Air Tanzania today resumed flights between Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Mwanza using its newly acquired Boeing 737-500, leased from AeroVista. (Pictures Courtesy Air Tanzania Facebook)
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Friday, May 18, 2012
► NIGERIA: Air Nigeria lands at London Gatwick (Picture).
As previously reported by The African Aviation Tribune, Air Nigeria this week started Lagos - London Gatwick using a leased Egyptair Airbus A330-200.
Air Nigeria A330 at London Gatwick (Skylineraviation.de) |
Labels:
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► ZAMBIA: KLM returns to Lusaka (Pictures).
After a 16 year break, Dutch airline KLM (KL) has resumed direct flights from Amsterdam to Lusaka 3x weekly using an Airbus A330-200. Pictures courtesy The Lusaka Times.
Read More Here [KLM]
KLM arrives in Lusaka (Lusaka Times) |
"KLM will fly to Lusaka three times a week using an Airbus A330-200.
The aircraft offers space for 243 passengers; 30 in World Business
Class, 178 in Economy Class, and 35 in the Economy Comfort Zone.
Starting 15 May, flight KL521 will depart every Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday at 12:30 from Schiphol and will arrive in Lusaka the same day
at 22:05. The return flight, KL522, will depart from Lusaka the same day
at 23:50. The flight will arrive in Amsterdam the next morning at 9:45."
► UGANDA: NasAir Eritrea starts Asmara - Entebbe direct.
► RÉUNION: Air Austral quits Sydney, Nouméa; starts Bangkok via Chennai.
Reunion-based
carrier Air Austral (UU), has decided to cancel its two weekly flights
to Nouméa, New Caledonia, via Sydney, Australia with
effect from 28 October 2012, in what is seen as a knock on effect of the
continuing Euro-zone crisis that has been affecting airlines the world
over.
Air Austral Boeing 777 |
The
French Overseas Territory carrier had initially planned to axe the
route, along with several others to the French mainland beginning summer
of this year, but later reconsidered.
"An Air Austral Boeing 777 has been linking Noumea with Paris, flying via Sydney and La Reunion since early 2009.In December, the airline said the high cost of jet fuel forced the suspension of the flights but in February it decided to keep flying the route. The latest change has been due to ongoing losses.New Caledonia’s daily paper says the end of the service has caused concern among travellers whose route to France is now likely to be almost exclusively via Japan."
In other Air Austral related news, the carrier has announced via Twitter, a new service to Bangkok via Chennai, India to be operated with a Boeing 737-800. No schedule has yet been released.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian starts Toronto from July 2012.
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has announced a twice weekly service from Addis Ababa to Toronto, Canada starting 16 July 2012 using its Boeing 777-200LR. the westerly leg will have a fuel stop at Rome, Italy.
Ethiopian Airlines 777 at Washington DC |
Read More Here [AirlineRoute]Ethiopian Airlines: Addis Ababa - Toronto
- ET502 ADD2230 – 0340+1FCO0440+1 – 0740+1YYZ 77L 15
- ET503 YYZ1015 – 0715+1ADD 77L 26
Labels:
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Toronto
► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania resumes domestic flights tomorrow; publishes timetable.
After being on hiatus following the writing-off of its DHC-8 at Kigoma, in April of this year, Air Tanzania (TC) is to relaunch a scheduled domestic service on the morning of Friday 18 May (tomorrow), with the use of its recently acquired Boeing 737-500, leased from AeroVista of Dubai.
Labels:
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► COTE D'IVOIRE: Air Cote d'Ivoire to start service using A332 from end of July.
Labels:
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
► KENYA: Virgin Atlantic to drop Nairobi from September 2012.
Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) will, with effect from September 24, end its London Heathrow - Nairobi flights sighting low passenger numbers and higher overheads amongst other factors. No doubt, this will come as relief to Kenya Airways who in January 2012 issued a profit warning for the First Quarter of 2012.
Virgin Atlantic's B747-400 |
“During the past five years a combination of record fuel prices, higher and higher taxes imposed by the UK Government and a poorly timed slot not providing connections from London, have made it uneconomical to fly from Nairobi,” said Sir Branson in statement from London.
Read More Here [Business Daily Kenya]“For the past five years our team in Nairobi have worked incredibly hard and we hope to return should the economic situation change.”
This comes at a time when various European carriers are axing various African routes citing route viability problems: of recent note Iberia (Johannesburg), TAP (Johannesburg).
Virgin Atlantic has stated, however, that it will maintain its other African routes to Accra, Lagos and Johannesburg.
Labels:
Finances,
Kenya,
London Heathrow,
Nairobi,
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Virgin Atlantic
► SOUTH AFRICA: Emirates to boost Durban to B777-300ER daily from June.
Since its inauguration in May 2010 in time for the FIFA World Cup of 2010 held in South Africa, Durban's King Shaka International Airport has being growing from strength to strength.
Durban's King Shaka International Airport |
"The introduction of the Boeing 777-300ER is in response to strong demand on the route. In 2011, Emirates carried over 165 000 passengers between Durban and Dubai with a high average seat factor of 83 percent,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates senior vice-president for commercial operations in Africa."
► RWANDA: RwandAir orders Q400NG; adds Mwanza from July.
Following on from yesterday's conclusion of the Bombardier Q400NG Roadshow in Kigali, RwandAir has announced its intention to buy a Bombardier Q400NG turboprop, to replace its existing ageing fleet of Bombardier Dash 8s, which presently fly short routes from Kigali to Kamembe, Gisenyi, Bujumbura and onto new destination, Mwanza in Tanzania.
Bombardier Q400 NextGen Africa Tour |
"After a flight demonstration to Kamembe by the Bombardier team yesterday, RwandAir’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Mirenge, said that the move is part of the carrier’s expansion plans.“This is a good aircraft with new features and enough seating capacity,” he pointed out.The Sales Director for Bombardier Aerospace, Sameer Adam, said the 74 seat capacity aircraft has the ability to operate from shorter runways and deliver the quietest and most vibration free passenger cabin of any propeller driven aircraft. He explained that the aircraft was designed to meet the requirements for high-density, short-haul services. "
Bombardier's aircraft appear to have become a hit with the Rwandan airline, as in March, they decided to replace their two CRJ-200 with two CRJ-900NGs to be delivered in October of this year.
In addition to the new aircraft, it was also announced that RwandAir would start a 3x weekly Kigali - Mwanza, Tanzania service using a Dash-8, with effect from 2 July 2012.
Read More Here [Airline Route]RwandAir: Kigali - Mwanza (from 2 July 2012)
- WB401 KGL1115 – 1315MWZ DH8 136
- WB402 MWZ1345 – 1345KGL DH8 136
► GHANA: LCC FastJet to lease 15 new aircraft "soon".
"Fastjet.com, pending government approvals, is also expected to target routes into Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Benin. Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire is now the second largest route from Accra and Monrovia in Liberia is the third largest route.
The other potential Fastjet.com routes currently have little or no service. The carrier is likely to steer clear of countries such as Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali because the security levels in those countries are still considered dangerous by many Western governments."
This news follows on from an announcement 2 weeks ago by fellow Ghanaian start up, Starbow Airlines, that it intended to lease another BAe146 prior to commencement of regional services.
► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian postpones B787 service 'til August.
It seems the delayed entry into service of Ethiopian Airlines' (ET) Boeing 787 Dreamliner will have a knock on effect, as its first route Addis Ababa - Johannesburg, has been postponed 'til 1st August 2012.
Ethiopian's first Dreamliner in Seattle 2011. |
- Addis Ababa – Dubai ET600/601 Delayed from 15JUN12 to 01AUG12 (777-200LR operating from 15JUN12 to 15JUL12, 767-300ER from 16JUL12 to 31JUL12)
- Addis Ababa – Johannesburg Delayed from 15JUN12 to 01AUG12 (767-300ER operating from 15JUN12 to 31JUL12)
Planned Boeing 787 service on following routes remains unchanged:
- Addis Ababa – Harare 4 weekly (Day x246) eff 16SEP12
- Addis Ababa – Lusaka 3 weekly (Day 246) eff 18SEP12
Read More Here [Airline Route]
Labels:
787,
Addis Ababa,
Boeing,
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Dubai,
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Ethiopian Airlines,
Johannesburg,
South Africa
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
► RWANDA: Bombardier's Q400 roadshow ends in Kigali.
Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace has just concluded its tour in Africa showcasing its successful Q400 turboprop aircraft, having started in West Africa, before coming to East and Southern Africa, in hopes of attracting potential customers.
► EGYPT & LIBYA: More derelict WW2 aircraft discovered in The Sahara.
Whilst going through the international press this last week, we at The Tribune came across a piece in the UK's Daily Mail that we found rather interesting.
The derelict Kittyhawk in the Sahara (Daily Mail) |
During a prospecting mission for oil in the Western Desert (part of the Sahara) Egypt, a oil worker recently came across a derelict Royal Air Force Kittyhawk P-40, that, given its age and location, was in reasonably good condition.
The aircraft itself, flown at the time by Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping, went down in June 1942, during the North African Campaign fought between the legendary "Desert Fox" German General Erwin Rommel and British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery.
It seems Copping was attempting to make his way home, only to lose his bearings, and ultimately, crash land in what is literally, the middle of nowhere. From what has been seen lying around the crash site, he then took what he could salvage from the damaged fighter, and wandered off into the desert, never to be seen again.
The cockpit of the plane (Daily Mail) |
Since the crash site is about 200 miles from the nearest town and no
human remains have been found at the site, its believed that the pilot’s
decomposed body may lay anywhere within a 20 mile radius of the
aircraft (Copping is not known to have any close living relatives).
But this isn't the first time the Sahara has been a repository for abandoned aircraft.
In February 1959, a British Petroleum oil exploration team
discovered the nearly intact "Lady Be Good", a USAF American B-24D Liberator, 448 miles southeast of Soluch, again in the untravelled Western Desert.
Investigation at the crash site confirmed
that the crew had bailed out after exhausting their fuel.after returning from an April 4, 1943 bombing raid on Naples, Italy as part of the 514th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group. At the time, the plane was assumed to have crashed into the Mediterranean Sea and its nine crew members were classified as Missing in Action.
The USAF Bomber "Lady Be Good" found in 1959, Libya |
The Lady Be Good apparently overflew its base and did not see flares fired to attract its attention and continued into the interior of North Africa for two more hours. At 2 a.m., the crew parachuted to the ground and the Lady Be Good continued on for 26 km (16 miles) more with no one aboard and crash-landed in the Calanshio Sand Sea of the Libyan Desert. A search and rescue mission from Soluch Air Base to find the missing bomber was unsuccessful and no trace of the crew or aircraft was found.
After the crew abandoned the aircraft in mid air, it continued flying southward.
The mostly intact wreckage and evidence showing one engine was still
operating at the time of impact suggests the aircraft gradually lost
altitude in a very shallow descent, reached the flat, open desert floor
and landed on its belly.
Click to get the book from our Amazon store! |
No human remains were found at the crash site, but in February 1960, the United States Army conducted a formal search for the remains of the airmen, and five were found. Finding evidence that three other crew members had continued walking northward to seek help, the exploration concluded their bodies were likely buried beneath sand dunes.
Labels:
B-24D Liberator,
Egypt,
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Sahara
► ETHIOPIA: See Ethiopian's B767 - now with Winglets!
As reported by Ethiopian Airlines (ET) in March, its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Unit scored another first in Africa, by successfully fitting winglets to one of Ethiopian's Boeing 767-300s - ET-ALJ - which, it says will "reduce fuel burn by up to 5% and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 5,000 tons per year. The blended winglets will improve the 767-300ER performance from Addis by increasing the takeoff weight to 2.0 - 2.5 tons and the payload range by 204 nautical miles"
Ethiopian's 767 ET-ALJ at Accra, Ghana (PRM) |
Read More Here [Ethiopian Airlines]"Ato Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO Ethiopian Airlines said, "I would like to congratulate our MRO team for the outstanding performance and for the job well done. From an economics point of view, the winglets will allow the airline to make substantial cost saving, through lower fuel consumption, which is highly critical at a time when the industry as a whole is feeling the brunt of persistent high fuel prices. This fitting will also reduce engine maintenance cost. The winglets will enhance our take-off performance specifically from our high altitude hub and increase our payload including the flight range.""
■ NIGERIA: Phase II of airport renovations to begin in June; Abuja to get new International Terminal.
Nigerian's Aviation Minister Stella Oduah has announced plans by the Nigerian Government to embark on the second phase of a project to renovate and remodel various airports in Nigeria, in order to "upgrade the quality of services being rendered at airports across the country."
The Minister also said that airports involved in the first phase - amongst them Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (Lagos); Nnamdi Azikiwe Intenational
Airport (Abuja); Owerri Airport; Yola Airport and Benin Airport - were to be reinaugurated by the end of May, with Phase 2 to begin on 1st June 2012.
Asaba Airport, Nigeria (Ken Iwelumo) |
Oduah also announced that plans had been concluded to build a new international terminal at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja this year, with the existing international terminal being turned into a domestic terminal, while the old domestic
terminal would now be General Aviation (GAT) and Hajj terminal.
"According to her, the projects are being strictly monitored to ensure that contractors do not deliver substandard jobs.
She said, “We have our quality control group working with the contractors at all times; we want to make sure we don’t play with users’ safety, which is why we are doing total restructuring and remodelling."
The call for enforced transparency follows the attempted arrest on Monday of the Managing Director of the Lagos-based Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), George Uriesi, on suspected allegations of graft by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Uriesi evaded arrest as he was said to "have left for Abuja on an official duty."
■ 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.
Labels:
Equipment,
LCC,
Legal,
South Africa,
South African Airways,
VelvetSky
Monday, May 14, 2012
■ BOTSWANA: Open Skies deal signed; will Air Botswana survive more competition?
The Botswana Government has recently signed two Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) with Mauritius in Gaborone agreements bringing to nine the number of BASAs signed - the other eight being with Belgium, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Labels:
Air Botswana,
Air Mauritius,
BASA,
Bluesky Airways,
Botswana,
Botswana Government,
Legal,
Mauritius
► ZAMBIA: Zambezi Airlines to resume flights next month.
Following numerous court cases and the repossession of its aircraft by lessor GECAS, Lusaka-based, Zambian airline Zambezi Airlines (ZJ), is scheduled to restart services from next month.
Labels:
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Dar es Salaam,
Harare,
Johannesburg,
Legal,
Lilongwe,
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Ndola,
Zambezi Airlines,
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