AvGeek

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...