► ZIMBABWE: Crappy runway lighting at Harare forces South African Airways to bring forward Joburg evening flight departures.

After an incident on Monday last week in which South African Airways (SA) canceled its evening flight from Johannesburg to Harare, Zimbabwe citing poor lighting on runway 05/23 at Harare International Airport, the South African national carrier has now confirmed that it has changed its night flights to Harare to an earlier departure time.  

■ SOUTH AFRICA: CEO Mzimela, two managers jump ship as press reports claim SAA likely to post $140million loss.

South African Airways (SA) CEO Siza Mzimela, along with Theunis Potgieter, the carrier's Commercial General Manager and Sandra Coetzee, its Legal & Risk General Manager, today joined now ex-Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus and seven other non executive board members in jumping the SAA ship.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: 1Time wants reductions in fuel levy, taxes as private airlines react angrily to SAA bailout.

1Time (T6), the South African LCC, has clarified the air over reports in the press that it had written to the South African government seeking a bail out (akin to what national carrier South African Airways (SA) secured last week), stating that their proposal centred around the South African government subsidising the airline industry as a whole with selected levies and taxes, and not to only offer unfair bail outs to South African Airways and its affiliate SAExpress (XZ).

► MOROCCO: JetBlue, Royal Air Maroc sign interline deal.

After ending their 12-year-long code-share deal with Delta Airlines (DL) as their American code-share partner in June, Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (AT),  has moved on and today announced the signing of an interline deal with American LCC JetBlue Airways (B6). 

The move will see a wider variety of flights being offered to each other's passengers, that were previously unavailable.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: SAA gets its USD600million bailout from Government.

The South African Government today announced that it would guarantee USD$600 million in loans for troubled state airline South African Airways (SA) over the next two years. The news comes as dust from  last week's mass boardroom resignation settles, with 8 new board-members having been appointed, in addition to a new chairman.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: New SAA boss announced as mass resignations preempt mass firings.

In a dramatic chain of events, the entire boardroom scene at South African Airways (SA) changed literally overnight, when eight of its 14 board members, including its chairwoman Cheryl Carolus, pre-emptively resigned their positions on Thursday evening, following a leaked media report earlier in the week that allured to looming dismissals at both SAA and its sister regional carrier, SA Express (XZ).

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Heads to roll at SAA & SA Express as neither are able to present their FY 2011/12 annual reports by September 30.

Reports coming out of South Africa suggest that South African Airways (SA) is set for a top level shake-up in the near future. The looming shake up comes after a woeful presentation by SAA last week, in which it sought further government aid in the form of a USD750million bail out, failed to impress neither the South African Minister for Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, nor Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan both of whom stipulated that management would have to rethink their future action plan and come up with a better one if it was to secure the funds.

► MALAWI: Air Malawi to be unbundled before privatization.

As Joyce Banda's Malawian government pushes on with its cost cutting measures aimed at freeing the ailing African nation's fiscus from millstone parastatals, up for sale is Air Malawi (QM) Ltd, in which the Malawian Government has pledged to honour all the national flag carrier's debts and liabilities as part of a deal sweetener. 

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA looking at Ghana for a potential West Africa hub as biting economic times push Mango to go regional.

In a Q&A session before the South African Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on Tuesday 28 August 2012, South African Airways (SA) CEO Siza Mzimela gave an overview of SAA's current financial state and outlook in addition to future route developments, critical to the carrier's long term viability.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA boosts flights to Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Nairobi from October; capacity to Mauritius from December.

South African Airways (SA) will, with effect from October 2012 (September in Nairobi's case), be introducing added flights to its Johannesburg - Sao Paulo, Brazil,  Johannesburg - Mumbai, India and Johannesburg - Nairobi, Kenya services with Johannesburg - Mauritius likely to see an increase in aircraft capacity closer to the festive season in December.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA pushes further into Africa with Abidjan & Brazzaville.

South African Airways (SA) will, from 17 August 2012, resume its suspended Johannesburg, South Africa - Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire service that it last plied 3 years ago. The flight will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 twice a week.

● IATA: Strong growth for Africa in 2011/2012 but lower profits; The winners & losers so far.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 240 airlines worldwide and comprising 84% of total air traffic, has released its annual statistics for the year 2011/2012, with Africa showing very strong growth in terms of actual passengers carried, as well as freight tonnage hauled, in stark contrast to crisis ridden Europe, which has struggled some what.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA boosts Perth service from August.

South African Airways (SA) will, from 16 August 2012, increase its frequency between Johannesburg and Perth from 6x weekly, to daily using an Airbus A340-300.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA axes Cape Town - Heathrow; boosts Accra & Mumbai.

South African Airways (SA) will drop its iconic daily Cape Town - London Heathrow service with effect from 15 August 2012. The airline cited low yields on the route as its main cause for dropping the route. In the last 3 years, the annual number of tourists using London as a final destination or as a transitory airport has declined.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: VelvetSky in liquidation; SAA likely to get USD$750m government cash injection.

South African Airways (SA) says it is optimistic that its request for ZAR6billion (USD$733million) from the South African Government will be granted, thereby allowing it to proceed with its planned fleet renewal as reported previously by The African Aviation Tribune.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA boosts Mumbai service from June.

Following Jet Airways' suspension of Mumbai - Johannesburg with effect from 12 June 2012, so South African Airways (SA) has moved to fill the gap by tentatively (i.e. subject to government approval) increasing its frequencies from Johannesburg to Mumbai, from 4x weekly to 5x weekly, using an Airbus A330-200.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA pilot incapacitated during flight from Hong Kong to Johannesburg.

A South African Airways pilot was incapacitated during a scheduled flight from Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport to Johannesburg on 30 April.

► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA renews Boeing leases; mulls future 777 and 787.

South African Airways (SA) has renewed leases for some of their B738 fleet for between 5 and 10 years, whilst considering both the 777 and 787 for future fleet renewal, for which SAA has requested nearly USD $750 million from the South African government.