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.
Monday, May 14, 2012
► 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.
● ETHIOPIA: See the renderings for Ethiopian's new HQ and hotel.
With almost 50 aircraft in its fleet and another 43 state-of-the-art jets on order, a much coveted Star Alliance membership, and a profit for 2011 of USD$25million making it one of the few profitable African airlines, Ethiopian Airlines has much to be proud of.
BACKROUND
Based out of Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport, Ethiopian Airlines last year put forth its future plans in a paper entitled "Project 2025" which set out its goals and objectives to make Ethiopian "the most competitive and leading aviation group in Africa by providing safe, market driven and customer focused passenger and Cargo Transport, Aviation Training, Flight Catering, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), Ground Services, Domestic and regional services by 2025."
Having surpassed its original goals set out in 2005 in its "Vision 2010", the airline states that its overall target for Vision 2025 is to implement a new restructuring program that will transform Ethiopian Airlines into an aviation investment group.
Vision 2025 objectives & goals summarized:
- Construction of Maintenance Hangar
- Expansion & upgrading of Ethiopian Aviation Academy
- Construction of Simulator building for different fleet type
- Construction of 5 star hotel
- Expansion of Cargo Terminal
- Construction of new Catering facility
- Construction of parking building
- Construction of new Headquarters
Herein we will discuss the two administrative/hospitality projects slated under Vision 2025 - The 5 Star Hotel & The head quarters.
THE HEADQUARTERS DESIGN COMPETITION
In 2009, Ethiopian issued a tender to indigenous Ethiopian companies for the design and supervision of contract for it's new headquarters at Bole Airport. However, the airline was not satisfied with the submissions and only second to fifth place of the design bid were announced on Monday, April 11, 2010, with no actual winner being declared.“Our company is the only one that received a very good result from the airline on the evaluation form,” Samuel Alebel, Technical Assistant of Ultimate Plan Plc, told Fortune.
The bidders were told by the airline to wait until a formal decision was made as to the next step to be taken, according to Samuel.
“We are not satisfied with the designs,” Girma Wake, CEO of Ethiopian, told Fortune, “because most of them do not meet the requirements set by the airline. Most likely, we will go for an international bid. However, it is still under process.”
In theory, the "winner" was the second placed bid Ultimate Plan Plc, then Sileshi Consult Plc, Mulugeta Asfaw Consult, and finally Gereta Consult in fifth place, respectively. Berhanu Mussa Architecture & Engineering had also entered the bid but did not make the top five.
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| UltimatePlan PLC's 2nd place bid. (UltimatePlan) |
A second round tender was announced in September 2011. In February 2012 Ethiopian Airlines finally made its decision settling instead for a design by Ethiopian architectural firm BET Architects Plc, in collaboration with Soehene Partners Architects, an Austrian company.
THE WINNING DESIGN
The winning ‘concept of flows’ led to a fragmented yet interconnected simple-single- forms to be organized like a village allowing the flow of people, air, light, and nature into and out of the building that will be Ethiopian Airlines’ new HQ in a 15,500 meter square total floor area, the designers say.
This proposal is also intended in creating a high class international standard building and a structure that would address the requirement of its growth, active operation and accomplish its Vision-2025. The administrative blocks are in a floating form that resembles mountains and canyons. Similar to the landscape that flows into the building the lobby is also floating and rising. There are gardens in between the blocks which are made up of landscapes with trees and art sculptures. The sun shade of grand lobby around which the office blocks are situated is symbolized with timber trees.
Location: Bole Airport, Addis Ababa
Net Area: 15.000 sqm
Expansion Area: 4.500 sqm
Planned Number of Employees: 1450
Estimated Completion: 2014
Net Area: 15.000 sqm
Expansion Area: 4.500 sqm
Planned Number of Employees: 1450
Estimated Completion: 2014
Estimated Cost: USD$20million
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| The winning bid (SoehnePartner Austria) |
The deal was signed by Yissehak Zewoldi, Vice President of Alliances
& Corporate Strategic Planning with Ethiopian and Tesfamariam
Teshome, Manager, Senior Partner, and Architect at BET Architects plcon May 17 February 2012.
The 4 or 5 Star Hotel
Anyone who has ever had the "pleasure" of missing their Ethiopian connecting in Addis Ababa will know of the Riviera International Hotel in down town Addis - the hotel used by Ethiopian Airlines for passengers in transit. While not necessarily dreadful, in light of Ethiopian's membership of Star Alliance, it could do with a far smarter hotel - something that is presently in the pipeline under the guise of a proposed joint venture between Ethiopian (to have 53% shareholding) and China's Hainan Air (18.8%) and the China Africa Development Fund (CADF) (28.2%) with a value of USD$60million.
 |
| The plot of land to be used near Bole Airport (Addis Fortune) |
Read More Here [Addis Fortune Ethiopia]"It had announced a bid in January 2009 to hire consulting firms to design and supervise the construction of the hotel, where domestic companies such as National Consult Plc, Ultimate Plan Plc, and ETG Designers & Consultants Plc, all in partnership with their international associates, had made their offers. Nonetheless, the management had cancelled this in November 2009, claiming to have an interest in searching for other alternatives."
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| The rendering for the hotel (Addis Fortune) |
Sunday, May 13, 2012
► NIGERIA: Air Nigeria gets its two A330s; to get four 787s?
After having postponed the start of Lagos-Johannesburg by one month, Nigerian national carrier Air Nigeria (VK), today finally took delivery of two wet leased EgyptAir A330s from Cairo. |
| Air Nigeria's A330-300 leaves for Lagos (Nigeria Aviation News) |
In other Air Nigeria related news, following in the footsteps of local competitor Arik Air, who in 2007 placed an order for 7 Boeing 787s, Air Nigeria has placed an order for 4 of the Dreamliners, to be used between Lagos-London, and ultimately, Lagos-Baltimore and Lagos-Dubai-Beijing, though this has yet to be confirmed by Boeing.
Nigerian press reports state that the deal, worth nearly USD$900million, is to be financed by the USEXIM bank.
"THISDAY checks revealed that each of the aircraft will cost the airline $221,775,000, totalling $887,100,000 which will be financed by the USEXIM Bank.
According to the chairman of Air Nigeria, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, who confirmed the aircraft orders, as initial deposit, the airline will be required to sign and pay four per cent of the total cost of the aircraft amounting to $35,484,000 by May 22 in London. On delivery, he said the aircraft will fly the Lagos-London, Lagos-Baltimore and Lagos-Dubai-Beijing routes, while one plane will be kept in reserve.
If everything goes according to plan, Air Nigeria will be the first West African airline to have the Dreamliner aircraft in its fleet. Ethiopian Airways has already placed orders for the Dreamliner aircraft, but delivery date is set for 2016."Read More Here [ThisDay Nigeria]
► UGANDA: Turkish Airlines flight to Johannesburg diverts to Entebbe.
A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 TC-JNM recently enroute from Istanbul to Johannesburg, South Africa was forced to divert to Entebbe, Uganda following engine problems.
The aircraft landed safely, though passengers were forced to wait for a replacement aircraft to be dispatched from Turkey.
 |
| THY Turkish Airlines A330 TC-JNM (Alfonso Rodenas Pena) |
Read More Here [The Aviation Herald]"A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration TC-JNM performing flight TK-40 (dep May 10th) from Istanbul (Turkey) to Johannesburg (South Africa) with 250 passengers, was enroute near Entebbe (Uganda) when the crew needed to shut an engine (CF6) down. The aircraft diverted to Entebbe for a safe landing."
Saturday, May 12, 2012
► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania's B737-500 finally arrives (Pic included).
Two days late, but better late than never or so the saying goes. Tonight Saturday, Air Tanzania finally received its Boeing 737-500 leased from AeroVista of Dubai.
Friday, May 11, 2012
► 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.
Read More Here [Airline Route]London Heathrow – Agadir
- BD44x > BA816x
London Heathrow – Casablanca
- BD44x > BA816x
London Heathrow – Marrakech
- BD44x > BA816x
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.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
► 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
► 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.
"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)."
 |
| TAAG 777-300ER (Paulo Santos) |
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”."
● 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.Read More Here [Airline Route]Air Nigeria: Lagos - Johannesburg (from 17 June 2012)
- VK303 LOS2350 – 0650+1JNB 332 247
- VK302 JNB0935 – 1435LOS 332 135
► 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]
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
► 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
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