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KQ former B777-300ER Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has formally unveiled plans to make its United States debut, using its own metal, in April 2018. In its application to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for exemption authority and a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP), the Skyteam member carrier says that prior to the launch of said service, it plans to serve the United States via a codeshare agreement with what it termed, "a duly authorized and properly supervised U.S. or foreign air carrier". As such, the Kenyan national carrier has sought permission to engage in scheduled and charter foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail from any point or points behind Kenya, via any point or points in Kenya and any intermediate points, to any point or points in the United States and beyond. The application was made possible after Kenya secured a Category 1 rating under the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) International Aviatio

Jambo Jet Dash 8-Q400 Jambojet (JM, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has signed a lease agreement with the Ilyushin Finance Co. for two Dash 8-400s. The aircraft are sourced directly from the Russian lessor's Bombardier (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) order book. The first is due for delivery in May 2017 with the other due later in the year. The budget unit of Kenya Airways specializes in scheduled passenger flights throughout Kenya with service connecting Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta with each of Eldoret, Kisumu, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa, and Ukunda. Its fleet currently consists of two B737-300s and three Q400s (two of which are wet-leased from DAC East Africa (JX, Nairobi Wilson)). Prior to securing its own Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) in November last year, Jambojet operated as a division of Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) using its AOC. Source: https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/55527-kenyas-jambojet-to-lease-two-q400s-from-ifc

Air Peace B737 Allen Onyema, the chairman of Nigerian carrier Air Peace (P4, Lagos), has berated the governments of neighbouring West African states for their unwillingness to grant Nigerian airlines access to their markets. Speaking in Lagos this week, The Daily Trust newspaper says Onyema called on the Nigerian government to protect the country's airlines as it was in the national interest to assist them in branching into new markets. “Nigeria gave us right to fly into many African countries but we are only doing Ghana presently," he said. "Those other countries never wanted to answer our emails. We had to send people there. We went there pleading, they see Air Peace as a threat." Among the countries where Air Peace has encountered resistance to its services are the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Togo. In the Ivory Coast, the chairman said that while his carrier had secured traffic rights, the fact that there is only one ground handling service at Abidjan

SAA Fleet in Airline Livery Given the success it has seen at its West African hub in Accra, Ghana, South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is seeking to expand its 5th Freedom business model to include more destinations across Africa. The Star Alliance carrier began operations out of the Ghanaian capital to each of Abidjan and Washington Dulles in August 2015 by virtue of the country's liberal policy of awarding foreign carriers 5th Freedom traffic rights. Similar rights have since been secured from the Gabonese and Cameroonian governments paving the way for the launch of a 3x weekly Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-Libreville-Douala-Libreville-Johannesburg service. As such, the carrier's acting General Manager (Commercial), Aaron Munetsi, told African Aerospace earlier this year that as part of SAA's renewed focus on developing its continental African market access, it is now looking to expand the offering to countries closer to home. Among the African c

Aero Contractors B737-400 The previous owners of Nigeria's Aero Contractors (NIG, Lagos) are keen to take back control from current majority owners, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), reports news site This Day. Previous to AMCON stepping in, Aero Contractors was 100% owned by the Ibru family. AMCON acquired a 60% stake in late 2012 after the carrier found itself unable to pay its debts. At the time, then Managing Director of AMCON, Mustafa Chike-Obi, said the government body would be happy to sell its stake. "If somebody wants to buy our 60 per cent stake in Aero tomorrow at a profit; absolutely, we will consider it. We are not emotional about it," he said. In February 2016, AMCON dissolved the Aero board and took over management of the airline. According to This Day's sources, the Ibru family is willing to pay off 50% of the debt, which currently stands at around NGN35 billion (USD115 million). This would put them in a position to renego

In late 2013, South African Airways (SAA) unveiled its 12-year, four-phase turnaround plan, known as its long-term turnaround strategy (LTTS). This plan aimed to get SAA’s high costs and debts under control, improve yields, stabilise the airline and rationalise its fleet and operations. But after a number of leadership changes and a battle to prove its status as a going concern, the airline was forced to roll out an urgent 90-day push which ran to March 2015.  Munetsi said SAA could not focus on the long-term, when it was effectively perched on a burning platform. “You can’t just sit around and watch it burn; you need to put out the fire, so that’s exactly what we did. External factors were more significant than anything else.” SAA already had a cost containment programme underway and was beginning to engrain cost control into its culture, but any gains the airline achieved internally were being rapidly offset by external conditions. In Munetsi’s words, life became really

The official ceremony for the delivery of documents definitively acquiring these previously leased aircraft has taken place in Yaoundé. Camair-Co B737-700NG The Cameroon Airlines Corporation (Camair-Co), the national airline, becomes the owner of two Boeing 737-700 NG aircraft previously leased from Aviation Capital Group (ACG) as of Wednesday, April 19, 2017. The official ceremony of handing over the documents definitively acquiring these aircraft takes place took place at 10 am at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé. It is under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon Yang, and the effective chairmanship of Transport Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o. The information is contained in a statement published in the columns of CT by Ernest Dikoum, general manager of Camair-Co. One can imagine the joy that animates the leaders of the company, which today is in the posture of a former tenant, became owner. Undeniably, it is a great moment of relief for C

Air Zimbabwe B767-200 At least five global airlines including  Qantas ,  Lufthansa ,  KLM Royal Dutch Airlines ,  Air France , and  Delta Air Lines  have instructed travel agents in Zimbabwe to only accept hard currency in the form of cash when selling tickets to customers in the Southern African state. The Financial Gazette newspaper reports that owing to crippling shortages of foreign currency, foreign airlines have been unable to remit funds generated through local ticket sales. This has resulted in multiple instances of non-settlement of obligations by Zimbabwe’s banks, the report stated. The report quotes a letter written by Qantas’ regional manager for Africa, Michi Messner, to travel agents saying IATA had advised them that the situation with the repatriation of funds out of Zimbabwe was worsening. “Although IATA and member airlines are proceeding with lobbying efforts, the last sales period settled is for P2Oct2016 and current delay is sitting at 138 days. Qantas has a s

B737-700 in Camair-Co livery. The company that currently has only five planes (2 B737, 1 B763 ER, 2 MA606) is presently under a seven year restructuring plan with America's Boeing Company. The overall objective of the reforms is to revamp the company and get it back to business. According to the Director General of Cameroon Airlines Corporation, Mr. Ernest Dikoum, the priority of the company presently is to give priority to local and sub continental flights. Ernest Dikoum says strict measures will be put in place to end the issuance of free tickets, accorfingly, even government officials will have to pay flight tickets. Camair-Co intends to fly 23 destinations including eight local flights to Bafoussam, Bamenda, Yaoundé, Douala, Bertoua, Ngaoundéré, Maroua, and Garoua. The company has also scheduled regular flights to four inter-continental airports including Bruxelles, Paris, Washington, and London. At the regional level, eleven destinations have been scheduled: Abid