Burundian state carrier, Air Burundi (8Y), has taken delivery of the first of two Chinese Xian MA-60 aircraft both of which will form the foundation for the airline's fleet renewal programme that is being jointly sponsored by the Burundian and Chinese governments.
Friday, July 6, 2012
► BURUNDI: Air Burundi gets its first MA-60.
Burundian state carrier, Air Burundi (8Y), has taken delivery of the first of two Chinese Xian MA-60 aircraft both of which will form the foundation for the airline's fleet renewal programme that is being jointly sponsored by the Burundian and Chinese governments.
► NIGERIA: Air Nigeria future in doubt as GECAS repos its 737s.
Global aircraft lessors General Electric Capital Aviation Services, better known in the aviation industry as GECAS, have dealt yet another blow to ailing Nigerian carrier, Air Nigeria (VK) by repossessing the four Boeing 737-300s (5N-VNC, 5N-VND, 5N-VNE and 5N-VNJ) it leased to the airline, over the latter's inability to settle its monthly financial obligations.
In a statement on its website (which has now been offline for over 2 days), Air Nigeria said:
"Subsequent to the temporary suspension of Air Nigeria’s regional and domestic flight operations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), our lessors have been requesting to repossess some of the aircraft in our fleet and we are fully cooperating to return their aircraft. GECAS, one of our lessors, is already in the process of calling back four of their Boeing 737-300 aircraft and Air Nigeria is fully cooperating in line with the Cape Town Convention to expedite the repossession process.
Air Nigeria 737 '5N-VNJ' (Javier R)
Air Nigeria plans to acquire state-of-the-art aircraft to fill the reduction in capacity and is currently finalizing plans to resume normal flight operations across the regional and domestic routes as soon as possible.
We would also like to inform that the scheduled Lagos – London – Lagos flight operation is not affected by the temporary suspension directive of the NCAA and passengers are therefore encouraged to proceed with their confirmed itinerary while intending customers can make their reservations."Read More Here [Nigerian Bulletin]
Despite Air Nigeria's claims that its international operation to London Gatwick has been unaffected, it has, however, been forced to indefinitely postpone the start of its vaunted Lagos-Johannesburg route, after it emerged that the embattled airline has been having "difficulty in honouring its agreement with EgyptAir, lessor of Air Nigeria's current A330-200; a second Airbus A330-200 needed to start Johannesburg (SU-GCJ) is still parked at Cairo."
Air Nigeria has persistently denied rumours of financial irregularities and difficulties at the airline, though recent events in the last month or so have not done anything to quell rampant speculation that the carrier is about to tank: a run-in with the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service over unpaid back taxes, and a suspension of regional and domestic services by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority over safety concerns following a major strike by Air Nigeria pilots and engineers over those very concerns and others.
So, how much longer is Jimoh Ibrahim's venture going to last with all this turmoil and uncertainty? Or will we be forced to write an obituary in the weeks (or days) to come..
Friday, June 22, 2012
► SOUTH AFRICA: Emirates again postpones A380's return to Johannesburg over wing crack concerns.
Amongst the routes affected include Dubai - Johannesburg, South Africa, originally scheduled to have its A380 service restarted from 1 October onwards, but due to the aforementioned problems, will now only receive them from 1 December 2012.
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| Emirates Airbus A380 (Emirates) |
Emirates: Dubai, UAE - Johannesburg, South Africa
- EK761 DXB0440 – 1050JNB 77W D
- EK763 DXB1015 – 1625JNB 77W D
- EK765 DXB1440 – 2050JNB 77W D
Read More Here [Airline Route]
- EK762 JNB1400 – 0010+1DXB 77W D
- EK764 JNB1915 – 0515+1DXB 77W D
- EK766 JNB2220 – 0820+1DXB 77W D
The cracks issue, discovered earlier this year, resulted from the use of a material known as '7449' that was used in A380 wing rib feet construction. The European Aviation Safety Agency issued an airworthiness directive, extended to all in-service A380s, ordering mandatory inspections of the wing ribs.
►[UPDATE 30 AUGUST 2012] See this post: ► SOUTH AFRICA: Emirates cancels intended A380 service return to Johannesburg.
► NIGERIA: FirstNation flights suspended 'til July; Air Nigeria grounded by NCAA again.
The local civil aviation scene in Nigeria continues to undergo a severe shake up as a consequence of the Dana Air Flight 9J-997 tragedy.
► ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe given 90 day IATA reprieve as CAAZ hypocrisy stifles newcomers.
Following our report this week on Air Zimbabwe's pending suspension from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for failing to comply with the Association's stringent Operational Safety Audits (IOSA), so IATA has issued a press statement to the effect that Air Zimbabwe has 90 days to comply with the IOSA criteria or risk losing its membership of the Association.
Mike Higgins, IATA regional vice-president for Africa, said IATA remains committed to developing aviation and aviation safety protocols on the African continent and that it is ready to assist Air Zimbabwe wherever possible in renewing its IOSA certification which will allow it to continue to benefit from financial and other services available to IATA members.
From an outside perspective, it seems like a fairly straight-forward affair - spruce up the MA60s and ageing Boeing 767s & 737s and invite IATA in. Yadayadayada, certificate issued, and problem solved.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that, especially not with quasi-bankrupt Zimbabwean parastatals who may, or may not be operating a fleet of rented Airbus A320s in the hopes of eluding creditors.
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| A common sight at Harare Airport - nothing. (Bill Whaley) |
With an airline whose domestic market share in January 2011, despite having a monopoly on local routes and on the coveted Harare - London cash-cow, was 20,5% that then declined to 15,4% in February, hitting 12,2% in March and finally bottoming out at 0,6% in August, is there any point in even trying to breath life into this already dead brand?
According to the Zimbabwean Government, yes there is.
News reports out of Harare this week have the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ)'s David Chaota stating that new comers Sol Air (ZS) and Phoenix Airlines, both of whom have applied for operating licences for the domestic Zimbabwean market , have not received them because "there is need to meet the International Air Transport Association (IATA) conditions".
What hypocrisy!
And straight, too, from the horse's mouth.
Air Zimbabwe lacks a current IATA IOSA Audit certificate, yet is allowed to operate; two local indigenous airline's capable of doing the job but are held back because of Government protectionism for an airline that practically does not exist, and that no one seems interesting in flying on, or investing in.
► NAMIBIA: Air Namibia to get A330s; aims to become profitable by 2016.
Namibian national carrier Air Namibia (SW) is "to soon get rid of" its ageing Airbus A340s and replace them with newer Airbus A330s in an effort to modernize and thus bring the quality and standards of the airline up to a globally competitive level - along the lines of Dubai-based mega-carrier, Emirates.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
► GUINEA: Air Guinée to be resurrected?
Swiss aviation site CH-Aviation is reporting that the Guinean government is in talks with Chinese investors in the hopes of resurrecting defunct national carrier, Air Guinée (GI), dead and bankrupt since 2002.
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| Air Guinée's Route Network pre 2002 (Winne) |
Reports suggest that Chinese aircraft manufacturers China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) are discussing a possible joint venture with the Guineans, following the collapse of another joint venture in 2009 - Air Guinée International - which was to be 85% owned by Hong Kong-based China International Fund (of Sonangol Angola fame). However, due to the unstable political climate in Conakry following the Coup d'etat of 2008, the deal was never fully implemented.
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| Air Guinée International A320 (Romain Salerno) |
Since then, Guinea has been left with no national carrier, relying instead on other regional carriers as well as Air France for air routes into and out of the country.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
► SUDAN: Tarco Air leases Boeing 737 from Gambia's Aeolus Air.
Sudanese domestic-carrier Tarco Air (TRQ) has signed a lease with Gambian ACMI Aeolus Air for a Boeing 737 as the airline seeks to increase its share of the booming Sudanese aviation pie, by starting regional and international operations.
► MOZAMBIQUE: Qatar Airways to fly to Maputo from October.
The flights will operate as Doha - Johannesburg - Maputo and will be flown 3x weekly with a Boeing 777-300ER.
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| Qatar Airways B777 at Johannesburg (Daniel Fretwell) |
Qatar Airways: Doha, Qatar - Johannesburg, South Africa - Maputo, Mozambique
-Effective 31 October 2012
- QR584 DOH0105 – 0825JNB0935 – 1040MPM 77W 357
- QR585 MPM1210 – 1315JNB1425 – 2325DOH 77W 357
Recently, Qatar Airways started an aggressive expansion into Africa, adding Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Mombasa to its network, along with increasing its flights to Cairo and Algiers. Rumours are also afoot for potential Harare, Zimbabwe and Kinshasa, DRC services in 2013.
► ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe suspended from IATA - again.
The International Air Transport Association, IATA, has suspended ailing Zimbabwean airline Air Zimbabwe from its registry following Air Zimbabwe's failure to renew its registration with IATA's Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a fundamental requirement of IATA membership.
Part of the letter from Quality and IOSA Project Coordinator, Catalin Cotrut, IATA's director for Global to Air Zimbabwe's Edmund Makona, Air Zimbabwe's Lead Auditor, read:
"Please be advised that tomorrow, June 14, 2012, Air Zimbabwe will be removed from the IOSA registry as the operator failed to renew its registration before the expiry date."
So what exactly is this IOSA, and what does it entail?
According to IATA's website
Air Zimbabwe in better days (Savvas Garozis) "IOSA provides a standardised audit programme for cost-effectiveness and safety based on internationally-recognised standards and a structured system for the sharing of audits. IOSA audits are conducted by a select group of experienced Audit Organisations that have each undergone a rigorous and consistent IATA accreditation process. IATA Member Airlines are committed to being audited to IOSA standards."
News report state that Air Zimbabwe failed to comply with the IOSA because of "operational problems currently affecting the airline, the most serious of which, is the grounding and suspension of its fleet and staff since January of this year."
The consequences of the suspension however, are unclear, seeing as Air Zimbabwe's operational mandate is at present, also unclear. Rumours and unconfirmed press reports claim the airline is still flying domestic Zimbabwean routes, albeit using leased aircraft, though these reports are still to be corroborated. If that is the case, then an IATA suspension may not necessarily hurt the airline internationally, though the damage to its already shoddy image, will have been done.
This is not the first time Air Zimbabwe has been suspended from IATA. Last year, the airline was suspended from using IATA's flight booking and finance services over its unsettled debts with the association amounting to USD$280'000. The issue was later resolved.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
► NIGERIA: Air Nigeria gets a nasty visit from Mr Tax Man.
In the ongoing saga that is Air Nigeria (VK) - having first been grounded by a strike, then a public slinging match with an ex manager over air safety and financial indebtedness, then by an investigation into its airworthiness - has now had its Managing Director, Kinfe Kahssay, arrested over failure by the airline to remit USD$31.4million (NgN4,87billion) in taxes to the Federal Internal Revenue Services (FIRS), Nigeria's tax man.
An FIRS statement read:
"The arrest is aimed at recovering arrears of taxes accruing to government from Withholding Tax (WHT) and Value Added Tax (VAT). The enforcement is part of a bigger move to recover the N170. I Billion (N170'132'089'411.46) outstanding taxes owed to government by public and private organisations as well as ensure that all taxpayers are captured in the tax net."
Armed police raided Air Nigeria's offices on Monday morning and took Kahssay away for interrogation, where, it is alleged he "agreed that Air Nigeria had tax liabilities but pleaded for more time to clear the bills."
However, Air Nigeria in a press release on its website moved to distance itself from the debacle claiming that the taxes in question, in actuality, dated back to the day's of Richard Branson's Virgin Nigeria Airlines and were still to be settled with the Nigerian Government and questioned as to why the FIRS had "spent the past 8 years doing nothing".
"The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) stormed Air Nigeria office on Monday, 18 June 2012, with mobile policemen armed with guns to demand for past taxes allegedly owed during the period when Mr. Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic was running Virgin Nigeria, now Air Nigeria. These taxes have been in dispute and needed to be reconciled and agreed upon."
The airline then goes on to allege that the last 2 incidents (see the opening paragraph) have been part of a greater conspiracy to see the airline fail.
Read More Here [Air Nigeria Press Release]"We suspect that one other line of action will be coming in the coming week to further attempt to damage us in the public eye; but we assure the instigator of such uncivilized approach that Air Nigeria will not compromise its corporate values and development strategy. "
So, if Air Nigeria's prophecies are true, what will happen next? Stay tuned for another thrilling episode...
► SOUTH AFRICA: SAA pushes further into Africa with Abidjan & Brazzaville.
South African Airways (SA) will, from 17 August 2012, resume its suspended Johannesburg, South Africa - Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire service that it last plied 3 years ago. The flight will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 twice a week.
Monday, June 18, 2012
► TANZANIA: Precision Air adds Zanzibar to Dar - Joburg route.
Tanzanian airline Precision Air (PW) will, with effect from 1 July 2012, switch its Dar es Salaam - Johannesburg, South Africa flights to daytime flights. Presently, the Boeing 737-300 operated route departs Dar es Salaam in the late afternoon on the outbound leg,, whilst the return leg operates in the late evening.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
► ANGOLA: TAAG boosts Dubai; looks to expand greatly in coming years.
With Angola's growing regional importance, both as a trade route and as an economic hub - with its vast oil wealth to boot - so the need to establish a direct air link between the US and Angola has grown ever more crucial. At this time, the only airlink between the two countries is that of SonAir Angola operates the 3x weekly "Houston Express" from Luanda to Houston, USA using a leased Atlas Air Boeing 747-400 which caters more for the oil industry's needs than anything.
Recently, Angola signed bilateral agreements with Argentina amongst which saw the Angolan airline opening a ticket office in Buenos Aires, that some see as being the first step in the opening of a future Luanda - Buenos Aires route.
TAAG Angolan Airlines: Luanda - DubaiRead More Here [Airline Route]
-Effective 10 September 2012
From 28 October 2012, Day 1/2 service operates with Boeing 777-300ER instead of -200ER.
- DT550 LAD2100 – 0800+1DXB 772 135
- DT551 DXB1020 – 1520LAD 772 246
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| TAAG Angolan Airlines Africa Network |
Meanwhile, ATWOnline reports that chairman and CEO of TAAG, Pimentel Araujo, disclosed that it plans to phase out its last three 737-200s and is considering acquiring either additional 737-700s, of which five are already in service, “or a lighter aircraft for some domestic routes,” he said. In January 2011, the airline retired its fleet of Boeing 747-300s to make way for the first of their Boeing 777-300ERs, of which another three are due for delivery in 2016.
TAAG, in keeping up with international trends, also launched its own Frequent Flyer Programme called the "Umbi Umbi Club" which it will use to build a customer loyalty base.
TAAG, in keeping up with international trends, also launched its own Frequent Flyer Programme called the "Umbi Umbi Club" which it will use to build a customer loyalty base.
► MOZAMBIQUE: TAP Air Portugal boosts Maputo flights; considers Nacala.
With Portuguese companies gaining various large contracts and growing numbers of young Portuguese professionals moving to ex-colony Mozambique in hopes of escaping the Euro-zone Crisis, so Portuguese carrier TAP Air Portugal (TP) is set to boost direct flights between Lisbon and Maputo from 3x weekly, to 4x weekly, with the addition of a Monday flight effective 2 July 2012. The route is serviced by an Airbus A340-300. |
| TAP Air Portugal in Maputo (AChaves) |
So strong has performance on the route been, that TAP in January 2011 axed its Lisbon - Maputo - Johannesburg, South Africa flight in order to better focus on the Mozambique market.
TAP Air Portugal: Lisbon - Maputo
-Effective 2 July 2012
- TP281 LIS0950 - 2120MPM 343 1247
- TP282 MPM2305 – 0915+1LIS 343 1247
Also being considered are flights from Lisbon to the northern Mozambican port of Nacala, in Nampula Province, the site of enormous coal and phosphate deposits (in addition to the various infrastructural improvements they will need), currently being exploited by a fellow Lusophone country Brazil's, Vale S.A.
"The current average occupancy of flights to Maputo is estimated at 80 percent and Couto said that her company is taking into consideration the possibility of flying to Nacala in the northern province of Nampula in case the number of clients is significant and if the airport rehabilitation allows it to host planes operated by TAP."
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| A Rendering of Nacala Airport (ADM) |
Presently, Nacala Airport is being upgraded by Brazilian firm Odebrecht International and entails the construction of passenger and cargo terminals, a control tower, maintenance building, firefighting building, runway, taxi ways, a parking lot and all necessary equipment and systems. The project will involve 23 months of construction work, with delivery scheduled for March 2013. The runway will be 3,400 metres (11,200 ft) long, able to handle a Boeing 757 or 767 whilst the airport itself will be able to handle 500,000 to 600,000 passengers a year.
► ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe to get second A320?
Unconfirmed reports from Zimbabwe claim that troubled Zimbabwean flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe (UM), will "soon" lease a second Airbus A320 from China Sonangol International, in an attempt to revive the ailing airline's flagging fortunes.
Air Zimbabwe received its first Airbus A320 (F-WTBL) on 16 January 2012, leased from SouthJet Two Limited, though it is uncertain as to what role the aircraft has actually played in servicing the airline's routes.
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| Airbus A320 "F-WTBL" in Harare. |
"Radio VOP was briefed this week that some representatives of the airline from the quality assurance department and some engineers on Saturday flew to France to carry out an aircraft acceptance inspection and finalise the paperwork processes before the delivery of the aircraft expected before next Tuesday."
Presently Air Zimbabwe is confined to flying domestic routes exclusively as the threat of repossession by unpaid creditors in the UK and South Africa is still very real. In April 2012, Robert Mugabe - the Zimbabwean President - was forced to return home from Malaysia aboard the leased Airbus, as opposed to Air Zimbabwe's Boeing 767s, as the latter was neither financially nor technically feasible.
It is therefore likely, that as part of its rejuvenation programme, Air Zimbabwe has chosen to use leased aircraft as opposed to buying them, as this theoretically will still allow Air Zimbabwe to operate foreign routes, albeit without the threat of repossession looming over their heads.
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| Airbus A320 "F-WTBL" in Harare. |
It should be noted however, that in the past, Air Zimbabwe has laid some wild claims to aircraft acquisition, most notably:
Both of which have turned out to be unfounded Big Talk.
In a spin off effect, Zimbabwe's Civil Aviation Authority (CAAZ) has lamented the lost Passenger Tax revenues it has suffered as a consequence of Air Zimbabwe's demise.
Read More Here [ZBC News]Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe Board Chairperson, Advocate Jacob Mudenda said although the exact figures on the actual amount lost have not been put together the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development is looking into the issue and restructured Air Zimbabwe in an effort to bring efficiency that would see in improvement in revenue inflows for organisations that have been affected.
Friday, June 15, 2012
► KENYA: FastJet shows off livery (Pics); Fly540 brand to go.
Following on from this week's acquisition of Lonrho Aviation (t/a Fly540), FastJet Ghana's parent company Rubicon Investments, of which Stelios Haji-Ioannou of EasyJet fame is a 5% shareholder, has outlined its plans and future prospects for the transformation of and integration of Fly540 into a Pan-African LCC giant.
A Low Cost Carrier headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Fly540 has franchises in Angola, Ghana, Tanzania and Ghana, and operates ATR 72s, CRJ-100s, DHC 8-100s and McDonnell Douglas DC 9s. Collectively, its route network includes various cities in Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Burundi, Liberia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Uganda.
 |
| A FastJet Airbus A319 rendering |
In its beginning stages, FastJet will coexist with Fly540, whilst the former moves to build a fleet using either Airbus A319s, Boeing 737-700s and/or Embraer EMB-190s. Once fleet consolidation is achieved as per the classic LCC model (a uniform fleet keeps maintenance costs down), Fly540's current aircraft leases are to be allowed to expire, before the brand itself is phased out, leaving FastJet as the main driving force.
Ultimately, FastJet aims to carry more than 12 million passengers a year, by focussing on Africa's burgeoning middle class - a phenomenon that is fast becoming a reality in Angola, Kenya and Nigeria, where substantial economic growth in recent years has meant more money in the pocket for the ordinary man on the street.
""If you take the four countries, they have a total population of 100 million people. If you estimate that all our customers come from just those countries alone, you could see three million of them becoming customers with us, flying a couple of times a year. That would generate something like 12.8 million passengers [annually]." "
At the helm of FastJet will be many of Haji-Ioannou's colleagues from his days at EasyJet: Richard Boden, a former Contracts Manager at EasyJet, Ed Winter, FastJet's new CEO and formerly easyJet's Chief Operating Officer, whilst Haji-Ioannou himself, will be a consultant.
► SOUTH AFRICA: British Airways switches Cape Town to night flight from Winter 2012.
The flight will be operated by a Boeing 747-400.
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| British Airways' B747-400 at Cape Town (Sara Joachim) |
British Airways: London, Heathrow - Cape Town, South Africa
- Effective 28 October 2012
Read More Here [Airline Route]
- BA043 LHR1735 – 0700+1CPT 744 D
- BA059 LHR1930 – 0855+1CPT 744 D
- BA058 CPT2050 – 0625+1LHR 744 D
- BA042 CPT2220 – 0800+1LHR 744 D
Citing route viability problems, South African Airways last week announced it would drop its Cape Town - Heathrow service effective August 2012.
► ZAMBIA: Zambezi Airlines recommences flights as of 17 June.
As of Sunday 17 June 2012, Zambian carrier Zambezi Airlines (ZJ) is set to return to the skies after a 7 month hiatus from service, following various safety issues raised by Zambia's Civil Aviation Authority, that have since been settled.
► CONGO (KINSHASA): flyCongo to start Johannesburg from late June.
Congolese carrier flyCongo (EO), previously known as Hewa Bora Airways, has announced 2x weekly Boeing 767-200ER flights from Kinshasa to Johannesburg, South Africa via Lubumbashi, DRC, with effect from 27 June 2012.
The new route will be flyCongo's first regional route as it currently only serves Congolese cities.
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| flyCongo's Boeing 767-200ER |
flyCongo: Kinshasa - Lubumbashi - Johannesburg
From 27 June 2012
- EO031 FIH0900 – 1215FBM1315 – 1530JNB 762 3
- EO061 FIH0900 – 1215FBM1315 – 1530JNB 762 6
- EO042 JNB1020 – 1235FBM1345 – 1500FIH 762 4
Read More Here [AirlineRoute]
- EO072 JNB1020 – 1235FBM1345 – 1500FIH 762 7
Presently, the Kinshasa - Johannesburg route is serviced by Korongo Airlines and South African Airways.
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