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.
Khartoum based carrier Nova Air (O9) are set to receive their maiden Boeing 737-500 (MCN 29122 | M-ABES), leased from Dutch leasers
Sojitz Aircraft Leasing B.V. The airline is currently in Bournemouth, UK having been painted in the company's colours, and is now awaiting its ferry flight to Khartoum where it will be used for charter flights.
Tanzanian private carrier Precision Air (PW) yesterday presented its Ernst & Young audited report for the Financial Year 2011/2012 to shareholders, marking the airline's first annual general meeting since the company floated its shares
in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange
(DSE) in November of last year.
At a ceremony held last week and overseen by the Malian Minister of Facilities' Planning, Mamadou Coulibaly, and attended by the Ministers of Defense, Security, Communications, the Minister of Handicrafts and Tourism as well as the Minister responsible for
Malians Abroad and African Integration, and various government bureaucrats, the capital Bamako's Sénou International Airport's newly renovated, reinforced and extended runway 06/24, was handed over to Aéroports du Mali (AdM) for immediate operational use.
Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania (TC) is looking to resume flights by 10 October, should it reach an agreement with Dubai based ACMI specialists AeroVista, from whom they leased a Boeing 737-500 (MSN 27354 | 4L-AJB).
American carrier Delta Airlines (DL) has opened a ticketing office in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, as the airline moves to strengthen and consolidate its presence in East Africa, a prime tourist destinations for many Americans.
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.
Emirati carrier Emirates (EK) has allured to plans it has for future partnerships with Africa-focused low-cost carriers as the mega-carrier moves to boost its presence on the continent.
In a press statement today, Royal
Air Maroc (AT) announced it will start 3x weekly flights between the Spanish capital, Madrid, and the northern
Moroccan city of Tangier effective 11 October.
The flights will be operated with ATR72-600 aircraft.
Rwandan national carrier Rwandair (WB) has announced various changes to its Nigeria and its previously announced East African route timetables, as it prepares for the arrival of its first Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 900NG (MSN# 15286 | 9XR-WH) due, according to informed sources, on 22 October 2012.
Despite protests outside offices of Algeria's national carrier Air Algérie (AH) in both London and Paris two weeks ago, calling for the liberalisation of Algerian skies, the Algerian Government has remained adamant that the creation of any Low Cost Carrier (LCC) in the country would not be profitable; a move that the Algerian media says, smacks of government protectionism for both Air Algèrie and AigleAzur (ZI).
After a meeting on Thursday between Ahmed Tarek Abdelakher, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Ivorian Prime Minister Jeannot-Kouadio Ahoussou, it was announced that Egyptian national carrier Egyptair (MS) would l resume flights between Abidjan and Cairo in the coming next three months.
After the ordinary and extraordinary general meetings of shareholders in the Malagasy capital Antananarivo on Thursday last week, Malagasy national carrier Air Madagascar (MD), has announced plans to pull the airline back from the brink of bankruptcy, and return it to profitability within an 18 month time frame.
Zimbabwean national carrier Air Zimbabwe (UM) has been suspended from IATA for failing to comply with the Association's stringent Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) despite having been given a 90 day grace period. According to Zimbabwean Minister for Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development, Nicholas Goche, the letter the airline received from IATA was "not that bad" and that UM had "been encouraged" to comply with global safety standards.
There at last seems to be some good news for the Kenyan city of Mombasa as Turkish Airlines (TK) announced today that it would commence a 5x weekly, Boeing 737-900ER operated flight routed Istanbul (Turkey) - Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) - Mombasa (Kenya) - Istanbul effective 4 December.
The Burundian Government and the United Arab Emirates, last week signed an air services Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and initialled an Air Services Agreement 'ASA', which could lead to the start of bilateral air services between the two countries, sometime in the future.
Egyptair (MS) is to use an Airbus A330-200 instead of the previously announced A340-200 on its Cairo - Osaka Kansai, Japan route, set to resume from 1 December 2012 after it was dropped last year in January owing to the then tense political situation in Egypt.
[SEE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM] Following on from its previous announcement, Dubai based carrier Emirates (EK) will, from 1 December 2012, reduce its weekly service from Dubai to Tunis, Tunisia, from daily to 5x weekly; Mondays and Sundays being nixed.
Turkish Airlines (TK) will, starting from 26 January 2013, increase its current 2x weekly Boeing 737-800 operated Istanbul – Djibouti – Mogadishu (Somalia) service, to 3x weekly by adding a Saturday flight to the roster.
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).
Despite having reached an accord last Saturday with the Nigerian Government that saw Nigeria's now largest carrier Arik Air (W3), resuming domestic operations following 3 days of suspended flights, in addition to Aviation Minister Stella Oduah-Ogiewonyi dropping a lawsuit against Arik Air (who alleged that she had demanded five per cent equity participation in the airline), Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide's airline made their vendetta with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) personal by
blacklisting from their flights, the FAAN's Managing Director, George
Uriese along with 26 others.
Murat Ersoy, the President of Atlasjet (KK), a Turkish airline based out of Florya,
Istanbul, Turkey with both domestic and international scheduled passenger services, is the leader of a 25-member strong Turkish delegation currently visiting the South Sudanese capital of Juba, scouting for potential business opportunities.
An Air Algérie (AH) Boeing 737-800 (MCN: 34164 | 7T-VKA), operating domestic flight AH6231 from Tamanrasset, Algeria to Algiers Houari Boumediene Airport on 18 September 2012, at 03h25 local time, reportedly landed ahead of the runway threshold on the paved surface of the runway end safety area, to the right of the extended runway centreline, thereby taking out a number of runway end and edge lights during the subsequent roll out.
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.
Dubai based carrier, Emirates (EK), has announced various changes to some its African destinations, effective from between January and February of next year.
Zimbabwean Minister of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development, Nicholas Goche, has come clean on events surrounding the refurbishment and expansion of Victoria Falls Airport, set to be one of the main transit points (the other being at Livingstone, Zambia's Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport) for next year's United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly.
The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) has announced that the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport's apron expansion programme is on track for completion by January 2013. Contracted to China Road and Building Construction Company and with supervision work
being done by a local Ethiopian firm - the Transport Construction Design
Consultancy Share Company - the EAE expects the new apron to ease the persistent aircraft parking problem the airport faces, particularly during large international conferences.
Ghana's fifth and newest carrier Africa World Airlines (AW), the joint venture between China's HNA Group, the China-Africa Development Fund, SSNIT (Ghana's Social Security and National Insurance Trust) and SAS Finance Group, which launched its domestic operations between Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale on Friday 21 September, received a further shot in the arm on Saturday when the SSNIT revealed it would inject "between three and four million dollars into the new airline."
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| Ethiopian's 787 in Seattle (moonm) |
After taking delivery of its first Airbus A319-100 (MCN: 2213 | TU-TSA) leased from Air France last week in Abidjan, Air Cote d'Ivoire (VRE), the joint venture between the Government of Ivory Coast, Air France and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, has announced that intends to commence operations towards the "end of October".
After a two hour meeting between the board of directors of Nigeria's Arik Air (W3) and Ministers from the Nigerian Federal Government in a bid to resolve Thursday's impasse and suspension of flights, Arik Air have stated, via their website, that they will be resuming flights tomorrow Sunday 23 September 2012, after presumably, reaching an agreement.
The Senegalese press is reporting a bomb scare on-board a Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 as it was about to depart from Dakar's Léopold Sédar Senghor (Yoff) International Airport early this morning, bound for the Moroccan city of Casablanca.
Confirming our previous report, Egyptair (MS) and foundering Ghanaian carrier CTK CiTylinK Airlines (CTQ) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation in Cairo, Egypt which will see "both airlines promoting air transportation expansion in West Africa."
Tripoli based Buraq Air (UZ), a private Libyan airline that operates scheduled domestic and international services to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, has been tipped as the most likely candidate to acquire a 49% in Bosnian airline BH Airlines (JA).
Just when things couldn't seem to get any worse following the demise of Air Nigeria (VK) in early September, Nigeria's largest private carrier Arik Air (W3) today suspended domestic operations indefinitely citing what it called "the persistent hostility of the Ministry of Aviation and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) management" who "were trying to destroy the airline for their own financial benefit."
Moroccan national carrier RAM Royal Air Maroc (AT) will resume its discontinued Casablanca - London Gatwick service with a 3x weekly service from 27 March 2013. The Boeing 737-800 operated route will then increase to 10x weekly during Northern Summer 2013.
Following the arrival of its Airbus A319-100 in Banjul, The Gambia on Monday, Gambia Bird, the new 90/10 venture between German carrier, Germania (ST) and the Gambian government, has announced it will commence ops on 1 October 2012, with its first flight being Banjul, The Gambia to Dakar, Senegal.
Following on from our previous report on the topic, the Zimbabwean Government has paid off ailing national carrier Air Zimbabwe's (UM) outstanding debts in South Africa with the airline now said to be resuming flights to Johannesburg "in the next few weeks", though this has yet to be corroborated by independent sources.
In a press statement issued today in Tripoli, Libya's Undersecretary in the Ministry of Transportation for Aviation and Air Transport, Engineer Fawzi Baltamer, announced that carrier Libyan Airlines (LN), will by year end receive two Airbus A320s. Additionally, a pair of A330s are expected in the first quarter of next year (2013).
After signing an agreement with the Senegalese Government, France's second largest carrier, Corsair International (SS), will from 26 October 2012 offer a 4x weekly, Boeing 747-400 operated Paris (Orly) - Dakar, Senegal service, with a fifth frequency (a Saturday flight south, and a Sunday flight north) to follow in January 2013.
