on Thursday.

KQ flies four times a week to Guangzhou, China. Guoqing said that during an earlier visit to KQ’s Embakasi headquarters, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Titus Naikuni, had talked of KQ’s intention to expand to other parts in China.

With more than 30 airlines serving both domestic and International routes, China’s aviation market is dominated by Air China based in Guangzhou, China Eastern based in Shanghai and China Southern based in Guangzhou.

Guoquing is optimistic that China Southern, which is based in Guangzhou, could soon sign a joint venture with KQ, which will make a lot of contribution to the existing agreements between the two airlines.

Mwakwere assured the delegation that Kenya has made a lot of effort in meeting international aviation standards, which has made Nairobi one of the leading aviation hubs in Africa.

Boeing, Kenya Airways Celebrate Opening of Leadership Center

-- Kenya Airways Launches 'The Pride Centre' in Nairobi to Offer Training and Leadership Development
July 30, 2007: 06:01 PM EST

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Representatives from Boeing and Kenya Airways were on hand this past Thursday to mark the launch of the airline's new training and leadership facility named "The Pride Centre."

Located just outside the Kenyan capital, the newly refurbished facility was purchased by Kenya Airways in 2005 and modeled on Boeing's Leadership Center in St. Louis. A Kenya Airways fact-finding team recently visited Boeing's training facility and Rolls-Royce's Training Centre located just outside its headquarters in Derby, UK. Boeing has consulted with the airline on The Pride Centre's design and layout and is currently working with Kenya Airways' management on course development and exploring opportunities for future on-site training.

Lee Monson, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Sales for the Middle East and Africa, was invited as the honored guest at Kenya Airways' inaugural ceremony for The Pride Centre.

"Leadership development is important to Boeing's strategy for continued success," Monson said. "It's rewarding to work with an airline customer that shares an ideology to invest in human resources and is working to develop future leaders -- not just for its own company, but also to the benefit of the entire Kenyan business enterprise."

Beyond airline-specific training tools, such as 787 door trainers that will be installed in 2008, The Pride Centre will serve to develop skill sets at the managerial and executive level through specialized course training based on proven leadership attributes.

Kenya Airways' Managing Director and CEO Titus Naikuni has been a driving force in the airline's strategy to enhance Kenya's infrastructure on a multitude of levels.

"The opening of The Pride Centre is another milestone event for Kenya Airways as we work towards building a more successful tomorrow for the airline and for Kenya as a whole," Naikuni said. "We appreciate Boeing's commitment to our working relationship and value their participation in helping make this training and leadership centre a regional success in East Africa."

Emirates plans 17 weekly flights to Nairobi

By Chris Mburu

Emirates Airlines has notified Kenyan aviation authorities plans to introduce extra three weekly flights from Dubai to Nairobi.

The Middle East Carrier operates a daily evening and day flight to Nairobi, and the new flights would raise the weekly schedules to 17 per week.

But, plans to introduce Dubai-Mombasa flights have been suspended.

The new flights make Emirates the leading foreign operator to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and marks the continued dominance of the airline on Kenya to Middle East routes. Kenya Airways operates a daily flight to Dubai.

Emirates General Manager for East Africa, Mr Ali Al Shamsi, says arrival and departure times of the new flights will be announced later. "We are yet to decide whether to operate the new flights directly or to mount a joint operation through Kampala and Dar es Salaam," he said.

Aviation officials at the Ministry of Transport and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority say the current Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Dubai and Kenya allows for unlimited number of frequencies between Nairobi and Dubai.

Emirates has been flying to Kenya for the last 12 years.

"Outbound load factors from Nairobi are extremely healthy. From three flights a week some years ago, Emirates today enjoys a double daily service between Nairobi and Dubai," he said.

Uganda and Tanzania each have a daily, direct service from Dubai, up from four flights a week four years ago.

"On these routes we operate the Airbus A330-200 aircraft with industry leading features. Last year we registered a 50 per cent revenue growth on our Dar-es-Salaam route and a 40 per cent increase in Entebbe services," Al Shamshi said in an interview.

In October 2004, the airline started a once a weekly freighter service from Nairobi to Amsterdam via Dubai using a Boeing 747-400F offering 110 tonnes of cargo capacity.

The service - Emirates SkyCargo’s first African freighter route – was increased to twice weekly because of increased demand.

"Kenya is the world’s leading horticulture producer, particularly for cut-flowers. Emirates believes that the load factors will continue to grow over time as the potential of East African economies maintain an upswing. We look at Kenya as a high potential area for both passenger and cargo traffic," Al Shamshi said.

Afriqiyah (Libya) to fly to Nairobi

Cyrus Kinyungu in Tripoli, Libya

A Libyan Airline has announced plans to commence flights from Tripoli to Nairobi beginning next year.

Afriqiyah Airways, which is a major airline in North Africa, announced that plans were at an advanced stage to commence the flight connecting Tripoli and East Africa.
"We are at a very advanced stage on starting operations in Kenya. We are currently limited because of the number of aircraft we own," said the airline’s Operations Director, Captain Ahmed Bukshem.

"The need to connect Africa with the rest of the world is our priority. In the next few years we will see this happen," he said adding they also intended to go to Southern Africa.

He said studies to establish the viability of the route is currently underway adding a team will later tour the country to negotiate with Kenya civil Aviation Authority on the operations.

He said the airline could commence flights after October subject to delivery of new jets.

Bukshem said the airline operates a fleet of six leased aircraft, but 23 new jets had been ordered.

He was speaking in Tripoli during the launch of an Airbus A320, the first that the country purchased since the embargo on trade was lifted.

Afriqiyah Airways, which was started in 2001, became the first beneficiary of the lifting of the trade embargo which has been in place for over 16 years after it ordered a fleet of the airbus aircraft family worth $2.8 billion to be supplied over the next 10 years.

‘‘With the lifting of the embargo, Afriqiyah has ordered 23 jets from the airbus family, which range from A320 to the A350 to be supplied within the next decade,’’ said Bukshem.

The airline previously operated a fleet of six leased aircraft due to the embargo. The fleet modernisation, said the airline’s commercial Director, Mr Rammah Ettir, will see the airline become the first carrier in the continent to operate the modern A350 model. The new A 320 has upgrades in environmental and flight controls.

Ettir said passengers in the new jet will enjoy other luxurious additions.

The new developments in Afriqiyah Airways are significant to Kenya considering the agreements entered between Kenya and Libya recently.

In June, President Kibaki paid a visit to Libyan leader, Colonel Muamar Gadaffi and among other issues the duo agreed to start flights between the two nations.

‘‘The Bilateral Air Services Agreement between the two leaders establishes air services between the two states and enables the designated airlines of both countries to commence scheduled commercial flights,’’ said Bukshem.

The two also signed another agreement seeking to promote and facilitate bilateral trade between the two nations.

West Africa group plans African regional airline

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A West African group plans to launch an airline to help fill in route gaps left by problems at regional state-owned airlines, before expanding to the rest of the continent, an official said on Wednesday.

The Togolese-based SPCAR -- Regional Airline Promotion Company -- hopes to unveil the new airline at the end of October, with operations targeted to begin in the first quarter of 2008, its chairman Gervais Djondo told reporters in Johannesburg.

The company has embarked on roadshow to attract investment for the $200 million project, which Djondo said was meant to plug a gap in Africa's air travel market, currently largely serviced by European airlines.

"After the collapse of different airlines in West Africa ... there was this gap that was created by the collapse of these companies and something needed to be done to fill this gap," he said, adding travellers sometimes needed to go through Europe to get to other African countries.

"Some of the European airlines make about 75 to 80 percent or even 90 percent of their profit from Africa," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Officials say problems at Nigeria Airways, Ghana Airways, Air Afrique and Cameroon Airlines amid a series of air crashes in the region, had left a gap in the West African market.

SPCAR is owned by Ecobank, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the West African Development Bank.

But Djondo said the airline would remain privately-owned.

"After careful analysis of what led to the collapse of these airlines... we came to the conclusion that there is a need to set up a regional airline that is not state controlled because most of them were owned by national governments," he said.

The new airline, the name of which would be announced at its launch, would initially ply routes in West Africa before moving to the rest of the continent, and further afield.

It would initially offer mainly passenger services but would also later look at the lucrative freight market.

In the first year of operation the airline would lease aircraft not more than five-years-old, to counter the continent's poor air safety record.

Africa accounted for nearly a fifth of fatal airliner accidents last year, despite having only 3 percent of global flight departures, according to the Dutch-based Aviation Safety Network.

Africa's 10 busiest airports as of June 2007 - Generally very strong growth!

1. JOHANNESBURG, ZA 18 410 000 +11.2%
2. CAIRO, EG 11 372 000 +10.1
3. CAPETOWN, ZA 7 807 000 +12.3
4. SHARM EL SHEIKH 5 461 000 +15.6
5. HURGADA, EG 5 288 000 +15.2
6. CASABLANCA, MA 5 269 000 +12.9
7. NAIROBI, KE 4 586 000 +4.8
8. DURBAN, ZA 4 471 000 +17.8
9. LAGOS, NG 4 345 000 +14.2
10.MONASTIR, TN 4 272 000 +3.2

Source: ACI Monthly report

BA to end London-Harare flights

HARARE, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - British Airways is to halt direct flights between Harare and London next month as the route is no longer profitable, an airline official said on Thursday.

BA's regional commercial manager Steve Harrison told the official New ZIANA news agency that the last flight on the London Heathrow-Harare route would be on October 28.

"The route between Harare and Heathrow has been making a considerable loss over the past few weeks," Harrison was quoted as saying.

"We operate in a highly competitive global market and cannot afford to sustain the losses on the Harare route any longer."

British Airways follows a number of international airlines that have pulled out of the Zimbabwe route such as Swiss Air, Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France.

Harrrison said that passengers who had already booked flights would be booked on alternative flights or reimbursed.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic crisis characterised by world-record inflation, more than 80 percent joblessness and chronic shortages of foreign currency and fuel.

The tourism industry, once a mainstay of the economy, has shrunk drastically over the past seven years since Zimbabwe embarked on a controversial programme to seize farms owned by the minority white population.

President Robert Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, has blamed Zimbabwe's economic woes on the former colonial power Britain.

Struggling African airlines urged to cooperate to survive

NAIROBI, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Struggling African airlines should cooperate to survive against fierce competition from international carriers, notably from Asia and the Middle East, the industry warned Tuesday.

African Airline Service chief Nick Fadugba said the airlines must explore mergers, acquisitions and takeovers to strengthen their standing in the market.

Fadugba said the continental airlines, which account for three percent of world aircraft departures, should consider mergers to improve their capital base and maintain their position in the competitive aviation sector.

"African governments and airlines have to consolidate within the continent and not allow the African market to be totally dominated by non-African carriers," he told reporters in Nairobi.

Of the continental carriers, Kenya Airways, Mauritius Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Royal Air Maroc and South African Airways are the few profitable airlines and can fly to several international destinations.

The rest have been hampered by a combination of losses and poor safety records, compounded by poor maintenance, ageing charter fleets, untrained crews and the illegal movement of aircraft in war-torn countries, according to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

In September, AFRAA called for a code of conduct to regulate a crippling flow of pilots from African airlines to richer and more established ones elsewhere.

Aviation experts have warned of a shortage of pilots in the region owing to rapid traffic growth in Asia and the Middle East and the surge of lucrative low-cost carriers notably in Europe and Asia.

They say demand for African pilots will increase in the coming decade because of the air industry's growth in emerging powerhouses India and China.

Fadugba said the exodus of pilots has had an impact on the performance of the sector.

"The brain drain in Africa is alarming. Many airlines from the Middle East are poaching pilots (because) they have a lot of money in their back pockets," he said ahead of the 16th Annual African Aviation Finance Conference to be held in Nairobi next month.

Kenya Airways chief Titus Naikuni called on African governments to allow the private sector to privatise their national carriers or have a hand in their operations to boost growth.

Kenya Airways, which now flies some 36 routes around the world, is 26-percent owned by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

S.Africa grounds Boeing 737's after engine fell

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - South African aviation authorities have grounded all Boeing 737 200 aircraft in the country for safety checks after an engine fell off the wing of a plane during takeoff, a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority said.

"This (grounding order) is due to a recent incident on the affected aircraft type, where engine separation from airframe attachment occurred," the statement read.

The order affects all Boeing 737s fitted with Pratt and Whitney JT8D engines. It is aimed at preventing the possibility of a similar accident happening and is not an indication of the cause of the accident, it said.

On Wednesday, a Nationwide airline aircraft carrying 106 passengers had to make an emergency landing after an engine fell off the wing of the plane during take off.

Bongani Maseko, Airports Company of South Africa operations director, told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio on Saturday they had received directives from the aviation authorities to ground all 737s across South African airports for safety checks.

"All Boeings must go for a check for the mounting of the engines. The aviation have asked that by the end of business today, we start helping them to ensure that all of the Nationwide aircraft adhere to that," Maseko said.

"The directive also says all the other airlines must have implemented the check for the mounting of the engines by Monday," he added.

Boeing was not immediately for comment. (Reporting by Bate Felix; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Air Uganda opens flights to Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania

KAMPALA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A new Ugandan airline started flights on Thursday to Tanzania, South Sudan and Kenya's capital Nairobi -- opening up competition on a route long monopolised by Kenya Airways , its commercial director said.

Speaking by telephone from Uganda's Entebbe airport as the privately owned airline's first Nairobi return flight touched down, Vittorio Scabbia said it would target executives.

"We are looking at business people. Each aircraft has 12 business class seats and 85 economy ... We expect 60 percent capacity within the first six months," he told Reuters.

The company had bought two Boeing DC9-32 jet planes, which Scabbia said were more than enough to cover its proposed routes.

The airline has scheduled two daily return flights to Nairobi, three flights a week to the South Sudanese capital Juba, and four flights to Dar es Salaam, two of them via Tanzania's tourist destination Mount Kilimanjaro.

The company will buy Boeing MD-87 aircraft at the end of March, he added, although the number has not yet been decided.

Kenya Airways, which flies from Entebbe to Nairobi four times daily, has enjoyed a monopoly on the route since the demise of the state-owned Uganda Airlines in 2001, after a botched privatisation following years of mismanagement.

Two small airlines, Eagle Air and Dairo Air, already fly from Entebbe to Juba. Air Tanzania and Precision Airlines fly to Dar es Salaam.

Air Uganda is owned by the wealthy Aga Khan's group of companies. Scabbia said it may list some shares publicly, but not now. "First, we need to perform well." (Editing by Daniel Wallis; editing by Sue Thomas)

Zambian Airways to stop flights to Zimbabwe

HARARE, Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) - Zambian Airways is to halt direct flights between Harare and Lusaka next month as the route is no longer profitable, an airline official said on Monday.

Zambian Airways chief executive officer Mutembo Nchito said the last flight on the Harare-Lusaka route will be on November 30.

"Zambia Airways regrets to advise the general public that it will be suspending its daily services between Lusaka and Harare from December 1, 2007 because of continuing operational challenges on the route caused by high fuel costs and extreme currency fluctuations in Zimbabwe," Nchito said in a statement.

"This is a commercial decision that we have taken after reviewing the performance of the Lusaka-Harare route for some months. Regrettably, we see no prospect of improvement in the immediate future, and we have been forced to act this way."

Zambian Airways' decision follows that of a number of international airlines that have pulled out of the Zimbabwe route such as British Airways, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France.

Nchito said customers who are booked for travel between Lusaka and Harare after December 1 will be offered alternative flight arrangements or a full refund on their tickets.

The southern African nation of Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic crisis characterised by world-record inflation, more than 80 percent joblessness and chronic shortages of foreign currency and fuel.

The tourism industry, once a mainstay of the economy, has shrunk drastically over the past seven years since Zimbabwe embarked on a controversial programme to seize farms owned by the minority white population.

President Robert Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, has blamed Zimbabwe's economic woes on former colonial power Britain and its Western allies.

South Africa grounds airliner after dropped engine
30 November 2007

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority has stopped the flights of a domestic airliner after one of its planes dropped an engine on takeoff, and the grounding affected 6,000 passengers at the start of the country's summer holidays on Friday.

A Boeing 737-200 operated by the airline, Nationwide, lost an engine in mid-November as it took off from Cape Town's airport. The aviation authority indefinitely suspended its approval of the airline's maintenance operations from midnight on Thursday, the authority's chief executive officer Zakes Myeza said Friday. The authority also indefinitely suspended the certificates of airworthiness of Nationwide's fleet -- 11 737-200s; three 727-200s; one 767-300 and one 737-500.

The authority said Nationwide failed to implement three airworthiness directives issued in response to the lost engine incident. These included requirements issued by the manufacturer after four similar incidents in the United States that called for, among other steps, the refitting of engine mounting bolts and the overhauling of certain other components.

While the aviation authority did not say whether pirate parts on Nationwide aircraft, it did say it found that the bolts fitted were "untraceable."

Civil Aviation Authority chief executive officer Myeza also said the airline had failed to comply with an airworthiness directorate issued in September and subsequent audits of its compliance.

Nationwide had no immediate comment on the problems cited by the authority, and the company's sales and marketing manager Charmaine Thome said it would appeal the grounding. In a statement on its Web site, its chief executive officer Vernon Bricknell said Nationwide had approached the authority for "further details and guidance in respect of any actions they would like us to implement."

The authority said Nationwide would have to prove compliance and the airworthiness of each aircraft before the suspension was lifted. If it fails, its license could be revoked altogether.

Some 6,000 passengers were affected when Nationwide canceled 60 flights Friday, including one to London and two to Livingstone, Zambia, Thome told the South African Press Association.

She said Nationwide was offering full refunds to passengers unable to get alternative transport. It was also offering to fly them later.

There were scenes of confusion at airports throughout the country, with passengers complaining about lack of information from Nationwide.

SAfrican grounded carrier denies use of bogus parts: CEO

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 2, 2007 (AFP) - South Africa's grounded budget carrier Nationwide Airlines denied on Sunday it used bogus parts on its fleet, while adding it was working to address concerns raised by aviation authorities.

"Nationwide procures only authentic parts and consumables from legitimate suppliers. We do not use bogus, or so-called 'pirate' parts," the company's chief executive, Vernon Bricknell, said in a statement.

South African aviation officials on Friday had ordered the immediate grounding of Nationwide's 16 aircraft after an engine fell off one of its planes during take-off on November 7 in Cape Town. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in which no one was injured.

Zakes Myeza, head of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), said Nationwide's safety certificate had been suspended for one month and could be withdrawn permanently if the "deficiencies" persist.

The acting head of SACAA's air safety operations department, Obert Chakarisa, told reporters that preliminary findings of the review had found the airline had used the wrong spare parts in maintenance.

"When we were reviewing the package on the aircraft, we discovered that one aircraft has wrong parts and others do not have the correct part numbers," he said.

Bricknell said that the company had "provided the SACAA with a full plan and we are working flat out around the clock to address the issues so that we can resume normal operations as soon as possible."

While mainly flying between South African cities, Nationwide also operates weekly flights on the London to Johannesburg route and to Livingstone on the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls.

The airline had said in a statement on Saturday that it was forced to cancel more than 90 flights as a result of the sanction, a situation which has impacted about 9,000 travellers.

Airline fees doubled, black market dominates in Zimbabwe
3 December 2007

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The state airline doubled its fares Monday and the cost of a new Zimbabwe passport went up thirty fold.

Spiraling prices also saw restaurant and bar prices double over the weekend, and prices were sometimes raised during a restaurant meal.

Waitresses in a sports club advised patrons to place their orders before a price hike came into force an hour later and some restaurants began accepting American currency as chronic shortages of local cash worsened.

A new spate of price increases in the crumbling economy dealt a further blow to official efforts to combat black market dealing in money and goods and left Zimbabweans facing the reality of living in a U.S. "dollarized" world as their own currency slumped in value.

In a statement to travel agents, Air Zimbabwe said Monday a round trip to London doubled to 804 million Zimbabwe dollars, about US$400 (euro272) at the dominant black market exchange rate or a massive US$ 27,000 (euro18,365) at the obsolete official exchange rate of 30,000-1.

The central bank has not officially devalued the local currency but has said imported luxuries for the upcoming Christmas period can be sold at an exchange rate equivalent of 850,000-1, less than half the black market rate.

That pricing would be monitored by government price control inspectors, making imports available only at a loss to businesses already battling to stay viable.

Notices in the Harare passport office Monday showed a range of higher costs from immediate effect in local currency for passports and other documents.

A regular passport went up thirty fold and passports were also being issued in a "fast track" service over several days for US$220 (euro150) in American bills.

Official inflation in October was given nearly 8,000 percent, by far the highest in the world. Independent finance houses estimate real inflation stands closer to 40,000 percent and the International Monetary Fund has forecast it reaching 100,000 percent by the end of the year.

After an absence of five months, cigarettes have reappeared in stores after the price doubled to about 50 U.S. cents (34 euro cents) a pack, still among the cheapest tobacco products in the world at the black market exchange rate, but the most expensive at US$40 (euro28) a pack at the government's official exchange rate.

A senior teacher earns about the equivalent of US$10 (euro7) a month at the unofficial exchange rate.

Until disruptions to the agriculture-based economy began with the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms in 2000, Zimbabwe was the world's second largest tobacco exporter after Brazil.

With price increases Monday, local beer was catching up with international prices of up to US$3 (euro2) a bottle.

According to additional independent estimates, inflation last month exceeded 70,000 percent for upper income Zimbabweans who travel, use mobile phones and e-mail and buy scarce gasoline, car spares, computer accessories and luxuries such as liquor and restaurant meals.

Nigeria says to reopen oil hub airport on Dec. 18

LAGOS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The main airport serving the oil-producing Niger Delta in southern Nigeria will reopen for daytime domestic flights on Dec. 18, officials said on Monday, two years after a plane crashed trying to land there.

The international airport at Port Harcourt, the delta's main city and oil hub where foreign companies including Royal Dutch Shell have offices, was closed in August 2006.

The crash during a storm on Dec. 10, 2005, killed 106 people half of whom were school children on their way home for Christmas. An official report said the runway lights were off due to a power cut and the plane burnt on the ground because there was no functioning fire-fighting equipment.

The airport closure was due to last four months and enable the aviation agency to repair the runway and build a perimeter fence, among other improvements. But work has progressed slowly and is yet to be completed.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said the runway has now been fully refurbished while work on the terminal building was 70 percent complete. The lights and firefighting equipment are also being overhauled, it said in a statement.

"I have just approved the release of more funds for the due completion of all civil works at the Port Harcourt International Airport," FAAN managing director Richard Aisuebeogun said.

The airport will operate only daytime local flights until early next year when it will ready for international and night-time flights, the agency said. Before the closure, Air France and Lufthansa used to fly there.

The crash two years ago came seven weeks after another domestic flight had crashed near Lagos, killing 117 people. The government responded by grounding several domestic carriers and promising swift reforms and investment in aviation.

But 10 months later another domestic flight crashed just after taking off from Abuja. That disaster killed 99 people including the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims.

Africa to shore up troubled aviation watchdog: ministers

LIBREVILLE, Dec 15, 2007 (AFP) - African ministers Saturday underscored their commitment to a continental aviation watchdog that has been in crisis since the threatened pullout of two member states.

The ministerial committee of the Agency for the Security of Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) also announced in a statement it would "put in place a mechanism for the prevention and management of crises, notably institutional ones," following a two-day meeting in Gabon.

In October, Madagascar threatened to quit the 48-year-old organisation. It subsequently said it would review its decision but has yet to issue a definite answer.

After threatening a similar pullout in November, Dakar said it was "suspending" that move and called for an audit before reaching a final decision.

The committee bowed to the audit call, even as it urged in its statement for Senegal's "definitive return to the heart of the community" and for Madagascar to revise its position.

Founded in 1959, ASECNA oversees traffic across an airspace which is 1.5 times bigger than Europe. It also supervises take-offs and landings at 27 airports on the continent.

While Africa accounts for just three percent of world aircraft departures, it tops the list in air mishaps. It accounted for 28 percent of all fatal aviation accidents in 2003, the last year for which comprehensive statistics are available.

Member nations include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros Islands, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo as well as France which has overseas territories off the coast of Africa.

Mali and the Central African Republic previously have withdrawn from the organisation in the past but then rejoined it.

Airliners collide at Khartoum without causing injuries: official

KHARTOUM, Dec 23, 2007 (AFP) - Two passenger airliners collided while taxiing at Khartoum international airport on Sunday without causing any injuries, an airport official said.

The wing of an EgyptAir plane that was preparing to take off hit the back of a Saudia aircraft causing damage but no injuries, airport director Yussef Ibrahim told the official SUNA news agency.

Passengers returning from the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca had just disembarked from the Saudi plane when it was hit.

The airport remained open following the accident and the two planes were being repaired.

Two people were killed at Khartoum airport in November when a cargo plane skidded off the runway after making an emergency landing.

anyone have the updated airline stats for african airports? we get them for South Africa, but was wondering if someone has for the rest of the continent including us

We haven't really received any South African stats for a long time now...and even on ACSA's website it stagnated at August.

^^ normally greg is our man, but he's been globe hopping and had no time for us "little" people :)

Ha ha... I'll see what I can find. Still trying to catch up at work, dealing with a mountain of papers and emails.

Ok here's Africa's top 40 as at August 2007 (Source ACI). Figures are number of 1000 pax for Sep06-Aug07 (1 year).

1 JOHANNESBURG, ZA 18 858 12.2%
2 CAIRO, EG 11 684 11.2%
3 CAPETOWN, ZA 8 045 15.0%
4 SHARM EL SHEIKH 5 680 18.8%
5 HURGADA, EG 5 479 19.0%
6 CASABLANCA, MA 5 474 14.3%
7 NAIROBI, KE 4 686 6.9%
8 DURBAN, ZA 4 629 19.6%
9 LAGOS, NG 4 474 19.3%
10 MONASTIR, TN 4 286 3.3%
11 TUNIS, TN 3 873 6.4%
12 ALGIERS, DZ 3 696 7.1%
13 MARRAKECH, MA 3 096 18.9%
14 ADDIS ABABA, ET 2 669 27.3%
15 JERBA, TN 2 597 6.8%
16 MAURITIUS, MU 2 474 12.9%
17 ABUJA, NG 2 122 5.7%
18 LUXOR, EG 1 998 -1.4%
19 ST DENIS-GILLOT, RE 1 516 6.0%
20 AGADIR, MA 1 494 7.9%
21 PORT ELIZABETH, ZA 1 477 5.9%
22 DAR ES SALAAM, TZ 1 401 18.1%
23 MOMBASA, KE 1 307 13.4%
24 LUANDA, AO 1 240 21.9%
25 ACCRA, GH 1 139 12.8%
26 ASWAN, EG 899 -0.2%
27 ABIDJAN, CI 893 12.1%
28 ENTEBBE, UG 810 21.2%
29 ANTANANARIVO, MG 785 10.1%
30 EAST LONDON, ZA 738 16.8%
31 ILHA DO SAL, CV 735 -10.1%
32 LUSAKA, ZM 697 34.5%
33 HARARE, ZW 693 15.7%
34 WINDHOEK, NA 687 12.5%
35 MAPUTO, MZ 673 13.8%
36 ALEXANDRIA, EG 673 26.5%
37 BRAZZAVILLE, CG 663 11.0%
38 LIBREVILLE, GA 651 6.3%
39 GEORGE, ZA 629 6.0%
40 DOUALA, CM 592 9.4%

Note: Ranking excludes Dakar (approx 1 700) and Oran (approx. 900) as no current stats available.

These are the airports that have shown the biggest increase in pax from Dec06-Aug07 (9 months). This ranking doesn't indicate the % increase but rather the increase in the actual number of passengers. Notice how this ranking differs from the total pax list.

1. Johannesburg 1,525,000 more passengers since Dec06
2. Cairo 906,000
3. Cape Town 820,000
4. Hurgada 647,000
5. Sharm el Sheikh 631,000
6. Durban 600,000
7. Casablanca 509,000
8. Lagos 465,000
9. Marrakech 448,000
10. Addis Ababa 429,000
11. Mauritius 257,000
12. Nairobi 237,000
13. Algiers 213,000
14. Tunis 161,000
15. Dar es Salaam 156,000

And this is how the list will look at the end of 2007 if the same growth continued into the 4th quarter.

1 JOHANNESBURG, ZA 19 579
2 CAIRO, EG 11 966
3 CAPETOWN, ZA 8 404
4 SHARM EL SHEIKH 6 028
5 HURGADA, EG 5 804
6 CASABLANCA, MA 5 700
7 DURBAN, ZA 4 898
8 LAGOS, NG 4 880
9 NAIROBI, KE 4 766
10 MONASTIR, TN 4 383
11 TUNIS, TN 3 962
12 ALGIERS, DZ 3 746
13 MARRAKECH, MA 3 201
14 ADDIS ABABA 2 852
15 JERBA, TN 2 633

awesome stuff thanx greggie.

We know how much of a big log mover Durban has been over the past few years (where was it sitting 4 years ago when we only had like 2m people)

But which others have raced up and those fallen off?

I see Durban and Lagos both continuing their big head upward, especially with the return of more international flights to Durban next year, and definately when the new airport opens.

Lagos must surely be growing from greater international flights correct? whats the nigerian domestic network like?

Joburg must be heading for 25 in the next few years, unless durban and ct start taking some international flights away, which is doubtful

Africa's busiest airports as at Sep 07:

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1417/africarankjh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

/\

Where's Tripoli? They also have more than 1.5 million annual passengers.

Yes, you're right but there's no current stats available for Tripoli. Dakar is also missing. Both airports have between 1.5 and 2 million pax so they'd be 19th and 20th on the list.

African airport ranking as of Oct 07

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/1453/africarankni7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Durban has overtaken Nairobi :)

l tought JNB had more pax...

Kenya Airways passenger numbers drop on unrest

NAIROBI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kenya Airways has seen an 18 percent drop in passenger numbers from Europe since a disputed presidential election in December plunged Kenya into a political crisis, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

"The perception out there has affected us...the area where we have been hit to the tune of about 18 percent is around Europe," Titus Naikuni told Reuters in an interview.

Naikuni also said the airline had lost about 12-15 percent of its passengers from other routes in the past three weeks, after images of machete-wielding youths battling riot police were broadcast around the world.

Many cancelled or delayed visits to east Africa's biggest economy.

"The loads from Paris, Amsterdam and London have really come down. Mostly that is to do with businessmen who were supposed to be coming out here," he said, adding the airline makes more money from business travellers than tourism.

At least 650 people have been killed in clashes between supporters of Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses the president of stealing the Dec 27 election.

Western governments have issued advisory warnings against all but essential travel to Kenya, once seen as a peaceful country in a war-scarred region.

Multinationals that use the airline to travel in Africa have advised their staff against travel to Kenya, Naikuni said.

CRASH

One of Africa's most profitable airlines, Kenya Airways posted an 18.8 percent drop in pre-tax profit to 2.8 billion Kenya shillings ($40.29 million) for the first half of 2007, from 3.5 billion shillings a year earlier mainly due to rising operating costs.

The carrier is also still recovering after one of its Boeing 737-800s crashed in a swamp in Cameroon in May 2007, killing 114 on board.

"The other area where we have been affected significantly is west Africa, specifically the Cameroon and Abijan routes ... because of the KQ 507 accident we had," Naikuni said.

Naikuni said routes to north Africa, China, and India had not been affected, and was optimistic the airline would recover.

"Odinga and President Kibaki will be able to sort out their differences...we should be able to recover soon," he said.

Analysts have warned that if the unrest continues, it would choke the country's economy which grew 6.9 percent in 2007, compared with 0.6 percent when Kibaki took over in 2002.

Naikuni said flights to the flashpoint of Kisumu, which were suspended, had resumed. Kisumu was wrecked by rioters who burnt and looted homes after the election results were announced.

The carrier is 26 percent owned by Air France's Dutch arm KLM and is listed on three east African bourses.

It faces competition from UK airline Virgin Atlantic which launched daily flights from London in June 2007. Middle East carriers Qatar Airlines and Emirates are also chipping into some of its business.

The airline has ordered six new Boeing Co. 787-8 planes to replace its 767s. (Editing by Tim Cocks)

Malawi puts state airline privatisation on hold

LILONGWE, 28 (Reuters) - Malawi has put the privatisation of its state-owned airline on hold after failing to come to an agreement with the leading bidder, South Africa's Comair, Transport Minister Henry Mussa said on Monday.

Malawi, one of Africa's poorest nations, was considering selling off the financially struggling Air Malawi as part of a drive to lessen the government's financial burden in key sectors, including transport and telecommunications.

Comair, a partner of British Airways , emerged as the frontrunner to buy Air Malawi last year.

"We rejected their bid because they were interested in taking over the whole company while we were only looking for a strategic partner to help us run the company," Mussa told Reuters.

"We have decided to put the whole sale on hold until we have further consultation with other stakeholders."

Malawi's trade unions have criticised the government's privatisation campaign, arguing that previous sales of state assets have led to job losses and failed to make companies profitable.

The government, which decided to sell Air Malawi in 2000, said it is reevaluating its privatisation efforts.

Established in 1967, Air Malawi has two Boeing aircraft and one other plane. Its international routes include flights to London, Johannesburg and several other cities.

Kenyan Airline Suspends Paris Flights
19 February 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Kenya's flagship airline suspended flights between Nairobi and Paris on Tuesday due to the dwindling number of passengers flying to this once-stable African nation, the latest economic fallout from a violent political crisis.

Kenya's wildlife and beaches have made it one Africa's most popular travel destinations, but there has been a major drop in visitors -- and the money they bring in -- since results of a Dec. 27 election unleashed weeks of violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday increased pressure on Kenya's rival politicians to share power, but there were no immediate signs of a deal at deadlocked peace talks, which resumed Tuesday.

With the future uncertain, the tourism industry has continued to suffer. Kenya Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni said Tuesday that the airline would suspend its three flights per week between Paris and Nairobi as of Feb. 26 because of a sharp decline in bookings.

"French citizens reacted to their government's decision to issue a blanket travel advisory against travel to Kenya," Naikuni explained in a statement. He added that the airline was hopeful flights would resume in time for Europe's summer travel season.

Britain and the United States, also key sources of visitors to Kenya, have issued travel advisories cautioning their citizens against going to parts of Kenya. British carriers have continued to fly to Kenya, although no U.S. airlines currently make the trip.

Nairobi serves as an air-travel hub for eastern Africa. The suspension will also disrupt connections to a handful of French-speaking countries in the region, including Congo and Rwanda.

Tuesday's statement was more bad news for a tourism industry already reeling from the violence. On the coast, where the 34,000 available hotel rooms are usually filled from December to March, there were 1,900 visitors in early February.

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance has estimated the country's political crisis may cost as many as 400,000 jobs, and that losses to businesses could reach the equivalent of $3.6 billion by June.

That has added to the pressure on Kenya's political rivals trying to work out a viable power-sharing arrangement.

Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan is mediating the talks, and he met on Tuesday with President Mwai Kibaki to discuss the negotiations. Kibaki said afterward that he was committed to working with the opposition to find a way out of the crisis.

Annan and Rice, who made a one-day trip to Kenya on Monday, are pushing Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who says the election was stolen from him, to share power.

"I frankly believe that the time for a political settlement was yesterday," Rice said before departing.

Odinga expressed similar sentiments, saying his party had hoped a deal would have been reached sooner.

The opposition leader also outlined for the first time publicly his party's proposals for ending the stalemate, which were submitted to Annan. They include having Kibaki share power with a prime minister and two deputy prime ministers.

The election, which foreign and local observers say was rigged, returned Kibaki to power for a second five-year term after Odinga's lead evaporated overnight. The controversy has stirred up grievances over land and poverty that have bedeviled Kenya since independence in 1963.

Much of the fighting has pitted other ethnic groups against Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, long resented for dominating politics and the economy.

Annan announced last week that the rivals had agreed to an independent review of the election and to draw up a new constitution within a year, which could pave the way for a prime minister's post or another way to share power.

^^ They are planning on resuming the Paris service in April.

INTERVIEW-Ethiopian Airlines sets new fleet, sales targets

PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines is setting a new target of sales of "at least" $1.5 billion by 2015 after coming close to its achieving its 2010 aim of $1 billion sales this year, chief executive Girma Wake told Reuters on Thursday.

The airline is expanding even as its counterparts in more developed regions struggle to cope with the aftermath of a recent spike in oil prices, and the effects of a slowdown on business and leisure travel.

The state-owned carrier, which operates 27 aircraft on routes within Africa and to European, Asian, Middle Eastern and North American destinations, plans to expand its fleet to 45 aircraft by 2015.

Wake said the airline is considering ordering more Boeing Co. 787 aircraft, or A350 XWB aircraft made by EADS unit Airbus to supplement existing outstanding orders.

"We're discussing that with Airbus", he said.

It already has 10 Boeing Co . 787 aircraft on order, the first of which is now due to be delivered in December 2009, after supply chain problems delayed the programme by at least 16 months.

Wake, speaking on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Paris, said the airline wants to serve 75 destinations by 2015. It currently serves 53 destinations and plans to have 60 by 2010.

The global financial crisis may have a temporary negative effect on business, as tourists think twice before booking holidays, Wake said.

However, he added that "trade-led traffic and movement within Africa will continue - Africa is a vast continent."

The airline, which transported 2.5 million passengers in 2007/08 and thereby almost achieved its 2010 target of 3 million, now hopes to carry 5 million passengers in 2015, Wake said.

Ethiopian Airlines posted full-year sales of 9.2 billion birr ($941 million) for 2007/08.

Downturn heralds hard times for Africa airlines: industry
18 November 2008
Agence France Presse

African airlines face hard times as a global economic downturn could spur the industry's US and European giants to seek new markets on the continent, a pan-African body said Tuesday.

"With traffic in America and Europe decreasing, there will be fierce competition created in Africa as a result of more infiltration by foreign carriers," Christian Folly-Kossi, Security General of the African Airlines Association, told AFP on the sidelines of a meeting in Addis Ababa.

"Many African airlines will be at risk of disappearing because of competition. You can not put a heavyweight and a featherweight together in a boxing match," he explained.

Folly-Kossi said African carriers have already been affected, as several past agreements signed with Western counterparts had paved the way for a reduction of their market share in the continent's fledgling aviation industry.

"I am preaching more consolidation, more political support and protection from governments," he said.

In addition, soaring oil prices have compounded the industry's woes, Folly-Kossi said, as most carriers use obsolete and fuel-consuming fleets.

According to the London-based financial firm JP Morgan, the global airline industry will spend nearly 20 billion euros (25 billion dollars) more on fuel expenses in 2008 than in 2002.

While a downturn is expected for most African carriers, continental heavyweight Ethiopian Airlines is expecting a boom in revenue.

Ethiopia's flagship carrier generated 941 million dollars (743.3 million euros) during the 2007/2008 fiscal year, and is expecting the figure to rise to more than 1.2 billion dollars (948.2 billion euros) for the current year.

"For us, there has been a slight dip in imports and exports due to the financial crisis but we haven't been affected that much," Girma Wake, the company's CEO, told AFP.

Girma said he expected a tightening of loan availability and drop in tourism but predicted Ethiopian Airlines would survive better than others.

"It might be difficult for other African airlines but for us, the more flexibility we get the better. Liberalisation is very important for our programmes to succeed."

Virgin Nigeria suspends flights to UK, S.Africa

LAGOS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Nigerian flag carrier Virgin Nigeria said on Saturday it was suspending its loss-making long haul flights to Britain and South Africa in order to focus on its domestic and regional operations within West Africa.

Industry sources said one of the airline's main financial backers, United Bank for Africa (UBA) , had been pushing for it to restructure and reduce losses on the competitive Lagos-London and Lagos-Johannesburg routes.

"The decision to suspend both services is to enable us to review our entire long haul operations," the company said in a statement.

"In the mean time, our focus is on consolidating and continuing to expand our profitable domestic and regional flight operations," it said.

The suspension will take effect from Jan. 27 and passengers booked on flights after that date would be transferred to other carriers.

Virgin Nigeria, in which British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] has a 49 percent stake, was launched to great fanfare in 2005, bringing a credible national carrier to a country with an appalling air safety record.

Its routes to destinations within Africa's most populous nation and to neighbouring countries in West Africa remain profitable, and it has purchased several new Embraer aircraft to expand those services.

But it has struggled on the highly competitive London-Lagos route, using smaller aircraft than well-established rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, and more recently facing competition from newcomer Arik Air's brand new fleet.

Industry experts expect growth in business travel, which accounts for a significant proportion of passengers on routes to and from Nigeria, to slow down significantly this year as the global economic downturn forces companies to tighten budgets.

Virgin Atlantic, which said last year it was in talks to divest some of its holding in the Nigerian carrier, said it was watching developments closely.

"We support Virgin Nigeria's decision to focus on its profitable domestic and regional operations and believe it can be even more successful as a result," Virgin Atlantic's communications director Paul Charles said.

"We remain in talks with interested parties about the divestment of a 42 percent stake," he said.

Two hurt as UN plane crash lands in Darfur
6 July 2009
Agence France Presse

The pilot and co-pilot of a UN-contracted plane were injured when their aircraft crash landed in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region on Monday, the UN said.

The Antonov 28 was bringing supplies to UN peacekeepers in the region when its nose wheel reportedly collapsed on landing at Saraf Omra in North Darfur, the UN said in a statement.

"A pilot and a co-pilot were injured. There were no fatalities. The incident is currently being investigated," it said.

The conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region erupted in February 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government and its militia allies, recruited among Arab tribesmen.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since the conflict erupted. Sudan puts the death toll at 10,000.

Royal Air Maroc wants to open flight to Luanda: state media
30 July 2009
Agence France Presse

Royal Air Maroc is finalising talks with Angola's government on a direct flight between the two countries, in the first air link between Luanda and north Africa, state media said Thursday.

Moroccan ambassador Mostafa Bouh told the official Angop news agency that a delegation from the airline had recently been in Luanda to put the finishing touches to a deal.

"We are hoping that the two parties will reach conclusions quickly to finalise this plan into order to facilitate a greater exchange between the two countries," he said.

Morocco opened its Angolan embassy in the 1980s and trains Angolans in a variety of specialities including engineering, agriculture, fisheries and medicine.

Reaching north Africa from Angola currently requires long transits through Ethiopia, Dubai or Europe.

Air travel to Luanda has boomed in recent years as Angola's oil industry has assumed greater global importance following the end of decades of civil war in 2002.

On Saturday, flag carrier TAAG is set to renew flights to former colonial power Portugal, after the European Commission partially lifted a ban on the airline over safety concerns.

Boeing Next-Generation 737s Expand Egyptair's Single-aisle Fleet
August 07, 2009 11:21 AM

http://web7.bernama.com/bernama/newspic/bu/080609-K64749-An%20EgyptAir%20Next-Generation%20737-800%20with%20blended%20winglets123.jpg

Boeing and EgyptAir today announced that the airline has converted a
previous order for two 777s into an order for an additional eight Next-
Generation 737-800s. The order was previously added to Boeing's Orders &
Deliveries Web site attributed to an unidentified customer. Pic courtesy of
Boeing Commercial Airplanes

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 (Bernama) -- Boeing and EgyptAir yesterday announced that the airline has converted a previous order for two 777s into an order for an additional eight Next-Generation 737-800s.

The order was added last week to Boeing's Orders & Deliveries Web site attributed to an unidentified customer.

The airline currently has seven 737-800s in operation and it is taking delivery of an additional five 737-800s this year, Boeing said in a statement.

The airline currently has five 777s in its fleet and is scheduled to receive six 777-300ERs beginning next year, it said.

"As a Star Alliance member, operating from a newly opened ultra-modern, international terminal at Cairo International Airport, we are pursuing a fleet plan that allows us to expand our regional markets and offer those passengers extensive international routing options," said EgyptAir Chairman Capt. Tawfik Assy.

"We've found the 737 performs exceptionally well in maintaining our scheduled flights to and from Cairo and that the 777 is unmatched in efficiency on our long-haul flights to our international destinations."

EgyptAir joined the Star Alliance in July 2008.

The carrier has been focused on increasing the utilisation of Cairo International Airport as a key regional hub for both passenger and air freight operations.

"EgyptAir's deployment of the 737 and 777 to meet its fleet growth plans shows how Boeing's product strategy is built upon providing unmatched reliability and efficiency across the product line," said Marty Bentrott, vice- president of Sales for the Middle East, Central and South Asia.

"Our airplanes are engineered to perform numerous types of missions within their size class, and EgyptAir has done a remarkable job utilising these airplanes, while streamlining its operations and bringing passengers notably improved services."

Boeing's 777 is the world's most successful and best-selling twin-engine, long-haul commercial jetliner with 60 customers and orders for 1,116 airplanes through the end of July 2009.

Since the 737 programme's inception, more than 250 customers have taken delivery of more than 6,000 airplanes, making it the most successful commercial airplane programme in history.

The Next-Generation 737, which entered service in 1998, currently has over 5,000 orders from more than 100 customers.

-- BERNAMA

777 to 737? 737 is a major short-haul workhorse and is favoured by the likes of Ryanair. Wonder if Egypt Air's strategy is moving into a shorter-haul model?