► 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.

► UNITED KINGDOM: British Airways to replace BMI codes on 3 Moroccan routes.

British Airways (BA) is to replace 3 BMI coded flights (BD) to Morocco with effect from 23 May 2012.

London Heathrow – Agadir 

• BD44x > BA816x

London Heathrow – Casablanca

• BD44x > BA816x

London Heathrow – Marrakech 

• BD44x > BA816x

Read More Here [Airline Route]

British Airway's parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) bought British Midland International from Lufthansa in April.

► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania's mysterious B737 fails to pitch up - again.

Following on from our initial report, Air Tanzania were indeed lined up at Dar es Salaam on Thursday, and when that failed to happen, again today to receive their Boeing 737-500 wet leased from Aerovista of Dubai.

► MOROCCO: Jetairfly to start Brussels - Rabat this summer.

Belgian LCC Jetairfly (TB) is to start 2x weekly Brussels - Rabat service for the duration of this summer i.e. 26 June 2012 to 02 September 2012 using a Boeing 737.

► NAMIBIA: 3 arrested for fraud at Air Namibia.

Reports from the Namibian press state that 3 people have been arrested for fraudulently obtaining airline tickets from a staff member at the national carrier Air Namibia (SW), who has since been suspended whilst investigations are carried out into the matter.

► GAMBIA: Aircraft lessor Aeolus Air acquires B737-500

Newly founded Gambian ACMI (Aircraft, complete Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) operator Aeolus Air has acquired an ex-VistaGeorgia Boeing 737-500 (MSN 26687 | C5-AAN) that it is now operating on behalf of Marsland Aviation in the Sudan, who also use another VistaGeorgia operated B737-500 MSN 26439.

► SOMALIA: Jubba Airways leases B737 from Air Bishkek.

Somali-based airline Jubba Airways (6J) has wet leased a Boeing 737-300 (MSN# 27521) from Kyrgyzstani airline, Air Bishkek.

Boeing 737-300 MSN 27521 (Colin Parker)

This comes after the crash of one of Jubba Airways' Antonov AN-24s in Galkayo, Somalia some 10 days ago.

Presently, Jubba Airways serves Mogadishu, Berbera, Hargeisa, Bosaso, Galkayo, Dubai, Jeddah, Djibouti and Nairobi.

► RWANDA: RwandAir increases flights to Tanzania from 10 June 2012. .

Rwandan carrier RwandAir (WB) has announced an increase in flights on Kigali-Kilimanjaro-Dar Es Salaam-Kigali from 4x weekly, to 6x weekly. with effect from 10 June 2012, using either a Boeing 737-500 or 800.

RwandAir: Kigali - Dar es Salaam - Kilimanjaro - Kigali (Monday)

• WB 103     KGL : 12h20       DAR : 15h25       1       B737-500 / 800

• WB 103     DAR : 16h10       JRO :  17h10       1       B737-500 / 800

• WB 103     JRO : 17h55        KGL : 18h25       1       B737-500 / 800

RwandAir: Kigali - Dar es Salaam - Kilimanjaro - Kigali (Wednesday)

• WB 103       KGL : 12h20      JRO : 14h50       3       B737-500 / 800

• WB 103       JRO :  15h35      DAR : 16h35      3       B737-500 / 800

• WB 103       DAR : 17h20      KGL  : 18h25     3       B737-500 / 800

Read More Here [Rwandan Flyer]

► EGYPT: Palestinian Airlines restarts services between Egypt and Jordan.

Following a 7 year hiatus, Palestinian Airlines (PF) has resumed operations between Amman, Jordan and El-Arish, Egypt.

► ANGOLA: TAAG to get more 777s in 2016; starts ticket sales in Argentina.

As previously reported by The African Aviation Tribune, Angolan national carrier TAAG (DT) is to commence sales of its tickets in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires through AVIAREPS, who will also act as their agents in other member states of the MERCOSUR: Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. No mention however, has been made of a potential Luanda - Buenos Aires service.

"The information was released by Luis de Almeida, TAAG's general representative to the Americas, having said that negotiations are underway for the signing of agreements with Argentine carrier Aerolineas Argentinas. The accords will then enable the passengers to get the single ticket from the origin to destination (ex: Buenos Aires / Luanda / Buenos Aires)."

Read More Here [AngolaPress]  

 

TAAG 777-300ER (Paulo Santos)

Argentina's President, Cristina Kirchner, in the company of a high power business/governmental delegation, is to pay a 3 day official state visit to the Angolan capital, Luanda on May 17, in what is seen as a courting of this rising African economic power.

Meanwhile, TAAG has also announced the delivery of 3 Boeing 777-300ER, in addition to its current 2, from 2016 onwards, in part of a major expansion drive.

"The information was released on Tuesday in Luanda by TAAG CEO, Pimentel Araujo, while speaking about the development of the company, during a cycle of workshops called “Empresa Feliz”."

Read More Here [AngolanPress]

● NIGERIA: More dodgy deals - Government wants USD$15m from Lufthansa.

In yet another aggressive shot fired at foreign carriers by the Nigerian Government, the Minister for Aviation, Stella Oduah, was today directed by the Nigerian Senate to immediately recover from German airline, Lufthansa, USD$14.8 million (about Naira37billion) owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), albeit, under a very murky pretext.

■ ZIMBABWE: Finances for Victoria Falls Airport upgrade unveiled - at last.

In preparation for the World Tourism Organisation Congress to be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia  in Victoria Falls, the Zimbabwean Government has at last, availed part of the USD$150million needed to rehabilitate and upgrade Victoria Falls Airport. How much has been given, though, is still unknown.

► NIGERIA: Air Nigeria postpones Johannesburg to 17 June 2012.

Having been previously scheduled to start on May 17, Air Nigeria (VK) have announced the postponement of their Lagos - Johannesburg route to 17 June 2012.

Air Nigeria: Lagos - Johannesburg (from 17 June 2012)

• VK303 LOS2350 – 0650+1JNB 332 247

• VK302 JNB0935 – 1435LOS 332 135

Read More Here [Airline Route]

► LIBYA: Air Malta to resume Benghazi from 29 May 2012.

As Libya's political and national security continue to show signs of further stability, so too are more and more airlines expressing interest in reopening routes that were closed at the onset of the Libyan Revolution last year.

One such airline is Malta's flag carrier, Air Malta (KM) who this week stated that they would restart a twice weekly service between Valletta and Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi every Tuesday and Thursday as from Tuesday, 29th May. The flights will supplement the daily service to Tripoli, the country’s capital, which started operating from Friday, 4th May.

Valletta - Benghazi (Tuesday / Thursday)  

• Valletta     dep   0440hrs   arr   Benghazi  0605hrs

• Benghazi  dep   0705hrs   arr   Valletta     0825hrs

Read More Here [Air Malta]

► ETHIOPIA: Etihad to start Abu Dhabi - Addis Ababa from Nov 2012.

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways (EY) is to start a twice weekly service Abu Dhabi - Addis Ababa from 02 November 2012 using an Airbus 320.

Abu Dhabi – Addis Ababa

• EY681 AUH0945 – 1230ADD 320 x46
• EY682 ADD1455 – 1925AUH 320 x46

Read More Here [Airline Route]

► TUNISIA: Tunisair reports strong Q1 as Tunisia's tourism rebounds.

Tunisair's (TU) results for the first quarter of 2012 shown a remarkable rebound from the same time last year when events of The Arab Spring caused considerable disruptions to many North African and Arab carriers, some of whom, are still reeling.

■ GHANA: Camair-Co, Starbow Airlines and ECAir Congo become members of AFRAA.

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has welcomed into its ranks, Camair-Co (Cameroon), Starbow Airlines (Ghana) and ECAir (Republic of Congo) as members of AFRAA and Aero Industrial Sales (AIS), Aero Mechanical Services (FLYHT), Mercator and IBS Software Services as partners.

This brings to 34 and 26 respectively the number of member airlines and partners of AFRAA.

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) was established in April, 1968 in Accra, Ghana and today headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The primary purposes of AFRAA are to foster commercial and technical co-operation among African airlines and to represent their common interests. as a Trade Organisation on the global playing field.

Read More Here [GhanaBusinessNews]

► SEYCHELLES: Air Seychelles' crew complete Airbus A320/A330 training in Abu Dhabi.

In preparation for the introduction into service of the Airbus A330 and Airbus A320, Air Seychelles crew have recently completed their conversion courses for the types in Abu Dhabi, under the auspices of Etihad Airways.

► KENYA: Kenya Airways launches "KQ Mobile".

Kenya Airways in conjunction with Cellulant, a leading mobile technology firm in Africa, is to launch  "KQ Mobile", a mobile based technology platform that will enable customers to conveniently access information on flight status, timetable, cargo services, ticketing and query their Msafiri Miles status. 

The service will be accessed while roaming across the 56 Kenya Airways destinations and its short code is *737#.

Read More Here [Kenya Airways]

► RWANDA: RwandAir increases flights to Johannesburg; introduces online booking and payments.

Rwandan carrier RwandAir(WB) has announced an increase in flights between Kigali and Johannesburg. In a statement via their Facebook account, the airline stated that they would be increasing their frequencies to Johannesburg to 8 weekly flights effective 10 June 2012. 

The four existing flights will be complemented by four night flights departing Kigali on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun at 20:50 hrs and returning for Johannesburg on Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat at 01:30 hrs. 

In another development, Rwandair has also introduced online ticketing and payments for those living abroad that can’t access RwandAir's sales offices, in addition to making the booking process hastle-free for locals.  

Read More Here [RwandAir]

► MALAWI: Air Malawi struggles to get back on feet; rebuild confidence.

Having been forced to temporarily cease operations last year due to lack of aircraft, Air Malawi (QM) has been finding the going hard since re-entering the market for both regional and domestic flights.

Upon resuming flights on 29 March 2012 to Johannesburg using a leased Boeing 737-200, the airline encountered severe customer backlash as it was forced to fly a solitary passenger to Lusaka shortly after - a phenomenon not unknown to southern African airlines these days.

However, in an attempt to woe back passenger numbers on the domestic Lilongwe-Blantyre front, Air Malawi says it has carefully designed schedules for its daily flights between Blantyre and Lilongwe to serve the needs of business travellers between the two cities, using its Boeing 737 and ATR-42.

"Air Malawi's Tariffs and Industry Affairs Manager Tony Chimpukuso said the flights have  already proved useful and convenient for local travellers as it leaves early in the morning in Blantyre and returns late in the evening to enable customers do all their business assignments during the day.

The flights also operate during weekends, according to Chimpukuso."

Read More Here [The Daily Times Malawi]

The updates come as Malawi is scheduled to hold a summit of the African Union in July.

► EGYPT: Egyptair A321 tailstrike on take off; diverts to Larnaca with heavy damage.

According to the AviationHerald, an Egypt Air Airbus A321-200, registration SU-GBU performing flight MS-724 from Aleppo (Syria) to Cairo (Egypt) with 130 passengers, contacted the runway surface with its tail while rotating for takeoff from Aleppo at around 05:10L (02:10Z), the crew continued the climb to FL310. 

SU-GBU in Frankfurt (Frank Kuehne)

When the aircraft was enroute at FL310 about 85nm east of Larnaca (Cyprus) the crew decided to divert to Larnaca where the aircraft landed safely about 50 minutes after departure from Aleppo. 

The aircraft received substantial damage, and as a result, the flight was cancelled.

Read More Here [Aviation Herald]

■ ROUTES AFRICA 2012: Workshop Brochure released.

The Routes Africa 2012 Symposium, to be held in Victoria, Seychelles - 8 July 2012 to 10 July 2012, has just released its Event Brochure available here.



Billed as the bringing together of route development professionals from across Africa, the Middle East and beyond to discuss the latest developments within the region and establish potential for new air traffic routes to, from and within Africa. This annual event is the only network development forum for the entire African region and, this year, will build on the successes of previous events.

Airlines confirmed thus far are:

• Air Seychelles Ltd
• Arik Air Ltd     
• Emirates     
• Etihad Airways     
• Mega Maldives
• Nasair
• Qatar Airways
• South African Airways
• Turkish Airlines

Airport Operators confirmed thus far are:

• Aeroportos De Mozambique 
• Aeroports du Mali 
• Bangalore International Airport
• Copenhagen Airports A/S 
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
• Entebbe International Airport 
• Frankfurt Airport
• Ghana Airports Company Limited
• Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
• Tanzania Airports Authority

 For More Info & To Register for Routes Africa 2012, Click Here.

● KENYA: Jomo Kenyatta Airport on track for New Terminal 4, CAT 1 & US flights.

As Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport continues to exceed its original designed capacity of 2 million passengers/year by almost 4million passengers/year, so the urgency for expansion and improved security and logistics mounts.

● UGANDA: Uganda to resurrect Uganda Airlines or East African Airways?

Given the strong growth seen by private airline Air Uganda in recent months, and with tourism fast becoming a major cog in the Ugandan economic wheel, would now be the most economically opportune time for Kampala to resurrect defunct national carrier Uganda Airlines?

► SEYCHELLES: Air Seychelles boosts Mahe - Abu Dhabi service to 8x weekly; joins Etihad's FF program.

Seychellois national carrier, Air Seychelles (HM), has increased its frequencies between Mahe and Abu Dhabi to 8x weekly, using codeshared flights with partner airline Etihad. The flights will be operated by four times by an Etihad A320 and four times by an Air Seychelles A330-200 leased from Etihad.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Mango offers inflight WiFi.

South African LCC Mango Airlines (JE) has started offering inflight broadband on its Boeing 737-800s. Called "G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi" in conjunction with Vodacom South Africa, Mango passengers can now surf the web when travelling between South Africa’s major centres.

There are three different G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi packages on offer. One-Way Access is priced at R50 per single sector flight with a One Day pass available at R90, irrespective of the number of flights completed during a 20 hour period. A per-minute option, billed through G-Connect online account, offers land and air convergence at R1 per minute. All three packages offer unlimited data use during the allotted time.

Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout stated that 80% of the fleet should be online by the end of  June, with second phase being launched thereafter, which will include IPTV and other entertainment services.

Read More Here [Mango Blog]

► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian brings forward SE Asia route changes.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has brought forward the changes to to Bangkok, Guangzhou and Hong Kong that it had originally intended to implement in August, to 16 May 2012.

Addis Ababa – Guangzhou
- Planned daily nonstop service due to start 16August 2012, will commence 16 May 2012.

• ET606 ADD0005 – 1500CAN 763 D
• ET607 CAN0135 – 0715ADD 763 D

The airline currently remains on track to operate Boeing 787-8 aircraft on this route, starting 16AUG12

Addis Ababa – Bangkok – Hong Kong
- Overall service to Bangkok reduced to 4 weekly, Hong Kong remains unchanged.

• ET608 ADD0025 – 1315BKK1415 – 1815HKG 763 x357
• ET609 HKG2230 – 0040+1BKK0140+1 – 0610+1ADD 763 x357

Planned 5th weekly service is to start from 15 August 2012

 Read More Here [Airline Route]

► SOUTH AFRICA: Emirates to resume A380 Johannesburg service.

Emirates (EK) has announced the resumption of Airbus A380 services from Johannesburg to Dubai with effect from 11 June 2012.

Emirates A380 at Johannesburg (Robert Matthews )

The aircraft were withdrawn for inspection after Singapore Airlines and Qantas found cracks in their wings in January 2012.

► ANGOLA: TAAG to start Buenos Aires? Aerolineas Argentinas to start Luanda?

According to press reports from Argentina, President Kirchner is to lead a large delegation of bureaucrats and businessmen to the Angolan capital Luanda, to negotiate energy deals and if possible the opening of TAAG and Aerolineas Argentinas offices in each other's respective countries.