ZIMBABWE: Troubled Air Zimbabwe

The national airline Air Zimbabwe has been operating one aircraft the B767-200ER and the plane is suffering from an engine technical failure it has emerged.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Air Zimbabwe said, The aircraft had to undergo an engine change on Sunday 3 March.

The engine process could however not be completed within the projected time due to unforeseen circumstances.

This has resulted in serious disruptions as most flights had to be rescheduled.

There are reports that Air Zimbabwe left its passengers stranded in Johannesburg on Tuesday night by flying out four hours early.

Air Zimbabwe further said the alternative arrangement is being made for any passengers that are not reachable on the contact details submitted to the Airline at the point of ticketing.

Air Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd operating as Air Zimbabwe is the national carrier of Zimbabwe, headquartered on the property of Harare International Airport, in Harare.

From its hub at Harare International Airport, the carrier used to operate a network within southern Africa that also included Asia and London-Gatwick.

Following financial difficulties, Air Zimbabwe ceased operations in late February 2012. Serving a reduced domestic network, the carrier resumed operations for a short period between May and early July 2012, when flights were again discontinued.

Some flights were restarted on a discontinuous basis in November that year. The airline resumed operating some domestic routes as well as the regional service to Johannesburg on a daily basis in April 2013.

The company was a member of the International Air Transport Association, and of the African Airlines Association since 1981.

In February 2004, it was revealed that the company had been temporarily suspended by the IATA over unpaid debts.

In late October 2006, the prices of Air Zimbabwe tickets increased up to 500%, partly due to the inflation in the country rising to over 1,000% at that time the Zimbabwean Central Bank stated that it could not continue supporting Air Zimbabwe and other money-losing state companies—and partly because the airline was in need of foreign currency to pay for fuel, spare parts, and catering.

A foreign exchange crisis in the country led to the cancellation of the carrier's operations in late 2005, following the lack of hard currency to pay for the fuel. In 2006, it was disclosed that passenger numbers had fallen from 1 million in 1999 to 23,000 in 2005.

In May 2011, the airline was suspended from IATA's international financial and booking system over unpaid booking fees. It was announced in early November 2011 that the government would absorb a US$140 million debt in order to make the company more attractive to foreign investors.

Already in December 2011, the carrier struggled to provide its regional and overseas services amid aircraft impoundments over unpaid debts.

In January 2012, the airline came under judicial management. Following a failed revival attempt, in which the pilots refused to resume domestic services over US$35 million in unpaid salaries and allowances, it was announced on 24 February 2012 that Air Zimbabwe would be grounded indefinitely.

In March of the same year, the government of Zimbabwe established Air Zimbabwe Private Limited as the new owner of the carrier after disbanding the airline's former parastatal owner Air Zimbabwe Holdings and absorbing a US$150 million debt.

The airline resumed flying on a continuous basis in early May 2012, yet using a single aircraft and serving only three domestic destinations Bulawayo, Harare and Victoria Falls and only for a short period of time until the grounding of the aircraft on 2 July 2012.

The airline was reactivated in late November 2012, with a reduced flight scheme serving the Harare–Johannesburg route.

Reports then indicated the carrier resumed domestic operations connecting Bulawayo, Harare and Victoria Falls, as well as the regional route to Johannesburg, on a daily basis in April 2013, ahead of the 2013 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

As of July 2017, Air Zimbabwe's debts were estimated to be US$330 million.

Approximately 600 employees out of more than 1,000 had been laid off by late May 2013 as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at recapitalising the airline.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority revealed in June 2013 that the airline's market share suffered a steep decrease in the year ending 31 December 2012, with a 0.8% participation in this period down from 27% in the same period of 2009.

On 8 June 2018, it was reported that Air Zimbabwe had debts of more than $300 million and could no longer fly to most destinations due to threats by debtors to impound its aircraft.

With mounting debt and only three of its aircraft operational, the airline was put under administration on October 6, 2018.

In May 2017 Air Zimbabwe was added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union as a result of not meeting EU safety standards.

Since March 2012 the airline has been operated through Air Zimbabwe Private Limited, which is wholly owned by the Zimbabwe Government, although there have long been plans to privatise the airline in some degree.

Chipo Dyanda is the airline's chairwoman, as of July 2017.

In October 2016, Simba Chikore was appointed to be the Chief Operating Officer (COO), amid much controversy and accusations of nepotism as he is also the son-in-law to then Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Simba resigned from Air Zimababwe in November 2017.

Air Zimbabwe has been loss-making for many years, with irregular services. Although the airline is government owned, full annual reports have not been published; audited accounts were last presented in 2008.

The Harare–Beijing service was launched in November 2004, following an increase of the Chinese–Zimbabwean economic ties. Likewise, the carrier added Kuala Lumpur to its network in 2009.

A capacity boost was disclosed to occur on the Harare–London-Gatwick route effective 1 April 2011. The Harare–London route that was once served by both British Airways and Air Zimbabwe had become one of the most lucrative routes for Air Zimbabwe since the British carrier discontinued the service in 2007.

It was revealed in February 2011 that the airline temporarily suspended its flights to Johannesburg over likely impoundments of its planes by creditors due to unpaid debts.

Regional and domestic services were suspended for a short period in May 2011, following both the grounding of its Boeing 737-200 fleet by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) over maintenance concerns, and the impoundment of a leased aircraft from Zambezi Airlines over a US$460,000 unpaid debt.

Operations resumed in late May 2011, following an agreement between the two airlines, yet the aircraft was repossessed by the owner in late June 2011.

In mid-June 2011, flights to London and South Africa were temporarily suspended because of a due debt with fuel suppliers. Owing both to the grounding of the 737-200 fleet and to fuel shortages in the country, domestic services were suspended and regional flights were operated on an irregular basis.

The airline started regularising medium- and short-haul operations in July 2011, as it got clearance from the CAAZ to operate one of its three grounded 737-200.

Operations were discontinued again in late July 2011, this time due to a pilots' strike, resuming in mid-September after a 50-day-long strike.

Once again, overseas and domestic flights were temporarily cancelled in early November 2011, this time owing to an unpaid debt with fuel providers.

Overseas routes resumed on 11 November 2011. However, flights to the United Kingdom and South Africa were suspended in January 2012 over likely impoundments of the airline's aircraft for outstanding debts.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, the company has not had a fatal accident since Air Rhodesia was renamed Air Zimbabwe in 1980.

July 1984: A Vickers 756D Viscount, registration Z-YNI, was damaged beyond repair in an incident on the grounds of Harare International Airport. It was withdrawn from service and transferred to the airport fire department for use as a training aid.

In June 1999 the Chicago Tribune published a story, later withdrawn, in which the reporter Gaby Plattner claimed she had flown from Kariba to Hwange on an Air Zimbabwe service, and that the flight departed without a co-pilot, and during the flight the pilot was locked out of the cockpit, and had to use an axe to chop down the door.

The newspaper later stated that this story was untrue. The carrier then sued the Chicago Tribune and also CNN, after it ran a story claiming it was the most dangerous airline in the world.


Tourism Observer

KENYA: It Is Easy To Fly But Even Easier To Fly An Empty Aircraft, Says Kenya Airways Sebastian Mikosz

The new chief executive of Kenya Airways Sebastian Mikosz is known for improving LOT Polish Airline.

Kenya Airways is renegotiating its debt with local banks. What progress have you made so far?

We are hopeful the banks will convert part of the money owed into equity. I am not at liberty to divulge much information at this point but we are at the final stages of the negotiations.

Before your arrival, KQ had started a transformation journey dubbed Project Pride. Do you intend to carry on with it?

Project Pride had the advantage of being systematic. I believe what has been done so far has been beneficial. I want to continue with its methodology.

But for an airline, decisions take time to manifest. We are reviewing the financial status one line at a time and ticking what needs to be done. There are things that we can renegotiate in the short term, and we have started doing that, but there are also those that will take longer.

For example, we cannot pull out of an exclusive contract or out of an airport at the snap of a finger; or terminate people who have been assigned tasks till the end of year.

We are redesigning what is within KQ’s operation, there is a team for that. My job is to bring about financial results and there is a technical way of achieving that.

Part of what your predecessor did was release some of the wide body aircraft in a bid to cut costs. But considering plans to launch direct flights to the US, do you have the long-haul aircraft to handle the route?

We subleased some planes, three 777s to Turkish Airlines and two 787 to Oman Air. I don’t see us bringing back the 777s in the short term, and quite honestly also in the long term.

My decision is to stick to the 787. It is a very good plane. It gives us exactly what we need in the short term. We can fly it to Europe, Asia, big African airports and even the US when that time comes.

To control the cost of these long-haul aircraft, the more of the same type of fleet you have the better your margins. If you have different types, then you need separate crew, spare parts and different operations.

For an airline, having less than 10 aircraft of a certain type is not efficient. We have nearly 10 Dreamliners 787, so we are good at operating them. I hope in the future we will have more of these aircraft but from a wide-body perspective, we are good.

When should we expect the first direct flight to the US?

I would be cautious about commenting on the date because launching a regular flight is a complex operation.

Besides the security details, there are other procedures like negotiating the slots, having contractors in New York, putting the flight in the IT system, preparing the crew and, the most important part, having commercial agreements.

It is easy to fly but it is even easier to fly an empty aircraft.

You are mostly known for turning around LOT Polish Airline; how will you use the experience at KQ?

The situation at KQ is similar to LOT’s where issues are handled only in a certain way. There is a need for a shift in mindset. There is no African or other way of doing things; there is only a good way and a bad way.

I have seen companies in Asia, Europe and many other places suffer similar problems. All you have to do is make the right decisions and offer customers what they need. There is no easy way out and there will be decisions that will rub some people the wrong way.

You brought on board staff you had worked with at LOT. Why did you?

First of all they are not part of the management; they are working with the management. I brought in people whom I trust to work with the team.

How much capital is locked up in African countries that do not allow free movement of foreign currency?

We have large amounts in Burundi and Angola. For the other countries, we are trying to negotiate and pull the money out. This is an issue we have tried to negotiate within the African Airlines Association as it does not affect KQ only.

It is something that worries me because you have a profitable route but if you bring in the impact of the capital lock it becomes unprofitable.

KQ has been losing key talent, particularly pilots and engineers. How do you plan to address this issue?

We shall be professional about it, by focusing on training our pilots in Kenya. We presented the proposal to the board because we believe there is a huge potential of training young Kenyans.

The airline has its own training centre. There are other options like bringing in foreign pilots for a while but this will not resolve the issue.

There are concerns about the cost of KQ tickets. Wouldn’t it be wise to lower the price of tickets and attract higher load factors?

I disagree that our tickets are overpriced. We must remain competitive. The whole issue revolves around balancing revenue, yield, load factor and being profitable.

My job is to strike a balance and the more revenue I have the better I am able to do so. So load factor is one of the key measurements, but we have routes with low load factors like 55 per cent that are quite profitable.

Some emerging regional airlines are threatening to eat into your market share. How do you plan to respond to them?

I am here to work on KQ in the environment given to me. However, I appeal to the government to look at the broader picture of how our competition is structured and financed.

Look at Turkish Airlines for example, where the government controls everything; the same applies to Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Ethiopia. We are operating in an open competitive market well aware that these guys can hit us.

Mr Sebastian Mikosz is aged 44.

Mikosz Sebastian has over 20 years of experience in executive management in the private and public sectors.

Mr Mikosz is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies in France and holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance from Sciences Po Paris.

Before joining KQ, Mr Mikosz was CEO of online travel agent eSky.pl for 15 months.

He previously held the position of CEO of LOT Polish Airline.

Mr Mikosz has also worked with audit firms Arthur Andersen, where he started his career in 1997 in Paris, and Deloitte as a director at its Warsaw office.

He also served as vice president of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency between 2003 and 2006.

Mr. Sebastian Mikosz has been Group Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Kenya Airways Limited since June 01, 2017. Mr. Mikosz served as the President of Management Board at LOT Polish Airlines S.A. since February 2013, also served as its Chief Executive Officer and President.

Mr. Mikosz served as President of Management Board and Chief Executive Officer at eSKY.pl SA since February 2016. He served as President Member of Management Board of LOT Polish Airlines until 2010 and served as its Acting Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Management Board.

He served as President of the Management Board at Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT since 2009 and also from March 2013 to August 2015. He served as Senior Advisor in the Corporate and Investment Banking Department at Societe Generale from 2011 to 2013.

He served as Managing Director at CCiFP from 2001 to 2003. In 2000, he worked on establishing the first independent online brokerage house in Poland. He served as General Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland since 2001.

He served as Managing Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland (CCIFP). He served as Vice President of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency since June 2003 until September 2006 and supervised the Departments of Investor Assistance, Regional Cooperation and Research and Analysis.

He served as Managing Director at the Warsaw office of Amrop Hever, a HR consultancy company. He has gained his professional experience working in Poland and France. He has over 20 years of professional experience in executive management both in the private and public sector.

He started his career in 1997 with Arthur Andersen office in Paris, where he specialized in investments in the emerging markets. He also held various non-executive roles as Supervisory Board member.

He served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board at WRO-LOT Uslugi Lotniskowe Sp. z o.o. from September 2013 to May 2015 and EuroLOT from May 2009 to December 2010. He served as Vice-Director at Polska Agencja Informcji I Inwestycji Zagranicznych from 2003 to 2006.

He has been a Member of the Supervisory Board at Przedsiebiorstwo Handlu Zagranicznego Baltona S.A. since May 18, 2016. He has been a Member of the Supervisory Board at Eurobank since November 2015 and LOTAMS since February 2015.

He serves as Member of the Supervisory Board at Euro Bank S.A. Mr. Mikosz served as a Director at Deloitte Business Consulting from 2007 to 2009.

He served as a Member of the Supervisory Board at Eurobank from June 2011 to February 2013 and PKS Cieszyn from June 2003 to September 2009.

Mr. Mikosz holds a Master’s degree in Economy and Finance from the Sciences Po Paris. He’s bilingual in French and fluent speaker of English and Russian.


Tourism Observer

KENYA: Kenya’s Aviation Supports 620,000 Jobs, Says IATA

Kenyan aviation industry supports up to 620,000 direct and indirect jobs including employment in the tourism sector, a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has concluded.

The aviation industry contributed nearly Sh330 billion ($3.2 billion) to Kenya’s economy, or 5.1 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the IATA report.

The findings are among highlights of the Importance of Air Transport to Kenya study which was conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of IATA.

The study confirms the vital role that air transport plays in facilitating more than $10 billion in exports, some $4.4 billion in foreign direct investment and around $800,000 in inbound leisure and business tourism for Kenya, said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s regional vice president for the Middle East and Africa.

However, by adopting policies that ensure a competitive operating environment for the airlines, Kenya could reap even greater dividends from aviation, he added.

According to executives surveyed by the World Economic Forum, Kenya’s transport infrastructure quality score places the country sixth out of 37 African countries surveyed and 78th globally.

Kenya was ranked 31st out of the 37 African countries for cost competitiveness in the air transport industry, based on air ticket taxes, airport charges and Value Added Tax.

On visa openness, Kenya was ranked 10th out of the 37 African countries which were in the survey.

Around 130,000 aircraft land and take off from one of Kenya’s five main airports every year.

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is the key gateway and handled more than 5.8 million passengers in 2014.

While Kenya’s air transport infrastructure ranks highly among African states, it is important that heavy fees, taxes and charges do not hold aviation back, Mr Albakri said.

We are very encouraged by the news that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has embarked on a study to review Airport charges downwards.

Mr Albakri who is soon making his first visit to Africa in his new capacity, also expected to visit Kenya.

During his visit to Nairobi, the IATA official will be meeting with key industry stakeholders including officials from the government, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, KAA and the African Airlines Association.

KENYA: Kenya Airways Improves, Many Congratulations To Management

Over the last two years, Kenya Airways has weathered the most turbulent period in its four-decade history.

However, the airline has demonstrated resilience against the after-shocks of the poor performance recorded in the financial year 2014-15.

Pessimism about the airline’s prospects and future is slowly dissipating, thanks to aggressive measures geared to sustained recovery of the national carrier.

Kenya Airways is now on a promising trajectory. Operation Pride – the strategy to turn around the airline – is yielding fruit.

Some initiatives under the strategy have been successfully executed resulting in improved financial and operational performance.

In the last three quarters of 2016-2017 financial year to December, for instance, KQ flew 3.4 million passengers, the highest number in its four decades of existence.

We achieved this despite tight fleet capacity arising from the lease and sale of some aircraft as part of ongoing measures to manage costs.

A lot of this growth is coming from Africa, especially North Africa and East Africa where capacity grew by 9.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.

From the foregoing, it is evident that Africa is contributing significantly to the airline's recovery. Indeed, Africa remains our mainstay and is at the heart of our recovery strategy.

For us, it’s not just about offering seamless connectivity, but also enabling the sustainable economic development of the continent.

Last year, we were awarded the African Airlines Association Outstanding Service Award for service delivery, innovation and competitiveness in the African aviation industry.

We are winning in Africa. We were recognised by the World Travel Awards as the leading airline in Africa and the best business class airline in Africa.

Fleet rationalisation is one of the core recovery initiatives. The other is network optimisation geared to growing revenue by capitalising improving connectivity.

This includes increasing flight frequencies on certain routes to maximise volumes and revenue. We are also in the process of reviewing certain strategic relationships with our key airline partners.

An example is our joint venture with KLM which has undergone a series of iterations in line with our network optimisation process. These changes will increase revenue from our European and North American markets.

This journey has been exciting though not without some challenges. It must be understood that the aviation business is perennially fraught with risks ranging from bad weather to currency volatility and uncertain oil prices.

Although our On-Time-Performance (OTP) – a measure of operational efficiency – has improved overall, we experienced delays in December owing to bad weather in Europe and the Middle East.

Also, and our subsidiary Jambojet had challenges on-boarding new aircraft resulting in delays over the Christmas period. We know that delays constitute a major pain point for our customers and are working hard to minimise such inconveniences.

Kenya Airways has also been losing pilots and engineers. We see this is a major area of concern and a risk factor to the organisation.

The Board has made some decisions aimed at attracting and retaining critical talent. Additionally, management has been working closely with the Kenya Airline Pilots Association, to drive productivity and find a winning formula on contentious issues.

Enhancing employee productivity remains a critical pillar of Operation Pride.

As such, the airline has had to let go of a number of employees and redeployed others within the organisation. But we do not anticipate any further major layoffs in the near future.

One major plank of our turnaround is the balance sheet optimisation. The work around this has been going on over the last six months.

I recognise the strong support and willingness of our financial partners to support the consensual approach to liquidit and deb reduction. We have made significant progress. The next two months will be crucial to the closure of this issue.

Let me take this opportunity to clarify that the Kenya Airways Board has reviewed the contract with Mckinsey, the consulting firm advising on the turnaround.

It was felt that since major initiatives under Operation Pride are now complete, the performance-based contract under which Mckinsey were hired required changes. Going forward, we will pay Mckinsey only for specific expertise.

All the remaining Operation Pride initiatives are being implemented by the KQ team under a Chief Transformation Officer, within Kenya Airways.

In a nutshell, Operation Pride is in cruise mode and there’s no turning back. Kenya Airways’ prospects are shining brighter by the day.

The dark days are certainly behind us. We may not be there yet but the gains so far achieved under Operation Pride are something to be proud of. I urge all Kenyans to support the national carrier as it enters its next phase of growth as the Pride of Africa.

ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Airlines Awarded Airline Of The Year

Ethiopian Airlines, has been honoured with the Airline of the Year Award for the fifth time.

The Airline said it won Airline of the Year Award, for the fifth year in a row.

The award was given by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) during its 48th Annual General Assembly held on November 21, 2016, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s most successful airline. Established 70 years ago, the state-owned airline is also the continent’s most profitable.

KENYA: AFRAA Executive Committee Meets In Nairobi

The Executive Committee of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) held its 167th meeting on 27 July 2015. The meeting was hosted by Kenya Airways at its headquarters in Nairobi - Kenya under the Chairmanship of Mr. Mbuvi Ngunze, CEO of Kenya Airways. The meeting discussed a wide range of issues some of which have been highlighted below:

The Executive Committee reviewed the Statements of Accounts and Auditors Report for the year ended 31 December 2014 and approved their submission to the 47th Annual General Assembly. They appointed Messrs. Ernst & Young as the external auditors for 2015 and endorsed the proposed budget for submission to the 47th AGA.

On the subject of establishment of a single African sky, the Committee received a presentation by IATA Senior Economist, Mr. James Wiltshire on the experiences from other regions on the implementation of liberalization and its impacts. This comes at a time when the thrust for the opening up of African skies has gained momentum with 11 African States having declared their solemn commitment to the immediate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision towards the establishment of a single African Air Transport market by 2017.

With regards to the development of AFRAA land, the meeting received the report on the Project’s concept, financials and funding proposals and authorized the Secretariat to proceed with its implementation under the guidance and support of a Task Force composed of AFRAA member airlines.

The Executive Committee took stock of the performance of the Secretariat’s joint projects and activities in the first half of the year and commended the progress made. The meeting also noted with appreciation the progress on the preparations for the 47th AFRAA Annual General Assembly scheduled to take place from 8-10 November 2015 at the kind invitation of ECAir.

New members and partners

The Executive Committee noted the approval of Cronos Airlines membership and approved the membership for Mauritania Airlines International. AFRAA welcomes the new members to its fraternity.

The membership programme is open to all airlines registered and headquartered in African States. AFRAA members represent over 85% of total international traffic carried by all African airlines.

The meeting received and approved the partnership applications for L’Académie Tuniso–Française de Formation en Sûreté de l’Aviation Civile (AFSAC) as a Full Partner and Manyatta Engineering Services Ltd as an Associate Partner.

Tour of Kenya Airways facilities

Following the conclusion of the meeting the Executive Committee made a tour of Kenya Airways’ world class facilities at Kenya Airways Technical and Kenya Airways Pride Center.

CONGO REP: AFRAA Stages Its 47th Annual General Assembly In Congo Brazzaville

African Aviation industry leaders call for intensified cooperation among African airlines and the engagement of all stakeholders to support the liberalization of African skies

Leaders from the African Airline industry concluded the 47th Annual General Assembly and summit of the African Airlines Association in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo at the Kintele International Sports Complex, with a call for the engagement of all specialized institutions in the Aviation Sector to support African States in order to expedite the implementation of fully liberalized African skies towards the establishment of a single African air transport market by 2017.

The Assembly also called for intensified cooperation among African airlines in order to stimulate the development of inter-African air transport. The three-day conference which was convened under the high patronage of His Excellency Denis Sassou Nguesso, the President of the Republic of Congo, was held under the theme “Open skies: Growth through competition and collaboration” and was attended by over 500 high profile delegates from 46 countries across the world.

The speeches/presentations were as below:

• Welcome address by Mrs. Fatima Beyina-Moussa, 2015 President of AFRAA

• Welcome remarks by Dr. Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General - AFRAA (English)

• Welcome remarks by Dr. Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General - AFRAA (French)

• Remarks by Mr. Tony Tyler, IATA Director General & CEO

• Speech by Ms. Iyabo Sosina, AFCAC Secretary General

• Speech by Mr. Sait Jallow, ICAO Regional Director, West and Central Africa Office

• Report of the Secretary General to the AGA

• Special Presentation: Maximising growth in a liberalised African aviation market – the importance of knowing your customer by Seabury

• AGA47 Resolutions

SOUTH AFRICA: AFRAA Stages Its 4th Stakeholders Convention

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) successfully staged its 4th Aviation Stakeholders Convention at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg – South Africa. The event had over 350 registered delegates from 40 countries consisting of airlines, suppliers, solution providers, airports, Civil Aviation Authorities and ATNSs. The Convention, which was held under the theme, “Building and Sustaining Strong Partnerships” deliberated on issues covering the aviation industry in Africa with a focus on intra-Africa connectivity, partnerships, cost control, demand expectations, technology and use of mobile applications in aviation.

The Convention was held under the patronage of the Department of Transport of the Republic of South Africa and was co-hosted by South African Airways. The conference provided a platform for users and suppliers of aviation products, solutions and services to showcase new developments and innovations, discuss industry trends, network and forge beneficial partnerships. From the excellent opportunities for networking, high quality presentations and debates from different experts on a wide variety of subjects relevant to the growing needs of the aviation industry on the continent, delegates had a valuable experience at this year’s Convention.

Opening Ceremony speeches

• Welcome and opening remarks by Dr. Elijah Chingosho, AFRAA Secretary General

• Remarks by Mr. Barry Kashambo, Regional Director – ICAO Eastern and Southern African (ESAF) Office

• Remarks by Ms. Poppy Khoza, Director , Civil Aviation - South Africa Civil Aviation Authority

• Remarks by Mr. Nico Bezuidenhout, Ag. CEO – South African Airways

• Remarks by Mr. Raphael Kuuchi, Vice President, Africa - IATA

• Remarks by Mr. Samuel M. Gaiya, AFCAC Legal Advisor on behalf of AFCAC Secretary General, Ms. Iyabo Sosina

• Speech on behalf of Hon. Dipuo Peters, Minister of Transport of South Africa

Presentations

• Mitigating risk and complexity for African Airlines, Mr. Saggar - Hahnair

• Assessing the key drivers of African aviation industry growth, Mr. Kuuchi - IATA

• Are stakeholders meeting the Abuja safety targets, What next, Mr. Kashambo - ICAO

• Financing airline and airport growth projects, Ms. Musamirapamwe - Barclays

• Aircraft Tracking - Management by exception, Mr. McCormack- SITA

• Fare Management Implementation by ATPCO

• HGS and Vision Systems by Rockwell Collins

Masterclasses

As part of the Convention, there were master classes where cutting edge ideas, industry best practices, new opportunities and practical solutions were presented and discussed. The following master classes were conducted:

1. Fare Management for airlines by ATPCO

2. Head Up Guidance Technologies enabling more efficient airline operations by Rockwell Collins

One-to-one meetings

The 2015 programme incorporated a session for one-to-one meetings where exclusive appointments took place with airlines, selected airports and CAAs, AFRAA and IATA.

Awards

The Aviation Stakeholders awards took place on 29 April during a colourful gala dinner. There were two award categories at the 2015 event: the Distinguished Service Award and the Service Provider of the year Award. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Mr. Terence Naicker - GM: Contracts, Purchasing & Maintenance at TAAG Angola Airlines and Mr. Mustwafa Murad - Manager Strategic Purchases at Astral Aviation for their remarkable contribution, dedication and technical support to AFRAA joint projects. ATNS was received the Service Provider of the Year Award for excellence in the provision of safe, efficient & innovative Air Traffic Management solutions and services to the African continent.

The awards recognize the excellence in service delivery, innovation and competitiveness in best services providers to the African aviation industry.

Sponsorship and Exhibition

In addition to the presentations, panel discussions and masterclasses, the event provided excellent opportunity for brand visibility through sponsorship and an outstanding products exhibition and business opportunity for industry partners and suppliers of equipment, components, solutions and services. There were 13 proud event sponsors including: Atlantic FuelEx, ATNS, Barclays Africa, Cronos Air, Engen, GE Aviation, Hahnair, Interair, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, Kintetsu World Express South Africa (Pty) Ltd, SITA, South Africa Civil Aviation Authority and UAS International Trip Support

29 suppliers and/or service providers benefited from the outstanding visibility, networking and direct sales opportunities by displaying their products and interacting with delegates at the conference. The exhibitors included: African Aerospace, APG Network, ATNS, AVIANET, Barclays Africa Group Limited, Cronos Airlines, Ethiopian MRO & Aviation Academy, FLYHT, GE Aviation, HADID International Services FZE, Interair, Kenya Airways MRO & Pride Center, East African School of Aviation, Lufthansa Systems, MTU Maintenance, Rockwell Collins, Sabre Airline Solutions, SITA, South African Civil Aviation Authority, South African Airways, SA Express Airways, Skywise Airline, Swahili Aviation Aerospace (USA) LLC, TCR, Travelport International Ltd, Tunisair Technics, UAS International Trip Support, Wirecard and World Meteorological Organisation.

Venue and date for the 2016 Aviation Convention: The Secretariat takes this opportunity to express its appreciation to all delegates who participated at the event and looks forward to host you at next year’s Convention. The 5th Convention is scheduled to take place from 08-10 May 2016 in Kigali – Rwanda and will be co-hosted by RwandAir.

ZIMBABWE: Air Zimbabwe Better Under Ian Smith – Transport Minister

TRANSPORT and Infrastructural Development Minister, Jorum Gumbo says the ailing Air Zimbabwe was better under the former colonial administration.

Zimbabwe was a colony of Britain and got its independence in 1980. “Air Zimbabwe used to do very well when it was Rhodesia and that is the past and colonial, and we do not want to be beaten by that colonial past but to excel and do better during this time when we are a liberated country under Air Zimbabwe and not Air Rhodesia,” Minister Gumbo said this in Harare Monday, when he was officiating at the official launch of 48th Annual General Assembly and summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) to be held in Victoria Falls from 20-22 November.

“We want again to be the hub of Southern Africa in air aviation”. Minister Gumbo said they have approached other regional airlines seeking for partnerships with the aim of reviving the ailing national airline.

“It is my appeal to Zimbabweans that we also promote our national airline because if it carries two people to South Africa, no one would take us serious and do business with us,” said Gumbo. “Even the Bible says you must love yourself first before you love your neighbour and it is my appeal to us all that we support our initiatives”. The national airline which is on the verge of collapse had one of its planes, UM 467 spill raw effluent from lavatories, in December last year when it was about to land on the South African land. In July, Boeing 737 plane which has 12 business and 93 economy class seats flew one passenger from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls after it had done the same from Victoria Falls to Harare in September 2011.

NIGERIA: Nigerian Airlines Spend Over N250bn Annually On Overseas Aircraft Maintenance

Commercial airlines, charter operators and privately owned jets spend about N250 billion annually on aircraft maintenance and simulator training of pilots, THISDAY investigation has revealed. Airlines, according the checks, pay a minimum of $500, 000 for engine overhaul and about the same amount of money for C-Check maintenance on a Boeing 737 aircraft. It was gathered that Nigerian airlines spend so much because everything that has to do major maintenance is done overseas, including recurrent training for engineers and pilots. Because of the huge cost of overseas maintenance and frequency for recurrent training, industry operators fear that Nigeria cannot get perfect safety standard that could be obtained in more advanced countries because it costs a Nigerian airline almost four times what it would cost similar airline in the US to change nose-wheel of an aircraft.

“First, if you want to change a nose-wheel of a Boeing 737, you have to import it, you have to pay for import cost, clearing cost and this will take you some time. Then if it is a Nigerian engineer that will do it, you must have trained him overseas at a higher cost than an airline in the US will train such engineer in his employ. So at the end of the day the total cost of replacing a nose-wheel for Nigerian airline might cost $700, 000 while it will just cost the US airline about $150,000. He will call on phone and order for the delivery of the aircraft part which would come in two hours through DHL, the engineer may just do his training across the road, so much cost is saved,” an aeronautical engineer, would not want his name in print told THISDAY.

An inspector with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also told THISDAY that the cost of carrying out maintenance is very expensive because of the exchange rate, because Nigerian airlines sell their tickets in Naira but the maintenance is paid in dollars. “The cost of engine overhaul is dependent on the size of the engine, how common the engine is, so it will be cheaper to carry out maintenance on Boeing 737 engine than on Bombardier CRJ 1000 for example and when an engine flies for 10,000 hours it will be due for full overhaul that could cost a minimum of $500, 000 but that depends on the engine structure and operating technic because engines that are subjected on high power operations during take-off reduces the engine life span than when you reduce engine power during take-off,” the inspector said.

The solution to the high cost of overseas maintenance, he said is the establishment of MRO facility in Nigeria. It is expected that the federal government would facilitate the establishment of MRO in Nigeria in order to save Nigerian airlines huge resources they spend overseas to maintain their aircraft. Industry expert and former Secretary-Gen African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Nick Fadugba said: “Nigeria needs a modern international MRO (Maintenance Repair Overhaul) organisation in Lagos. MRO must be where the business is, which is Lagos. Abuja is great but MRO must be where the business is, and that is Lagos because not only will you do line maintenance (daily servicing of the aircraft), you can also do checks-light check and heavy check. It is all a process and it won’t happen overnight. One airline may not be able to build a hangar, or none of them has the fleet size to justify the investment. “Therefore Nigerian airlines should come together with a foreign investor. There are so many competent organisations in that field that can build a hangar of world class dimension, not only that they can fulfil maintenance for one line but for airlines in Nigeria.”