► BURKINA FASO: Tunisair to start Ouagadougou from 30 March; Ndjamena, Niamey, Douala to follow later.

Tunisian national airline, Tunisair (TU), has announced it will start 3x weekly Tunis - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso flights with a stop in Bamako, Mali effective 30 March 2013. Flights will operate with an Airbus A320. The new route is part of Tunisair's new model of targeting under served emerging markets in Sub Saharan Africa, with twenty new routes planned for in the coming 5 years.

►► EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Punto Azul to resume regional ops in March with Angola, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana planned for later.

[UPDATE 12 FEBRUARY] Equato-guinean private operator Punto Azul (ZR) has announced the resumption of services with new routes in the pipeline. Making the announcement in Malabo, Punto Azul CEO, Rene Janata, explained the necessity of the measure in relation to the consolidation of future operations and compliance with airline's projected growth targets. The carrier has also signed a new agreement with a new operator, South Africa's National Airways Corporation.

► CAMEROON: Camair-Co boss Boertien announces new domestic routes; gets robbed.

On 23 January, Matthijs Boertien, the newly appointed CEO of Cameroonian carrier, Camair-Co (QC), announced the launch of several new domestic routes, last served by Camair-Co's predecessor, Cameroon Airlines (UY).

■ CAMEROON: New boss Boertien envisages 26 aircraft, a cargo hub, maintenance and training facilities in a peek at his 5 year plan for Camair-Co.

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

► GABON: Finally, Turkish Airlines to start Libreville via Douala from late January.

Following on from our previous post last year, Turkish Airlines (TK) will at last launch flights to Libreville Gabon via Douala, Cameroon from 31 January 2013. The 3x weekly service will be operated with a Boeing 737-900ER.

► BELGIUM: brussels airlines announces changes to its West & Central Africa network for Summer 2013.

Belgian carrier brussels airlines (SN) has announced various frequency fluctuations on its West and Central African route networks, effective late-February 2013.

► CHAD: Tunisair looking to start Ndjamena via Douala amongst other routes?

Tunisair (TU), the Tunisian national carrier, are said to be in the process of finalizing a possible Tunis - Ndjamena (Chad) via Douala (Cameroon) route according to Chadian newspaper reports.

■ CAMEROON: Matthijs Boertien appointed Camair-Co boss.

In a presidential decree published on Thursday by state television CRTV, Douala-based carrier Camair-Co (QC) has appointed Chief Operating Officer Matthijs Boertien as the airline's new Chief Executive Officer. He takes over from fellow Dutchman Alex Van Elk whose contract was not renewed on its expiration in July 2012.

► CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Karinou Airlines to go regional in early 2013.

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

■ CAMEROON: Staff at Camair-Co threaten strikes from Monday over grievances concerning pay and managerial irregularities.

Twenty-two technical and administrative staff along with stewards and stewardesses have submitted their letters of resignation to Cameroonian national carrier Camair-Co (QC) whilst others have threatened to go on strike from Monday onwards, if grievances over their "13th Month" bonus, amongst others, is not resolved.

► EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Cronos Airlines leasing MD87 from DAT.

Swiss aviation newswire CH-Aviation reports that Equato-Guinean carrier Cronos Airlines (C8) has wet-leased a McDonnell Douglas MD87  (MSN 49403 | OY-JRU) from DAT - Danish Air Transport.

► GAMBIA: Gambia Bird takes delivery of second Airbus A319; prepares to expand network.

Gambia Bird (3G) has announced the delivery of a second Airbus A319 (MSN 4691 | D-ASTB) as the fledgling carrier prepares to expand its network with the launch of flights to Abidjan, Abuja, Bamako, Douala and Ouagadougou.

► GABON: DHL awards Solinair logistics contract for Nigeria, Cameroon, Equat'l Guinea ops.

The South African division of DHL Aviation has awarded Ljubljana-based Slovenian airline Solinair (SOP) a wet-lease contract for cargo operations using its lone B737-4K5F (MSN 24128 | S5-ABV) . 

► CAMEROON: Camair-Co considering either Embraer EJets or Bombardier CSeries for mid range fleet; to add a possible third 787?

Alex Van Elk, the CEO of Cameroonian national carrier Camair-Co (QC), says the airline is considering either Embraer E-Jets or Bombardier's upcoming CSeries for its mid-range fleet, with an extra Boeing 787-8 to be added to its shopping list.

► BELGIUM: brussels airlines announces changes to its West & Central Africa network from February 2013.

Belgian carrier brussels airlines (SN) has announced various changes to its West and Central African route networks, effective late-February 2013.

► CONGO (KINSHASA): Arik Air starts Lagos - Kinshasa from 5 December.

Nigeria’s largest commercial carrier, Arik Air (W3), has announced the start of twice weekly flights from Lagos to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo effective 5 December 2012.

■ SENEGAL: ASECNA signs $35million contract with Thales, INEO Engineering for Radar, ATM Systems.

The Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (L'Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar) or ASECNA has signed a USD35million contract with a French consortium comprising Thales Air Systems SAS and INEO Engineering & Systems for the supply and installation of Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radars (MSSR) with Mode S capability in addition to its Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.

► CAMEROON: Turkish Airlines to start 4x weekly Yaounde, Douala flights from late December.

Turkish Airlines (TK) has announced another route into Central/West Africa; this time to Cameroon. The Turkish carrier, which recently celebrated adding its 200th aircraft to its ever growing fleet, will serve the cities of Yaounde and Douala 4x weekly with a Boeing 737-900ER effective 21 December 2012.

►► CAMEROON: Arik Air to start Lagos - Douala from late August.

[UPDATE 23 NOVEMBER 2012] Nigerian private carrier Arik Air (W3), is to launch a 3x weekly (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) service between Lagos, Nigeria and Douala, Cameroon using a Boeing 737-700, starting Thursday 30 August 2012.

► MALI: Douniah Airlines to start ops from 2013.

Malian startup, Douniah Airlines (DTS), is planning to launch operations from January 2013 using a Boeing 737-300. Its initial routes will encompass various destinations in West and Central Africa.