Tanzanian carrier Precision Air (PW) over the weekend announced that its planned new routes to Harare, Zimbabwe and Lilongwe, Malawi, would only begin "in August this year" instead of early July as originally planned as the airline intends to await the arrival of more aircraft prior to servicing the new routes.
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Monday, June 11, 2012
► MALI: Air Mali signs code-share with Air France.
Following on from last week's code share agreement signing with Air Burkina of Burkina Faso, Air France announced today, the signing of another code share agreement, this time with Mali's Air Mali (I5). The agreement will see Air France selling Air Mali a quota of seats on its daily flights from Paris to the Malian capital, Bamako.
► BOTSWANA: Bluesky Airways gearing up for service?
From info garnered from Botswanan charter company Bluesky Airways' website, it appears that Air Botswana could be in for a run for its money in the very near future. Having recently performed proving flights with its leased Boeing 737-200 to Maun for the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB), and with a new website on its way for a 9 July launch, the airline seems to be gearing up for scheduled operations, given the green light from the CAAB. At present, the airline only offers a charter service.
Labels:
737-200,
Bluesky Airways,
Boeing,
Botswana
► BENIN: Westair Benin to start Libreville, Abidjan, Niamey, Ouagadougou shortly; to acquire various aircraft.
Beninois start-up Westair Benin (WH) is to planning to use a Bombardier CRJ-200 on flights between the capital, Cotonou, and Libreville (Gabon), Niamey (Niger), Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) with other destinations to be added in future.
Founded in 2002, the airline has maintained a relatively low profile thus far, though it is considering a Boeing 737-300 for use in future operations.
Labels:
737,
Abidjan,
Benin,
Boeing,
Bombardier,
Cotonou,
CRJ 200,
Equipment,
Libreville,
Niamey,
Ouagadougou,
Route,
Westair Benin
► FRANCE: Air France announces various Africa changes for Winter 2012.
French carrier Air France (AF) has announced various operational equipment changes to its Africa network, effective 28 October 2012 (i.e Winter 2012).
Air France Equipment Changes (Effective 28 October 2012)Read More Here [Airline Route]
Other Equipment changes announced previously:
- Paris CDG – Bangui (Central African Republic)1 weekly service operates with A330-200, replaces A340-300
- Paris CDG – Niamey (Niger) – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) 4 weekly service operates with A330-200, replaces mix of A330/340
Air France 777 over the Sahara (Ken Iwelumo) In Northern Winter 2012/13 season, Air France’s Airbus A340-300 and Boeing 747-400 operational frequencies continue to be reduced on following routes:
- Paris CDG – Antananarivo (Madagascar) 3-class Boeing 777-200ER operating, replaces A340-300 in W12.
- Paris CDG – Douala (Cameroon) – Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) Boeing 777-300ER replaces -200ER, daily operation
- Paris CDG – Mauritius 3-class “COI” Boeing 777-300ER operating, replaces 747-400 in NW11
Airbus A340-300
Boeing 747-400
- Paris CDG – Bamako (Mali)1 Daily
- Paris CDG – Cotonou (Benin) 5 weekly
- Paris CDG – Lome (Togo) 4 weekly
- Paris Orly – St. Denis de la Reunion 3 weekly
Labels:
Air France,
Antananarivo,
Bamako,
Bangui,
Cotonou,
Douala,
Equipment,
France,
Lome,
Malabo,
Mauritius,
Niamey,
Ouagadougou,
Paris CDG,
Paris Orly,
Reunion
Friday, June 8, 2012
► SOMALIA: Ethiopian to start Berbera from July; delays Hargeisa service.
Press reports out of Somaliland state that Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is to commence a daily Q400 service from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to the city of Berbera, on the Somaliland Red Sea coast, effective 1 July 2012. There will be 3 morning and 4 afternoon flights.
Originally built with Soviet aid, Berbera Airport got a new departures terminal in 2010 at a cost of USD$110'000.
Berbera Airport, (Somaliland) Somalia (Mitya Aleshkovsky) |
Meanwhile, in another Somali-related development, Ethiopian has had to postpone indefinitely, its Addis Ababa - Hargeisa, Somaliland originally planned to start on 10 June 2012, due to the ongoing renovation of the runway there, started on 27 May 2012. The wait, however, could be prolonged, as there are allegations of incompetence and poor workmanship on behalf of the Chinese contractors 'China Hono Group'.
The closure of Hargeisa's Airport has forced people to use Berbera Airport, 160kms away, which is the most likely mitigating factor in Ethiopian's decision to open the Addis Ababa - Berbera route.
"The resumption of flights to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, scheduled for June 10, 2012 has been differed as renovation of runway at Hargeisa airport has not been completed. Once the renovation at Hargeisa airport is completed, Ethiopian plans to start flights immediately."
Read More Here [TigraiOnline]
Labels:
Addis Ababa,
Berbera,
Ethiopia,
Ethiopian Airlines,
Hargeisa,
Q400,
Route,
Somalia,
Somaliland
► 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.
Labels:
A340,
Airbus,
Australia,
Frequency,
Johannesburg,
Perth,
South Africa,
South African Airways
Thursday, June 7, 2012
► TANZANIA: Precision Air to restart Arusha from July; postpones Lubumbashi & Lusaka.
With renovations to the runway at Arusha's International Airport nearing completion, Tanzanian private carrier Precision Air (PW) has announced the resumption of daily flights to Arusha with effect from July 10. For the duration of the renovation works, passengers have had to use Kilimanjaro International Airport - 50 km away.
Labels:
Arusha,
Congo Kinshasa,
Harare,
Infrastructure,
Lilongwe,
Lubumbashi,
Lusaka,
Malawi,
Precision Air,
Route,
Tanzania,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe
► MADAGASCAR: Air Madagascar announces Asia operational changes for Summer.
Air Madagascar (MD) has announced that it will introduce its Airbus A340-300 on its Asian routes for the duration of 5 July to 27 October 2012. Presently, the airline operates a Boeing 767-300ER on its Antananarivo – Bangkok – Guangzhou and Antananarivo – Bangkok routes.
Air Madagascar's A340 "F-GLZL" (Didairbus) |
The Madagascan carrier signed a 6 year lease with Air France for two Airbus A340-300s in March of this year, with the option of buying the two aircraft when the lease expires. Previous attempts in May of last year to modernize the fleet with other Boeing 767s ran into a brick wall as the planes were added to the European Union's Banned Operator's List.
Antananarivo – Bangkok – Guangzhou
- MD010 TNR1625 – 0540+1BKK0720+1 – 1110+1CAN 343 15
- MD011 CAN1355 – 1555BKK1730 – 2205TNR 343 26
- MD012 TNR1850 – 0805+1BKK 343 3
- MD013 BKK2315 – 0350+1TNR 343 4
Labels:
767,
A340,
Air Madagascar,
Airbus,
Antananarivo,
Bangkok,
Boeing,
China,
Equipment,
Guangzhou,
Madagascar,
Thailand
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
► MOROCCO: Lufthansa starts Berlin & Dusseldorf to Marrakech from November.
German carrier Lufthansa (LH) has announced Berlin Tegel to
Marrakech, Morocco and Düsseldorf to Marrakech both of which will start from 3
November 2012.
The flights are both once weekly, and will be served with an Airbus A320.
A Lufthansa Airbus A320 (Lasse Fuss) |
Dusseldorf – Marrakech effective 3 November 2012Note that from 17 March 2013, Berlin Brandenburg Airport will come on line.
- LH3476 DUS1105 – 1350RAK 320 6
- LH3477 RAK1450 – 1940DUS 320 6
Berlin Tegel – Marrakech effective 3 November 2012
- LH3478 TXL2105 – 0020+1RAK 320 6
- LH3479 RAK0205 – 0715TXL 320 6
Read More Here [Airline Route]
Labels:
A320,
Airbus,
Berlin Brandenburg,
Berlin Tegel,
Dusseldorf,
Germany,
Lufthansa,
Marrakech,
Morocco,
Route
► BURKINA FASO: Air Burkina signs code-share with Air France.
Air Burkina (2J), the Burkinabe regional airline, is to extend its coverage to include France, with the recent signing of a code sharing agreement with Air France.
Effective 1 June, Air France has been allocating Air Burkina an unspecified number of
seats on Air France's daily flight between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Ouagadougou that is operated by either an Airbus A330 or A340.
"Dominique Patry, Vice President International Affairs and Alliances Air France, stated “this partnership agreement fits into a long-term cooperation perspective. It offers an additional illustration of Air France’s strategy in Africa, aiming to work with local partners. Our ultimate ambition is to offer our customers new regional destinations operated by Air Burkina”. "
Air Burkina's Route Map
Currently, Air Burkina flies to 11 cities around West Africa and will provide KLM/Air France with an important foothold into the fast growing West African aviation scene and is a development which KLM/Air France hopes to implement on other routes in West and Central Africa as well as in France and Europe.
Labels:
A330,
A340,
Air Burkina,
Air France,
Airbus,
Burkina Faso,
France,
Ouagadougou,
Paris,
Route
► COTE D'IVOIRE: First pics of Air Cote d'Ivoire's A319 here!
Labels:
A319,
Air Cote d'Ivoire,
Airbus,
Cote d'Ivoire,
Equipment,
France,
Toulouse
► NIGERIA: Pilot & Engineer Strike affecting Air Nigeria.
Air Nigeria (VK) has come clean and admitted that a 5 day old strike by members of the Nigerian Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) is starting to impact its domestic and regional flights, though its international operation to London Gatwick has remained unaffected.
The NAAPE strike is focussed around 4 core issues namely:
- Delayed payment of salaries to both local and foreign staff
- Pension deductions not remitted for over seven (7) months
- Co-operative deductions not yet remitted
- Tax refund and tax clearance issues
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos |
Air Nigeria management however, has refused to budge from its own position and in a statement has labelled the strike as "blackmail" and "uncalled for" and claimed that the union did not seek recourse in order to resolve their grievances. It also alleged that the NAAPE was in cahoots with competitors jealous of Air Nigeria's progress.
"It is very unreasonable and cheap blackmail for NAAPE to embark on strike action based on non payment of May salaries at the mid night of May 31st when infact some of the staff had collected their salaries with the rest of the staff still being processed.
It is therefore illegal and criminal for NAAPE to allow itself to be used by Competitors, who are envious of the giant steps already taken by Air Nigeria and Management is already working on a policy that will put a permanent stop to this cheap blackmail’
Passengers at Lagos' Murtala Muhammad International Airport have been subject to delays and flight cancellations which has led to angry scenes at check-in counters and ticket booths.
The NAAPE has been a perpetual thorn in the side of Air Nigeria's management, as in November of last year, they again moved to strike following the sacking of Air Nigeria's Head of Maintenance Department James Erigba, because of a disagreement over an aircraft's airworthiness.
Labels:
Air Nigeria,
NAAPE,
Nigeria,
Politics,
Strike
► KENYA: Kenya Airways drops Rome route effective immediately.
In a some what sudden development, Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced the immediate cancellation (i.e as of 4 June 2012) of its 3x weekly service from Nairobi to Rome, Italy.
A Kenya Airways B737-700 in Rome in April (Aldo Bidini) |
In March, the airline temporarily suspended the service citing low passenger loads, but then resumed it using a Boeing 737-700, a downgrade capacity-wise from its original Boeing 767-300.
► TANZANIA: Air Tanzania's boss fired; 4 others suspended.
After much pomp and fervour over the airline's relaunch last month, the Tanzanian Government has fired Air Tanzania's (TC) acting Managing Director,
Paul Chizi, and suspended four senior officials due to "irregularities in their appointments apropos the Tanzanian Public Service Act of 2002, amongst other accusations of breach of public service laws and regulations."
Labels:
Air Tanzania,
Politics,
Tanzania
► KENYA: Egyptair A320 skids on landing at Nairobi; massive delays follow.
This morning, at 03.36am local time, an Egyptair Airbus A320-200 (SU-GBG), performing flight MS 849 from Cairo to Nairobi, skidded on touchdown at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, before eventually ending up in soft mud. There were 123 passengers on-board all of whom were able to safely disembark from the stranded aircraft.
Egyptair A320 SU-GBG in the mud at Nairobi. (Buggs79) |
"All passengers and crew were safely evacuated to the terminal building even as all emergencies operations at the Airport including fire and rescue were activated immediately."
The resulting closure of Nairobi's lone runway has caused numerous delays and diversions for various airlines, most notably Kenya Airways, who have had to delay many departures as well as divert many arriving aircraft to either Mombasa, Entebbe or Dar es Salaam
► NIGERIA: Civil Aviation Boss suspended; Dana Air grounded.
The Nigerian Government has moved to suspend the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, for the duration of investigations into both the Dana Air 9J-997 tragedy in Lagos on Sunday, and the Nigerian-registered Allied Air Cargo Boeing 727 crash landing in Accra, Ghana the day before.
Together, the two crashes have claimed over 170 lives, with numbers to rise, as more bodies are discovered at the Lagos crash site.
The Dana Air MD 83's tail being removed. (Reuters) "“The latest Dana aircraft crash is even more tragic than the previous ones with a total casualty figure of about 190 people, including 153 passengers, six crew members and about 37 people on the ground.
“This crash is a wake-up call for all relevant authorities to rise to the challenge of ensuring that no effort is spared in making the nation’s aviation industry conform with international safety standards,” he said."
The Government has also revoked the operating licence of Dana Air until further notice.
""As soon as we have concluded the recertification of the airline, if they are capable, then their license will be reinstated," said Sam Adurogboye, a spokesman for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority."
The revocation follows in the wake of a promised shake up of Nigeria's poor civil aviation safety record, which amongst other things has seen 5 fatal crashes in the last 10 years, as well as the arrest/suspension of high ranking government officials on allegations of corruption and bribery most recently the attempted arrest 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.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
► EGYPT: Egyptair Express mulls fleet renewal before expanding into Africa.
Following on from the events of last year's Arab Spring and consequently a very difficult financially 2011 whereby the airline's profits took a 75% plunge, Egyptair (MS) has decided to reorganize its fleet and route operations by offloading several of its "thinner" African routes to its subsidiary Egyptair Express (MSE).
Egyptair Express Embraer E-170LR |
Possible routes to be moved to Egyptair Express are Cairo to: Khartoum, Sudan, Asmara, Eritrea and Juba, South Sudan all which are presently served by the Boeing 737-500, whose capacity appears to have come in under Egyptair's proposed policy of maintaining only 140+ seater aircraft in its main fleet. In the interests of fleet renewal and of finding suitable aircraft for these new routes, Egyptair is considering the Embraer E-190 or Bombardier CSeries.
Read More Here [ATW]"It has also used Embraer aircraft to increase frequencies. Following the sharp drop in passenger numbers after the Egyptian revolution in early 2011, it moved some strategic short-haul routes to the E-170LR fleet to maintain frequencies and transferred non-strategic short-haul routes to the Brazilian aircraft to preserve market presence."
Presently, EgyptAir Express operates 12 Embraer E-170LRs to destinations in Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Malta and Saudi Arabia.
► 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.
Labels:
A330,
Accra,
Airbus,
Cape Town,
Ghana,
India,
London Heathrow,
Mumbai,
Route,
South Africa,
South African Airways
► LIBYA: Afriqiyah launches Amman flights; most 8U 771 families compensated.
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