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Ethiopian B787-9 The carrier’s newest Dreamliner touched down in Addis Ababa following a non-stop 8,354 mile (13,444 km) delivery flight from Boeing's Everett facility leased through an agreement with AerCap. Ethiopian becomes the first carrier in Ethiopian gets Africa's first Boeing 787-9 Africa to operate the 787-9 and extends a tradition of setting aviation milestones. Ethiopian became Africa's first carrier to fly the 787-8 in 2012, and similarly introduced the 777-200LR (Longer Range), 777-300ER (Extended Range) and 777 Freighter. "We are proud to celebrate yet another first with the introduction of the cutting-edge 787-9 into our young and fast-growing fleet," said CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, "Today, the 787 is the core of our fleet with 20 aircraft in service. Our investment in the latest technology airplanes is part of our Vision 2025 strategy and our commitment to our esteemed customers to offer complete onboard comfort. We will continue to inv...

Air Mauritius A350 XWB Air Mauritius has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft, opening a new chapter for the Indian Ocean carrier. The aircraft, leased from AerCap, was delivered during a ceremony held in Mauritius today. The Mauritian airline based airline has chosen a very comfortable two class layout with a total of 326 seats comprising 28 in Business Class and 298 in Economy Class. The A350-900 equipped with Air Mauritius’ latest cabin products including new seats, an all-new in-flight entertainment system and in-flight connectivity will offer passengers unparalleled levels of comfort and convenience. This A350-900 is the first of six to be delivered to Air Mauritius. Four will be purchased directly from Airbus and two leased from AerCap. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on its expanding route network connecting Mauritius with Asia, Africa and Europe. Air Mauritius already operates a fleet of 10 Airbus aircraft including six A340-300s, two A330-200s and...

RwandAir A330-200 RwandAir will continue to offer three weekly flights from/to Brussels on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; however, flights from Brussels to Kigali will no longer be operated via London Gatwick which will eliminate the requirement for non-Schengen citizens to hold a UK transit visa and to disembark for rescreening at London Gatwick Airport. The new schedule was made possible pursuant to negotiations with Gatwick Airport for an earlier slot out of London, enabling our aircraft to return to Brussels ahead of the jet ban.“We are confident that the new schedule will improve the experience of our esteemed clients boarding from Brussels while maintaining our schedule from London with only one stop in Brussels,” said Chance Ndagano, Ag. CEO of RwandAir. Passengers embarking from London-Gatwick Airport will stay onboard the aircraft at Zaventem Airport in Brussels and will not need a Schengen transit visa. RwandAir’s state of the art Airbus A330 fleet, configured in...

Asky Airlines B737-700 Ethiopian strategic partner, ASKY Airlines, has finalized preparations to resume services to and from the West African cities of Monrovia, Freetown and Banjul effective November 1, 2017. ASKY Airlines CEO, Ahadu Simachew, said: ”Resuming our flights to these West African cities will surely increase our presence in the region. Our passengers will now enjoy new direct flights between: Cotonou – Niamey, Accra – Monrovia, Accra – Freetown, Freetown – Banjul, Douala – Libreville. Above all, the strategic partnership with ASKY has played a significant role in enhancing regional cooperation, commerce and people to people ties.” Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam said, “Air connectivity is a vital component and key driver of economic development. As an indigenous African Airline, we have always been committed to connecting African states together and with the rest of the world through an efficient and seamless network. In line with our multi-hub str...

Libyan Airlines A330-200 Libya's Tripoli airport has reopened to most traffic following a 48 hour-closure due to armed fighting in the area. A Libyan Airlines (LN, Tripoli Mitiga) A330-200 5A-LAR (msn 1412) was damaged by shrapnel during the clashes and is currently grounded. The airport announced the closure on October 17 saying that "the airport was evacuated to protect the safety of passengers and employees after renewed clashes in its surroundings." Further updates indicate that flights are operating to normal schedules for the time being. News site El Balad reports that the Special Deterrent Force which protects the airport engaged with a group that tried to attack the airport, following the fatal shooting of an attempted drug smuggler. Mitiga has frequently suspended operations over the past few years because of conflict. In July, the airport closed to traffic for two days after fighting breached the airport perimeter. All flights were diverted to Misura...

KQ B787 Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) may finally be catching a break, with Equity Bank reportedly agreeing to sign on to a restructuring scheme for the airline. Business Daily Africa has seen documents that show the previously recalcitrant bank has now accepted the debt conversion plan. The deeply-indebted national carrier is trying to pursue a USD2.2 billion debt restructuring exercise, in order to convert debt to equity and secure new funding sources. The deal was approved by parliament in June this year and has been okayed by all but three lenders – Equity Bank, Ecobank and Jamii Bora Bank. Kenya Airways filed a petition to force the banks to sign on, but the banks took the matter to the Supreme Court. This less-than-ideal tug of war has led the parties to seek an agreement outside of the courts. "We have been holding discussions with all the players involved in the restructuring with the aim of bridging the differences of opinion," a treasury repr...

Illustration of fastjet EMB 190-100 fastjet has announced its entry into the Mozambican market will take place on Friday, November 3. Solenta Aviation (SET, Lanseria) was one of seven carriers awarded domestic Mozambican route authorities last month, the others being CFM - Transportes e Trabalhos Aéreos, TTA - Sociedade de Transporte e Trabalho Aéreo, Ethiopian Airlines, Malawian Airlines, and incumbents LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique and MEX - Mocambique Expresso. In a statement, the African low-fare carrier said its virtual Fastjet Mozambique (Maputo) unit would connect Maputo with each of Beira (9x weekly), Tete (4x weekly), and Nampula (7x weekly) using ERJ-145 equipment operated by technical partner Solenta Aviation Mozambique. With the launch of Mozambican services, fastjet will have a direct operational presence in three African countries alongside Fastjet in Tanzania and Fastjet Zimbabwe. Entry into the South African market using the Fastjet South Africa vehicle wi...

Air Sudan A300-600R The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has formally removed Sudan Airways (SD, Khartoum) and other Sudanese government-owned and linked companies from its Specially Designated Nationals List following Washington's decision last week to revoke economic sanctions with respect to Sudan and the Government of Sudan under Executive Orders 13067 and 13412. The North African state has been under extensive US economic sanctions since 1997 given Washington's suspicions that Omar al Basheer's regime had both supported and fomented international terrorism as well as internal strife in the Darfur region. The US State Department said last week's decision to remove the embargo came after a focused, 16-month diplomatic effort to make progress with Sudan in the aforementioned areas of concern. For its part, the Sudanese government has welcomed the move while highlighting the damage the twenty-year blockade on trade has done to the country's econo...

KQ B787 Under the eye of its new CEO, Sebastian Mikosz, Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has made a number of changes as it works to turnaround after a disastrous few years. The Ex-LOT Polish Airlines chief executive has retrenched some senior staff, brought on his own people, cut routes and overseen the sale of two aircraft. However, Standard Media reports that foreign banks have begun to inspect some of Kenya's aircraft, which may be repossessed if a deal with local banks can't be met. Kenya Airways is currently undergoing a USD2.2 billion debt restructuring exercise, in order to convert debt to equity and secure new funding sources. The deal was approved by parliament in June this year. "The transaction is critical to ensure the viability of KQ as a business," says Richard Harney, from legal firm Bowmans which is managing the transaction. "Excess fleet capacity, structuring changes in the market and factors such as Ebola and international ter...

Air Djibouti B737-400 Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) has initiated talks with the government of Djibouti, Ethiopia's key conduit to the Red Sea, over a possible partnership with Air Djibouti (2F, Djibouti). Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tewolde Gebremariam told The Reporter that talks have focussed on developing a joint-venture between the sides with the Port of Djibouti, a major freight hub for the Horn of Africa, also of interest. “China for the first time has established a military base in neighboring Djibouti. The major political powers have big military vessels in Djibouti. The country is expanding its seaport and airport. So it can serve as the Dubai of Africa if we do the right thing together,” he said. Since its inception, Air Djibouti has attempted to develop both its passenger and cargo operations albeit using chartered aircraft. At present, it employs a single BAe 146-300 sourced from South Africa's Fair Aviation (2F, Lanseria). Source: https://ww...

Fastjet A319-100 South Africa-based ACMI/charter specialist, Solenta Aviation Group, has increased its stake in fastjet plc ahead of the low-cost airline's push into the South African and Mozambican markets, reports ch-aviation. fastjet has said that in order to support its growth initiatives, it had held an accelerated book build and a subscription which raised gross cash proceeds of not less than USD44 million. Aside from existing major shareholders such as easyGroup Holdings, support came from Solenta Aviation Group which increased its stake in the firm from 28% to 29.9%. It is recalled that as part of the original buy-in deal between fastjet and Solenta announced this year, fastjet will be able to deploy Solenta aircraft on any one of Solenta's AOCs on the African continent under the fastjet brand in exchange for a cost contribution/revenue share, depending on use. As such, fastjet has confirmed it will enter the Mozambican market through Solenta Aviation Mozamb...

SAA A330-200 South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has confirmed that it will reduce the frequencies of six of its regional African routes, reports Tourism Update. The airline last month presented a paper to the government outlining plans to cut 23% of its routes, as it streamlines operations in a bid to stay afloat. The cuts follow on from the exit from SAA's fleet of five wide-body and four narrow-body aircraft. Flights to Brazzaville, Douala, Kinshasa, Entebbe, Luanda, and Cotonou are affected, with the following adjustments rolling out end-September/early-October: - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Pointe Noire - Brazzaville; from 3x weekly to 1x weekly - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Libreville - Douala; from 3x weekly to 1x weekly - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Kinshasa N'Djili; from 3x weekly to 2x weekly - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Entebbe/Kampala; from 4x weekly to 3x weekly - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Luanda; from 7x weekly to 3x weekly - Johannesburg O...

Emirates B777-300 Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to Tunis by increasing the frequency of flights between Dubai and Tunis from six to seven a week starting 30th October 2017. The additional Dubai – Tunis flight will be operated every Monday with an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The added flight will give passengers in Tunis greater access to Emirates’ global route network, particularly destinations in the Middle East, GCC, West Asia, Asia Pacific region and the US, with just one stop in Dubai. The added frequency will also offer importers and exporters an additional 23 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction. Popular goods carried between Tunis and Dubai include fruits and vegetables, fresh and frozen seafood, electronic equipment, truffles and dates. Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf, behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette, Tunis is a popular destination for international travelers with its heritage sites and coastal lifestyle. It is ...

ET B777 Ethiopian Airlines and Azul Brazilian Airlines have entered a codeshare agreement effective Oct, 01, 2017. Through the codeshare partnership Ethiopian Airlines will add its flight code (ET) in Azul’s operations; hence, customers will be able to purchase tickets directly from Ethiopian Airlines sales channels to fly to seven Brazilian destinations operated by Azul. Reciprocally, Azul airlines will market on Ethiopian vast network throughout Africa and beyond. Girma Shiferaw, A/VP Corporate Strategy and Alliance, remarked: “I wish to thank our colleagues at Azul Brazilian Airlines, for the successful conclusion of this codeshare agreement. The codeshare agreement will entitle our esteemed customers traveling between Asia/Middle East/Africa and Brazil, the best possible connectivity options to multiple Brazilian destinations. The agreement will also underpin people-to-people, investment, trade and tourism ties between Africa and Brazil. As a successful Pan-African carr...

GCAA Logo The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has issued an advisory notice warning the general public not to conduct any business with either of local start-up Goldstar Airlines (Accra) or the US-based virtual carrier, Global Ghana Airlines (Chicago O'Hare). In the notice published last week, the regulator said it had noted advertisements flighted by either firm for commercial flights connecting Ghana with other parts of the world despite neither possessing an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC). "The ... advertisements are misleading and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority takes a very serious view of this," GCAA Director General, Simon Allotey, said. "In light of the above, the general public is hereby advised not to conduct any business with these companies, as they do not have the necessary approvals from the GCAA to commence such air operations." Goldstar Airlines CEO Eric Bannerman has since lashed out at Allotey's statement claiming...

SAA Livery After a string of over 7 CEO in 4 years, South African Airways (SAA) has announced the start date of its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the airline's headquarters, Airways Park, Johannesburg, as November 1, 2017. “We are pleased to announce that the start date of our new CEO, Mr Vuyani Jarana has been determined as 1 November 2017. The decision follows the conclusion of negotiations with his current employer on his release date,” said SAA Spokesperson Tlali Tlali. The appointment of  Jarana will bring stability at the executive tier of the airline’s leadership. This will also enable the acting CEO, Musa Zwane, to return to the maintenance subsidiary, SAA Technical, where he is a full time chief executive. One of  Jarana’s major responsibilities will be to ensure the effective implementation of SAA’s recently finalised five-year corporate plan. SAA must return to commercial sustainability in the shortest time possible. The Board of Directors will su...

Ethiopian Logo Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa), the giant of Africa is set to tighten its stranglehold on the Southern African market following comments by CEO Tewolde Gebremariam that a deal with the Zambian government over its Zambia Airways (Lusaka) project could be reached in the coming weeks. In an interview with Bloomberg, Gebremariam said the tentative joint-venture carrier would feature the Zambian government and private-equity investors as additional shareholders. The signing of an outline plan in the coming weeks would then set to stage for a final agreement which could be concluded by November. Zambian Minister of Transport, Brian Mushimba, recently told ZNBC that the Zambia Airways project was currently being vetted by the Ministry of Finance before heading to Cabinet for review. If all goes according to plan, the new airline could be launched as early as next year. ZA Logo The Zambian domestic market is currently home to Proflight Air Services, Royal Air C...

KQ B787 aka Dreamliner Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has revealed that it will need to obtain waivers from the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) due to non-compliance of its financial obligations. The national carrier made the revelation in its annual report for the year ended March 31, 2017. "One of the facilities for the purchase of ten Embraer E190 aircraft, contains some financial covenants, which are monitored against the annual audited financial statements," the airline's annual report states. "The Group is not in compliance with all the financial covenants and is in the process of obtaining waivers from the financiers." Kenya Airways secured a financing package in June 2012 to enable it to purchase nine B787-8s, one B777-300(ER), and ten EMB-190s. The package consisted of a pre-delivery payments (PDPs) facility and an aircraft delivery finance facility. The ten Embraers were delivered before November 2013 and the nine Dreamliners ...

Air Djibouti B737-400 Air Djibouti (2F, Djibouti) is preparing for its next stage of growth the chairman of technical partner, Cardiff Aviation, has revealed. Launched in August 2015 using a Fokker 27(F) chartered from Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta), Air Djibouti eventually branched into the passenger services niche using a single B737-400 chartered from VVB Aviation Malta (IV, Malta). Its only passenger aircraft, at present, is a BAe 146-300 wet-leased from South Africa's Fair Aviation (2F, Lanseria) but which was ferried back to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo this week. With its launch phase now completed, Bruce Dickinson told Logistics Update Africa in an interview that Air Djibouti was now looking to acquiring its own aircraft. “We are actually looking at purchasing a new aircraft," he said. "We are in the middle of looking at a 70-seat regional airliner of some description. We are fairly well advanced on that. There will be two of those and what the...

Arik Air A340-500 Arik Air (W3, Lagos) has filed a suit against the Nigerian government over plans for the airline to be taken over by Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa), reports the News Agency of Nigeria. The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, asks that Ethiopian Airlines and the Federal Ministry of Transportation be restrained from takeover negotiations. Arik Air has been under the control of the government through its Asset Management Corporation (AMCON) since February. After months of speculation, Ethiopian Airlines confirmed in late August that it was indeed in talks to manage the crippled Nigerian airline. The founder of Arik Air, Joseph Arumeni-Ikhide, has previously voiced his strong opposition to any takeover of Arik Air by the Ethiopians, saying that he would launch a legal challenge if it did so. He is not the instigator, however, of this suit, which is being pursued by Chris Ndulue, an Arik Air Director. Ndulue's statement claims that as two ...

Air Zimbabwe B767 An Air Zimbabwe (UM, Harare Int'l) plans to lease a quartet of B777-200(ER)s from a Malaysia-based lessor is in jeopardy over a lack of financing Zimbabwe's NewsDay has reported. Quoting sources close to the deal, the paper reports the Zimbabwean government-owned carrier has failed to source the requisite foreign currency needed to secure the aircraft and thus deploy them into service under the Zimbabwe Airways (Harare Int'l) brand. “Most of the groundwork had been done and what was left was Air Zimbabwe to pay to activate the lease but the airline does not have the money and the shareholder (government) for now has no capacity,” a source told the newspaper. Though never officially confirmed, Zimbabwe Airways was reported to be a NewCo intended to allow moribund Air Zimbabwe to relaunch itself albeit without its significant debt burden. The four ex-Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l) B777s were to be used in relaunching longhaul flig...

SAA A340-600 South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will cut capacity at its mainline operation as part of an overall downsizing of the carrier's network. The changes are part of the cash-strapped airline’s implementation of its newly developed five-year turnaround plan, its eleventh, that seeks to return the company to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible. To that end, the chairman of the SAA Pilots Association, Jimmy Conroy, told Moneyweb in an interview that the pilot corps had been informed that SAA's fleet could be reduced by up to 20%. “We were advised at a meeting in early August that they planned to reduce their current fleet of 65 aircraft by as much as 10,” he said. SAA operates fifty-five aircraft of which twenty-seven - seven A319-100s, twelve A320-200s, two B737-300(F)s (a third is leased from Star Air (South Africa)), and six B737-800s - are narrowbodies with the other twenty-eight - six A330-200s, five A330-300s, eight A...

Oman Air A330-200 Oman Air has implemented a codeshare agreement with Kenya Airways (KQ) covering services between Muscat and Nairobi. The new partnership will allow seamless connectivity to Kenya Airways customers in accessing Muscat directly from Nairobi. Oman Air launched its flights to Nairobi in March this year. On the Nairobi – Muscat route, KQ will place its codeshare flight numbers on the Oman Air flights operating on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Commenting on the new code share agreement, Paul Gregorowitsch CEO of Oman Air said: “Oman Air is very happy with the implementation of this code share agreement with Kenya Airways. Through this partnership, Oman Air extends its exemplary services to guests of Kenya Airways. Trade between Kenya and Oman has been growing steadily over the years and this latest agreement with Kenya Airways is a natural progression, following the launch of our new flight from Muscat to Nairobi in March this year.” Kenya Airways Grou...

Cargolux B747-400 Freighter  Cargolux Airlines is set to introduce two new destinations in Africa, Douala in Cameroon and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Services to Lubumbashi will begin on 15 September while Douala is served as of 3 October. Flights to Lubumbashi leave Luxembourg every Friday evening, arriving in the DRC on Saturday mornings at 05:25. The return flight is routed via Johannesburg, Nairobi and also serves Stansted in the UK. It arrives in Luxembourg on Sundays at 13:25 (all time local times). Douala services depart from Luxembourg every Wednesday at 16:15 and are routed via Bamako. They arrive in Cameroon on Thursdays at 01:55. The return flight arrives back in Luxembourg on Thursdays at 10.55. Lubumbashi is the DRC’s second largest city after the capital Kinshasa and acts as a hub for the country’s mining industry. The city is an important commercial and industrial center and produces textiles, food and beverages and copper smel...

Sonair B737-700 Sonair (SOR, Luanda) has commenced scheduled passenger flights to M'Banza Congo Airport, the airfield serving the capital of Angola's northwestern Zaire Province. An airline statement said the recently inaugurated service, M'Banza Congo's only scheduled passenger flights, would operate 3x weekly to/from Luanda via Soyo using Beech 1900D equipment. The Sunday return service will, however, operate from Soyo to Luanda via M'banza Congo. M'Banza Congo Airport, located in the center of the city, stopped receiving commercial traffic in October 2009, when it was closed for recovery and expansion works. A UNICEF World Heritage site, M'banza Congo lies close to Angola's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was once the home of the Manikongo, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo during the pre- and early Portuguese colonial period. Source:https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/59153-mbanza-congo-angola-sees-schedul...

SAA Livery South African Airways (SAA) has confirmed it will introduce network changes on the domestic and regional segments of its route network. The changes relate to the replacement of SAA's own metal service on certain routes and not total withdrawal. The changes are part of the airline’s implementation of its newly developed five-year Corporate Plan that seeks to return the company to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible. The planned network changes are to optimise SAA’s schedule through the introduction of its airline partners. SAA will leverage its partnership with its sister airlines and will still maintain its SA code in those markets. For the customers, this means that we will continue to provide services to the affected markets, albeit rendered by our partner carriers who will be operating on those routes. In essence, no existing or future customers will experience an adverse impact due to the introduction of the partner carriers, as the change w...

Syphax Airlines A319-100 Tunisia's Syphax Airlines has denied reports in the Tunisian media claiming its application to the North Africa state's civil aviation regulator seeking the reinstatement of its AOC had been flat out rejected, reports ch-aviation. In a statement last week the resurgent carrier said that CAC had not rejected the application outright, but had, rather, requested additional information before proceeding. "Contrary to what has been said, the CAC responded favorably to the resumption of Syphax's operations and asked the company to update its technical and financial files," it told Kapitalis magazine adding that there would be a postponement pending the finalization of the documents. The Court of Sfax approved the carrier's reorganization plan in July with its TND230 million dinar (USD93.9 million) debt pile restructured for payment over a revised period. As part of its exit from judicial oversight, the company has drawn up a busi...

Air Mauritius A340-300 Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghanaian government over the provision of expertise in the establishment of a new Ghanaian national carrier. The agreement was signed in Port Louis last week following a visit by Ghana's Minister for Aviation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, and her team. During the week-long stay, Dapaah held talks with Air Mauritius executives following which the preliminary agreement was signed on Thursday, August 31. "This is a first," Arjoon Suddhoo, Chairman of the Board of Air Mauritius, said in a statement issued after the signing ceremony. "Ghanaians are very interested in the model of Air Mauritius, which is a company whose majority shareholder is the government. It is also listed on the Mauritius Stock Exchange. We are a commercial aviation company that creates value for our shareholders. We also have a mandate to contribute to the development of the country." ...

ET A350-900 Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) has confirmed that it is in talks to manage Nigeria's Arik Air (W3, Lagos), reports Business Daily. "Following the bid opened by the Nigerian government, we are negotiating to secure a management contract of Arik Air," said Esayas Weldemariam, Managing Director of International Services at Ethiopian Airlines Group. "Based on the terms and conditions set by the government of Nigeria, Ethiopian Airlines has submitted its offer to take over the management of Arik Air." Arik Air B737-700 Arik Air has been under the control of the Nigerian government through its Asset Management Corporation (AMCON) since February. Ethiopian Airlines has been linked to a potential management takeover of the struggling carrier since then, but this is the first time it has admitted that it is genuinely interested in pursuing a deal. The founder of Arik Air, Joseph Arumeni-Ikhide, has previously voiced his strong oppositio...

SAA A330-200 South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is expected to reduce flights ahead of a recapitalisation later this year, reports Moneyweb. The business news site claims to have seen internal planning schedules showing that 175x weekly flights will be cut starting in October. The cut destinations include Brazzaville and Pointe Noire (Republic of the Congo), and Libreville (Gabon), while flights from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to Durban King Shaka, Cape Town and East London could be reduced. A report by Netwerk24 – which was vehemently criticised, but not denied, by South African Airways spokesman Tlali Tlali – suggested that other cut destinations could be: Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi, Kinshasa N'Djili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kigali in Rwanda. Netwerk24 also claimed that East London and Port Elizabeth routes will be served by South African Airlink (4Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) instead. South African Airways did not immediately res...

Air Namibia A319-100 Air Namibia (SW, Windhoek Int'l) has confirmed it will resume scheduled passenger flights to West Africa early next year. In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 22, the carrier said its Windhoek Int'l-Lagos (Nigeria)-Accra (Ghana) return service would operate 4x weekly effective March 25, 2018. It has been granted 5th Freedom traffic rights for the Ghana-Nigeria vv. sectors of the flight which will operate onboard A319-100 equipment. Air Namibia operated the route from 2009 until 2013 when poor load factors forced it to withdraw. At present, the state-owned carrier runs scheduled passenger flights throughout Namibia as well as to South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana regionally. Frankfurt Int'l, Germany, is its only longhaul service. Source:https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/58925-air-namibia-to-resume-west-african-flights-from-late-1q18

Fastjet A319-100 Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam) is set to add its maiden ERJ-145 equipment in the form of ZS-BBH (msn 145067) on lease from fastjet shareholder, Solenta Aviation (SET, Lanseria). Skyliner Aviation reports the twinjet, which was previously in service for Fastjet Zimbabwe (FN, Harare Int'l), was recently added to the Tanzanian register as 5H-FJF ahead of its delivery in the coming weeks. It is recalled that two ex-Mandarin Airlines (AE, Taichung Ching Chuan Kang) EMB-190s are due for delivery in the coming weeks as well. Tanzanian low-fare airline Fastjet currently operates one A319-100 on regular flights covering Dar-es-Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, and Kilimanjaro domestically and Harare Int'l and Lusaka regionally. Flights from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa, have been quietly discontinued. Source:https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/58923-fastjet-tanzania-to-add-maiden-erj-145

First Nation Airlines A319-100 First Nation Airways (FRN, Lagos) has reaffirmed plans to resume operating scheduled passenger flights during the last quarter of this year despite its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) operation specifications being curtailed to that of a charter carrier. Speaking with journalists in Lagos earlier this week, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director General Muhtar Usman said the regulator had instituted the measure until First Nation had increased its fleet size to at least two operational aircraft. The announcement comes after the airline was fined for committing safety violations. "So, they are no longer into schedule service until they are able to meet the requirement for scheduled service," he said highlighting that the measure was not punitive, but rather corrective. However, in a follow-up statement, airline CEO Rasheed Yusuf said that contrary to recent reports, it was First Nation Airways that had elected to r...

Caverton Helicopter Caverton Helicopters (CJR, Lagos) has won a five-year contract to provide services to Chevron Nigeria, reports news site The Vanguard. Under the terms of the contract, Caverton will provide 24-hour medevac services across all of Chevron's oil exploration and production operations in Nigeria. Chevron currently operates three deep water oil fields off the Niger Delta coast, as well as oil exploration blocks, and a natural gas facility. Caverton Helicopters is a subsidiary of Caverton Offshore Support Group, and calls itself the leading provider of marine, aviation and logistics services to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. It will service the contract with eleven Bell Helicopter Textron helicopters. "Given CNL's reputation for very high safety and quality standards, it is also safe to say that Caverton's commitment to safety, quality and continuous improvement contributed in no small measure to this successful bid," Olabode Makanju...

RwandAir B737-800 NG RwandAir has announced that effective September 30, 2017, it will commence three weekly operations to Conakry (Guinea), Bamako (Mali) and Dakar (Senegal) from its new hub in Cotonou (Benin). This is in addition to the three destinations, Libreville (Gabon), Brazzaville (Congo), and Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) that are already served from Cotonou effective 30th August. The new Cotonou hub will be synchronized with the existing operations from Kigali allowing seamless connections to the rest of the RwandAir destinations, which are growing fast on the African continent and beyond. Dakar, Bamako, and Conakry are some of the largest cities in West Africa, and are home to a vast multicultural heritage and rich history with museums and ancient mosques dating back from the time of the great African empires. Some of the attractions include the house of slaves on the island of Gorée in Dakar, the National Museum of Mali, and the Conakry Grand Mosque, which is the large...