KENYA: Kenya Airways Poor Handling Of Passengers Letting It Down

Although I have been a strong supporter of Kenya Airways, I am slowly giving up on the airline.

It has a hopelessly insensitive management: On the ground, in terminals, in the air, and in the competitive aviation business.

A couple of years ago, while waiting to board a KQ flight from Entebbe to Nairobi one evening, my wife and I were shocked how casual the staff was regarding explaining why the flight was late, and why we had to stay in hotels overnight.

As it turned out, the so-called explanation was rather juvenile. We had been delayed due to "a technical hitch", which could not be rectified in time for the plane to take off and land at the JKIA before midnight.

When I inquired further from some of the crew who were equally disappointed, I was informed that such incidences were now very common with the late flight from Entebbe to Nairobi.

It was as if someone or some people were "trying to send a message" to top management at Kenya Airways. Apparently, this culture of "trying to send a message" has not changed.

This time, the message is not being sent to management; la sivyo! The message is being sent to los pasajeros — the passengers! Why do I say so? Let me recount to you yet another incident, this time at JKIA itself.

On Wednesday morning this week, I woke up early in Nairobi at 4 am to take the 6.15am flight to Kisumu. My guests, the Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) and his deputy got to the airport ahead of me, checked in and proceeded to board the plane.

Arriving at the departure gate in a hurry to catch up with them, I discovered a menacing shower that made it rather nasty to walk to the plane parked close to 200 meters away!

I wondered why KQ management did not have the courtesy to provide us with a bus to take passengers to the plane in view of the awful weather! Someone in KQ was sending us passengers a message: "You have no alternative to fly except on our terms!"

Getting to the plane almost drenched I was livid! I started telling the crew staff a piece of my mind when I realised, rather belatedly, how innocent these creatures were.

The problem was not them but their bosses, who had zilch sense regarding how precious their passengers are.

Zero sense I tell you. A little thing like keeping a bus ready for passengers to get to a plane 200 meters away escapes a General Manager, a Station Manager, a Public Relations Manager, you name them!

You will never catch up with the likes of Emirates at this rate!

But why was I so mad? It was not simply because I had been rained on but more because my two guests, coming from the UCLGA, were in Kenya to assess how ready we are to host the 9th Edition of Africities Conference in Kisumu in November 2021.

By this terrible passengers treatment by KQ my guests could easily doubt the competence of our airport to provide good reception and send off for our guests in 2021. You dig?

When I chaired the Senate Select Committee on Kenya Airways in the last Parliament, we recommended that KQ's future could only be guaranteed if it joined hands with Kenya Airports Authority in a sound business deal that could see KQ/JKIA function as one business entity the Emirates/Dubai way.

But then the management of KQ needed to demonstrate sound business acumen and culture before leaping into this innovative venture.

There is absolutely no way in which this leap can be taken when KQ managers have zero sense of how to treat their most precious business partner: The passenger.

I am, therefore, slowly becoming rather sceptical of the edifice of KQ management.

What management substance are these guys made of? As my friend, Justice Richard Otieno Kwach, would wittingly ask: Where did they go to school?

What Kwach really means is that going to some "real" schools, and not "generic" schools, leads one not only to learn something but to imbibe some civic culture, some sense of public duty and some daily demonstration of appreciating "other-regarding acts" and not simply "self regarding acts."

KQ management has become obsessed with its own "self-regarding act" of survival they have forgotten the passenger, their most precious commodity in this very challenging aviation trade.

This is tragic and comical; in short tragicomical! You laugh at the foolishness of management while you feel pain for the passenger who must suffer to get the services from such a non-caring airline. What a pity!

Let us get our facts straight. KQ earns a hell lot of money from their domestic routes, particularly the Kisumu one.

And KQ must, in return, pay a hell lot of landing fees to KAA in return. Both companies are making a hell lot of money from us passengers. And they don't care much for our welfare. Let me flood you with a few more examples.

It has not occurred to KAA that the VIP room at the Kisumu International Airport no longer reflects its reputation as being international.

It is too small, too unimpressive and just too crowded. Receiving an international VIP there makes one feel woefully apologetic.

I should approach the KAA as governor of Kisumu so that I can put up a more presentable VIP station before November 2021 in time for the Africities Conference.

My business plan is sound and would benefit all stakeholders, including the passenger users themselves. But having proposed that I would not like to forget the awful VIP room at the domestic terminal 1D at JKIA.

Surely KQ, is your management oblivious to the fact that your own exponential growth in passengers should have entailed doing something about the growing limited space in this VIP room?

There is something called refurbishment, renovation and expansion in an industry like transport and hospitality.

How come KQ management is embarrassingly unaware of all that? Surely if my two passenger's eyes can see what seems to be obvious every day I pass through terminal 1D, how come KQ and KAA have remained insensitive to the changes needed?

Cry the suffering passenger!

The writer is the Kisumu Governor.


Tourism Observer

UGANDA: Chartered Plane Deliveres 250 Israel Tourists For A 3 Day Tour To Uganda

A chartered plane with over 250 Israeli tourists has today landed in Uganda, for the first time since 1976.

According to the Uganda tourism board’s outgoing executive director Steven Asiimwe, the historic visit comes after negotiations with officials of the Israeli national career to begin regular flights to Entebbe.

The tourists came aboard a direct chartered flight from Israel to Uganda, the ELAL flight; the first direct flight from Israel to Uganda since the 1976 raid on Entebbe.

Commenting on the trip, Ms. Tali Yativ, the organizer and team leader of the group said that this was a first of a kind tour for the group.

This trip is a first of its kind for us and we are looking forward to a great experience in Uganda.

We are mostly pleased to see the tourist site of the Uganda old airport tower where a group of Israelis were held hostage by Uganda’s former president. We however look forward to touring more of Uganda over the next few days, Yativ said.

The group is in the country until Saturday, February 16, 2019 and will be visiting the Murchison Falls National Park, the Jewish community in Mbale and various sights in Jinja including the source of the Nile.

UTB outgoing CEO Mr. Stephen Asiimwe said that this was a remarkable development in the sector and the results of this trip will be key in increasing the number of Israeli visitors to Uganda.

“We are positive that this visit will attract more visitors from Israel and the rest of the world. The two countries have a shared piece of history and we hope to strengthen our travel trade in order to increase the number of Israeli tourist coming to Uganda,” Asiimwe said.

On a similar note, the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu is leading a delegation from the Uganda Tourism Board and tourism private sector players in Tel Aviv, Israel to participate the (ITTM) International Mediterranean Tourism Market; a key activity aimed to foster travel trade between the Israel and Uganda.

Israel has a population of about 8 million people and a GDP of $400 billion and per capita.

Additionally, a group of Presidents of major American Jewish Organizations are currently in the country as part of a national leadership delegation to Uganda.

They will today be hosted by the Uganda Tourism Board to a cultural experience by Ndere Troupe at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

According to Mr. Stephen Asiimwe, the group has been engaged in dialogue on investment in the tourism sector and also a repeat visit to tour Uganda.

Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is a statutory organization established in 1994. Its role and mandate was reviewed in the Tourism Act of 2008.

The Board’s mandate is to promote and market Uganda across the region and internationally, promote quality assurance in tourist facilities through training, grading and classification, promote tourism investment, support and act as liaison for the private sector in tourism development.

The broader goals of the Board are to increase the contribution of tourism earnings and GDP; improve Uganda’s competitiveness as an international tourism destination; and increase Uganda’s share of Africa’s and World tourism market.

UTB aims to create inclusive opportunities for the tourism sector through market transformation.


Tourism Observer

SUDAN: Air Serv Begins Flights In Sudan

Air Serv has deployed an aircraft to Khartoum, Sudan to support efforts assisting displaced people who have been forced from their homes due to drought and conflict.

In addition to surges in violence, affected populations are also threatened by crisis level food insecurity.

While aid worker access to communities has improved since the lifting of U.S. sanctions last October, it still remains significantly restricted and is further hindered by limited road travel outside of Khartoum.

The Grand Caravan departed on June 7 from Entebbe for Khartoum, where it will be based along with a crew of two pilots, an engineer, and a base manager.

Providing transport for relief agencies working in the region, the Khartoum operation is a short term program with a likelihood of extension.

Needs will be reevaluated in approximately two months to determine whether continued service will be required.

Of the newest addition to Air Serv’s operations, CEO Stu Willcuts says: As long as our services are needed, we will continue working and responding to challenging situations in difficult places.

With a fleet of six Cessna Caravans, Air Serv specializes in last mile air transportation in support of humanitarian programs.

In addition to charter, facilities, maintenance, and consulting services, Air Serv is dedicated to providing response capabilities for organizations operating in disaster areas.


Tourism Observer

KENYA: Kenya Airways Ready For Competition With Regional Airlines Of Uganda, Tanzania And Zambia

Kenya Airways is not worried at a possible competion following the planned revival of national carriers in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

Kenya Airways, popularly known by the code KQ, has been enjoying a big presence in these countries capitalising on lack of national airlines.

Air Tanzania is welcoming a new aircraft- Bombardier Q-400, which is the third since President John Magufuli rose to power, in an effort to revive the ailing airline.

The airline has also lined up three more jet aircraft, including two Bombardier C300s and one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to arrive in the country before the end of this year.

Uganda is also in the process of reviving Uganda Airlines before the end of the year after the cabinet approved the plan.

This will affect the 15 years dominance that KQ has been enjoying at Entebbe which might result in revenue loss as Uganda is anticipating to take back regional routes to kick-start an ambitious global outreach.

Kenya’s Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa, however, says the move will not affect KQ’s earnings as part of the efforts to revive the local airline are aimed at making it competitive in the regional market.

There will be increased competition obviously, but this does not mean it will affect the operations of KQ.

We are banking our strength on the services that we offer, which will keep us going even in the presence of stiff competition, said the PS.

Prof Maringa said there is nothing wrong with competition, adding that what matters is how effective Kenya Airways will be in handling the situation.

Kenya Airways, remains dominant in most routes and it has a good partnership in Europe.

Kenya Airways is relying on the direct flights to the US scheduled to start in the next few months to remain the most preferred regional airline, he said, adding that KQ good brand will give it an edge in the wake of competition.

Ethiopian Airlines, arguably Africa’s most profitable career, is also focusing on reviving some of the stalled airlines in the region. The airline has acquired a 45 per cent stake in Zambia Airways that is set to be re-launched after more than two decades.

Under the pact, the Zambian government will be the majority shareholder with a 55 per cent stake.

Kenya Airways has at least four daily flights to Dar es Salaam, five to Entebbe, four to Lusaka Zambia and at least one more other daily flight to Livingstone (Zambia).

Ethiopian Airlines is also seeking to set up hubs in southern Africa, Central Africa and the Horn that connect neighbouring countries.

According to the airline, it is working with Malawi and Zambia as southern Africa hubs. Another hub would be in central Africa, covering the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Chad.

Former Kenya Airways chief executive officer Mbuvi Ngunze said in 2016 that their focus was on African routes, which was proving to be profitable.

Kenya Airways prefers increasing frequencies in the current destination other than growth to others. Our focus is clearly Africa and we can see the strategy in Africa has started paying dividends, said Mr Ngunze then.

The Kenya Airways’ shareholder value moved into positive territory riding on last year’s balance sheet restructuring that reduced its annual debt payment obligations, leaving room to revamp its operations.

Kenya Airways equity position stood at Sh417 million in the nine months between April and December 2017 compared to negative Sh45 billion in the year to March 2017, according to a financial report that was released last month.

The change in fortunes follows a complex restructuring of the business that saw Kenya Airways main creditors — 10 commercial banks and the government — convert Sh44.2 billion loans into equity to save it from total collapse.



Tourism Observer

UGANDA: Etihad To Stop Flights To Entebbe International Airport For Luck Of Business

According to a statement issued by Etihad yesterday, flights between Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Entebbe will be suspended from 25 March 2018 following a commercial assessment of the route's performance.

The airline assured ticket holders that they will be provided with alternative travel options to their final destination.

Etihad introduced service to Entebbe in May 2015.

At the time, James Hogan, president of Etihad Airways, said: Uganda is one of the continent’s fastest-growing business and tourism destinations and the launch of services to Uganda is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets.

Etihad follows British Airways as a major airline to suspend service to Uganda in the last three years.

British Airways suspended its service to Entebbe in October 2015 after 24 years.

Other multinationals that have quit the struggling Ugandan economy in that period include supermarket chains Uchumi and Nakumatt and insurance giant AIG.

According to Bank of Uganda, the Ugandan economy slowed down to 3.9 percent annual growth in 2016-17.



Tourism Observer

KENYA: X mass Holidays Attract More Travellers For Jambojet

Budget airline Jambojet has introduced additional flights to the coastal cities as it seeks to cash in on the high demand from holidaymakers.

The airline’s CEO Willem Hondius said there has been increased demand for air travel between Nairobi and the Coast forcing the company to increase frequency starting Tuesday (Dec 19).

Jambojet is now operating three flights to Malindi and Ukunda and four to Mombasa per week.

Yes we have added flights to Malindi (3 per week), Mombasa (4 per week), Ukunda (3 per week plus a third frequency per day between December 19 and 31),said Mr Hondius.

Mr Hondius said all routes that the airline plies have registered high demand. During the festive season we see demand going up sharply and there is always need to add flights,he said.

Last week the airline received one of two planes it purchased last month at Sh6.6 billion to cater for increased demand this Christmas season.

The addition brings Jambojet’s fleet to six – two Q400 planes that it acquired earlier in the year and two Boeing 737s leased from Kenya Airways KQ its parent company.

The airline said the remaining plane will arrive later this month. The two planes have been acquired from Danish firm Nordic Aviation Capital.

The cost of booking air tickets has significantly gone up as more passengers seek to travel by air. Those who have been booking from last week are paying almost double the price compared with travellers who booked in November.

It’s still quite last minute unfortunately. However for the festive season people tend to book a bit earlier, said the CEO.

The airline in May got regulatory approval to fly to 16 regional routes, including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

Meanwhile, Jambojet is set to start flights to Tanzania and Uganda by February next year, kicking off its regional expansion plan designed to see the low-cost carrier fly to 16 new routes.

The Transport ministry said it had applied for permission for the budget airline, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways is to fly to the countries.

Jambojet was in May granted regulatory approval to fly to 16 routes including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

The government has applied for designations on our behalf to allow us operate on six regional routes, Willem Hondius, Jambojet’s chief executive said.

For now, the application covers Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo. However, we intend to begin by flying to Tanzania and Uganda.

Jambojet also plans to start flying to Wajir by next February, adding to its existing flights between Nairobi and Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Lamu, Malindi and Ukunda (Diani).

The airline had earlier said it would make its international debut by the end of this year, but delays in receiving two Bombardier Q400 aircraft has seen them push their launch date forward.

These two planes are now expected before Christmas.

The extended electioneering period took a toll on the business, with total bookings for the four months to October dipping by around 16 per cent, Mr Hondius revealed.

The airline flies between 45,000 and 50,000 passengers per month.

In the weeks around the two general elections, he added, passenger numbers dropped by a quarter, highlighting the huge toll that the process had on Kenya’s aviation sector.

Kenya Airways’ latest annual report indicates that Jambojet reported a pre-tax loss of Sh25 million for the year to March, reversing a pre-tax profit of Sh126 million recorded the previous year.

The loss was attributable to last year’s peak season when insufficient aircraft messed us up. The elections affected us negatively this year. While business has rebounded, we shall assess the full impact with time, said Mr Hondius.

Jambojet is set to receive two new aircraft worth Sh6.6 billion before Christmas in anticipation of the high-season passenger demand and as the low-cost carrier prepares to start international flights.

The airline, a subsidiary of national carrier Kenya Airways is set to receive the first of two Bombardier Q400 on December 11. The second one is expected to touch down in Nairobi six days later.

Jambojet was in May granted regulatory approval to fly to 16 routes including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

We are confident that the Q400 aircraft will allow us to implement our growth strategy as we strive to launch new routes and to respond to the anticipated increase in demand, Willem Hondius, Jambojet’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The budget carrier will lease the aircraft from Danish firm Nordic Aviation Capital which in turn signed a purchase order for the planes with Montreal-based Bombardier on Wednesday.

Jambojet, which has been operational since April 2014, currently operates four aircraft — two Q400 planes which were also acquired this year and two Boeing 737s leased from its parent firm.

The airline plies six routes in Kenya; between Nairobi and Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Malindi and Ukunda (Diani). We are looking at retiring our narrow body fleet (Boeing 737s) and transitioning to an all-Q400 fleet by end of this year, said Mr Hondius.

The carrier has already returned one of the Boeings to KQ with the national carrier now expected to put it up for sale.

Thousands of Jambojet passengers travelling to the Coast over Christmas were hit by flight delays and cancellations.

The airline said the delays resulted from technical problems on one Bombardier, which was compounded by the delayed arrival of the aircraft to handle higher passenger numbers during the holiday season.

Jambojet, which issued an apology for these delays, has since then set out to increase its fleet to avoid a repeat of this incident even as looks to expand regionally.

Jambojet has slashed baggage fees by up to 65 per cent in a bid to generate more non-passenger ticket revenue for the budget airline.

The low-cost carrier has announced that its highest luggage fee, charged on 32 kilogrammes of baggage, will drop to Sh5,500 for payments made at their airport and half that for bookings made through agents or online.

This marks a sharp fall from the Sh15,600 and Sh7,800 respectively which Jambojet, a Kenya Airways subsidiary, was charging its customers.

We have reduced the rates, allowing passengers to carry more for less, Jambojet chief executive Willem Hondius said. We have also reduced the baggage fee bands making it easier for passengers to choose.

Jambojet’s baggage policy review comes a few months after it hired Catherine Mwangi as its ancillary manager.

Ancillary services in the airline industry include entertainment, onboard shopping, Internet gaming, car hire, frequent flier programmes, hotel bookings, checked baggage and better cabin seating.

The extras normally add on to and sometimes exceed the budget ticket costs.

Ms Mwangi has previously held various marketing jobs at Qatar Airways, Air France-KLM as well as South African Airways.

Payments made at the airport will cost double across all bands.

Jambojet achieved a 90 per cent on-time-performance (OTP) in September and October mainly driven by a new fleet, records show.

The low-cost carrier recorded a six per cent higher average of OTP in the two months after recording 84 per cent in August.

OTP is an industry benchmark calculated based on flights taking off and landing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

We are well over our target of 80 per cent which is considerably better than the industry average. Without a doubt, this is a very good sign as we go into the peak festive season, said Jambojet chief executive Willem Hondius.

Our investment in the two new Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircrafts has enabled us to deliver a very reliable flight schedule across the country and live up to the expectation of customers.

The airline has maintained an average OTP of 85 per cent in the past seven months, Mr Hondius said.

Jambojet has in its nearly four years of operation in Kenya increased its routes from four to six, with increased frequency of flights due to fleet expansion.

It currently operates 75 flights per week on its domestic routes from Nairobi to Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Malindi and Ukunda.

The airline, which has a code-share agreement with Kenya Airways for domestic travel, expects delivery of two new aircraft later this year.




Tourism Observer

UGANDA: South African Airways Cutts Flights To Entebbe From 7 to 6 Per Week, As Monach Airlines Collapses

South African Airways (SAA) has cut its flights to Uganda from 7 to 6 flights a week, starting October 29.

There had been speculation that the airline plans to cancel flights to Entebbe.

SAA country manager for Uganda Yogi Birigwa said We are only reducing one frequency, she said.

Contrary to speculation in the media, the Ugandan market remains important to us and SAA will maintain its presence there.

We will adjust capacity to Entebbe from 7 to 6 flights per week, explained Mr Tlali Tlali, the spokesperson, in a statement issued by the airline.

Flight will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Friday, Saturday and Sunday-two flights.

Currently the airline operates on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays Saturday and Sunday- two flights.

South African Airways (SAA) owes nearly R7bn in debt and was recently ordered to pay back R1.9bn to Citibank by September 30‚ just two months after receiving a state bailout of R2.3bn to pay back money owed to the Standard Chartered bank.

Flights to Luanda (Angola) will be reduced from 7 to 4 per week and the aircraft type down gauged and Kinshasa (DRC) from 6 to 5 per week.

Flights to Brazzaville, Pointe Noir and Libreville with connections onward to Cotonou and Douala are under review.

The airline is evaluating options to reduce operations or down gauge aircraft type.

Monach Airlines has collapsed as of now leaving more than 100,000 passengers stranded.

UNITED KINGDOM: Monarch Airlines Has Collapsed, With More Than 100,000 Passengers Stranded



Tourism Observer

ZANZIBAR: Turkish Airlines Launches Istanbul - Kilimanjaro - Zanzibar Route

Turkish Airlines has launched flights to Zanzibar in anticipation of a flood of visitors during the festive season to the spice island of zanzibar.

The new service will route from Istanbul via Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar and back from there to Istanbul and operate initially three times a week using a Boeing B737-900NG.

Zanzibar has subsequently become Turkish Airlines' 50th African destination making it the leading non African airline offering flights into the continent. Other destinations served in East Africa are Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam while in the wider region does Turkish fly to Mogadishu, Asmara, Djibouti and Addis Ababa.

Zanzibar has in recent years seen several new five star resorts launched while long time crowd favourites like Blue Bay Hotels have upgraded and modernized to stay in the top game of attracting tourists from around the world.

The Turkish Airlines service via Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar is clearly geared towards capturing the global tourism traffic which in this case can offer travelers the experience of both safaris and a sun and sand vacation all wrapped into one.

Fastjet Negelects Nairobi And Entebbe, But To Relocate To South Africa 2017

Fastjet's new Chief Executive, Nico Bezuidenhout, would sooner or later be looking at the South African domestic market, now that key decisions are out of the way.

A relocation in early 2017 from London Gatwick to Johannesburg will take the head office of the airline into the African continent where operations actually take place, for now in Tanzania on domestic and regional routes and in Zimbabwe on one domestic route to Vic Falls and twice daily to Johannesburg.

Other decisions taken was to phase out the Airbus A319 fleet thought to be too large to operate profitably on other than high density routes and while presently only one Embraer E190 is flying for Fastjet are more expected in due course.

Information from usually reliable sources have now indicated that CEO Nico is eying the South African domestic market, where of course for the past decade before joining Fastjet he managed Mango, South African Airways' LCC.

This, if proven to be correct, would be an indicator that both Zambia and Kenya may go on the back burner though considerable work and resources have flown into getting operating licences and relevant permits to commence operations in these two countries.

Given the level of competition in South Africa in the LCC segment however, with other established players being Kulula among others, owned by Comair, a British Airways affiliate, and given that a former Fastjet Manager, one Kyle Haywood, failed to get the airline off the ground and subsequently left Fastjet, will Nico however have his work cut out for him, to consolidate on one side and push for expansion on the other into a notoriously hard fought over market as South Africa is.

If Fastjet goes ahead it will also have to review their business model which up to now saw Fastjet PLC hold 49 percent of the shares of the two companies in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, leaving the remaining 51 percent controlling interest in the hands of local investors. South Africa however has a lower threshold of just 25 percent of shares being permitted to be held by a foreign investor, something Fastjet's board no doubt will have to take a hard look at.

For now though are the few remaining flights from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe and Nairobi underway before, on 05th December, both services, alongside flights from Vic Falls to Johannesburg, will be halted until further notice.

BOTSWANA: Air Botswana Finds New Marriage With Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce a code-share partnership with Air Botswana, offering Qatar Airways travellers enhanced access to three key destinations in Botswana, Africa.

The partnership with Air Botswana, the national airline of Botswana, will provide Qatar Airways passengers with connections to the Botswana cities of Gaborone, Francistown and Maun via Qatar Airways’ South Africa gateway Johannesburg. Qatar Airways operates double-daily flights between Johannesburg and its state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International Airport in Doha, with onward flights to more than 150 destinations worldwide.

The new code-share agreement allows business and leisure travellers fast and convenient access to the home of Botswana’s rich mineral industry, abundant game reserves and luxury safari lodges. Botswana’s luxurious tourism experiences are complemented by Qatar Airways’ ultra-modern fleet of aircraft featuring the world’s best Business Class on services to South Africa.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said when making the announcement: 'Our new code-share agreement with Air Botswana will offer even greater opportunities for passengers from across our global network, especially from key markets in Europe and Asia to easily connect with popular destinations in Botswana, to take advantage of exclusive leisure experiences. Code-share partnerships and airline alliances continue to play an important role for Qatar Airways. We are committed to serving the travel needs of the African market and the addition of Air Botswana flights to Qatar Airways’ route network is an important expansion of our network'.

The Southern African region is an important market for Qatar Airways, with three destinations in South Africa including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, and on the east Maputo in Mozambique. Expansion in this region is a key focus for Qatar Airways, having launched services to the Namibian capital Windhoek on 28th of September, with Lusaka in Zambia to follow, and the resumption of services to the Seychelles in December 2016.

Air Botswana’s Acting General Manager, Ms. Agnes Khunwana, said: 'We are delighted to join forces with a renowned global airline like Qatar Airways to launch code-share services to a number of Botswana cities. This partnership provides Qatar Airways’ passengers with easy and direct access to a number of key business and high-end leisure destinations across Botswana while providing easy access to Qatar Airways’ global network for the people of Gaborone, Francistown and Maun when booking directly with Qatar Airways. We look forward to working closely with Qatar Airways into the future'.

In Eastern Africa does Qatar Airways fly to Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar and this latest expansion into Africa provides the continent with quality air services connecting Africans to the rest of the world with just one stop in the airline's award winning hub airport in Doha, Hamad International.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Perpetual Winner of Awards More Awards

Qatar Airways has been announced as the winner of two prestigious accolades at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2016 – Airline with the Best Business Class, and Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East for the Al Mourjan Business Lounge in Hamad International Airport. Award winners are determined through votes cast by the readers of the prestigious industry magazine, Business Traveller Middle East, making Qatar Airways a firm favourite of business travellers across the region.

Mr. Ishfaq Jalal, Vice President - GCC, Levant, Iran, Iraq & Yemen at Qatar Airways, collected the award for Airline with the Best Business Class, and Mr. Abdulaziz Al Mass, Vice President, Commercial and Marketing at Qatar Airways received the award of Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East Award during a ceremony held on 24 April at Palazzo Versace, Dubai.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, commented on the win: 'Qatar Airways is committed to going above and beyond by creating memorable experiences for our passengers whenever they fly with us. We are proud to have had our Business Class and Business Lounge facilities recognised by Business Traveller Middle East’s readers, demonstrating the service excellence we deliver is a winning strategy for the people who matter most to us. Recognition from our passengers, as well as from industry specialists such as Business Traveller Middle East, encourages us to continue to develop our offering by taking our exceptional services one step further, both on the ground and in the air'.

Mr. Abdulaziz Al Mass (centre), Vice President, Commercial and Marketing at Qatar Airways received the award of Best Airport Lounge in the Middle

The awards were received on the opening night of this year’s Arabian Travel Market, at which Qatar Airways has been showcasing its world-renowned award-winning service and hospitality, that, combined with its innovative products, demonstrate the airline’s commitment to delivering its new philosophy, Going Places Together. Qatar Airways aims to create memorable experiences for passengers as they travel across the airline’s global network.

On April 27th, coinciding with the official opening of Dubai International Airport’s Concourse D, Qatar Airways will launch its new Dubai Premium Lounge. Situated near Gate 15 in Concourse D, the Dubai Premium Lounge is available to First and Business Class passengers, as well as Privilege Club Platinum and Gold members, who can enjoy the lounge’s facilities which are set within a modern and a sophisticated space for travellers to relax and rejuvenate before their journey.

Qatar Airways serves all key destinations in Eastern Africa, Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and even Zanzibar but notably not Mombasa, a destination the airline would like to fly to but has not been given favourable consideration by the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority as yet.

In the Horn of Africa does QR serve Djibouti, Asmara and Addis Ababa.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Introduces New Standards At Arabian Travel Market 2016

Qatar Airways is preparing to bring its unique offering to the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s leading travel trade fair taking place in Dubai from 25-28 April 2016. This year, Qatar Airways will showcase the award-winning service and hospitality that the airline is renowned for, making memorable experiences for passengers world-wide.

At its state-of-the-art exhibition stand, Qatar Airways will give visitors a premier experience in its A380 First Class cabin, which takes luxury travel to new heights. The cabin, featuring ultra-wide seats, privacy dividers and the flexibility to convert the space into a fully flat bed or extend a table to invite a guest to dine with them, provides travellers a haven of tranquillity and relaxation while cruising at Mach 0.85 for business or leisure.

Visitors can also get a feel for the luxuriously appointed Dubai Premium Lounge located in Dubai International Airport’s Concourse D. Available to Qatar Airways First and Business Class passengers and Privilege Club Platinum, Gold and Silver members, the Dubai Premium Lounge is a modern and sophisticated space where travellers can relax and rejuvenate before their journey. The recently opened lounge is decorated with artistic Arabic calligraphy, Mediterranean-style tiles and calming water fountains, featuring private family areas, shower facilities, spacious seating areas and an international cuisine buffet.

Speaking on the airline’s involvement in Arabian Travel Market for this year, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: ' Arabian Travel Market has consistently been one of the most exciting platforms for us to participate in, providing us with the opportunity to network with our passengers and partners alike.

We are looking forward to recreating the unique Qatar Airways experience at our stand this year, enabling visitors to get a true taste of what it means to be a Qatar Airways passenger travelling to any one of our more than 150 global destinations'.

Several senior representatives from Qatar Airways will be present during the event. On day one will Mr. Al Baker hold a press conference to discuss the airline’s expansion plans, upcoming developments, and the newest additions to its growing portfolio of offerings.

In East Africa does Qatar Airways fly to Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi and also to Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and the holiday island of Zanzibar.

ZANZIBAR: Fastjet Wins At World Travel Awards In Zanzibar

Fastjet, the low-cost pan-African airline, has won Africa's Leading Low-Cost Airline Award at the 23rd Annual World Travel Awards held in Zanzibar, Tanzania last Saturday night at a Gala Dinner Award Ceremony held at the Diamonds La Gemma dell' Est.

The globally recognised World Travel Awards reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism & hospitality industry.

Africa's Leading Low-Cost Airline Award, which is voted for by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide, is in recognition of fastjet’s services of making air travel more affordable, safe and reliable across its pan-African network.

'Being recognised and accepting this award not only reflects our commitment to air-travel excellence, but the impact we endeavour to make on the African continent' said Jai Gilbert, Head of Marketing at fastjet. 'We are immensely proud to receive such high industry recognition and fastjet will continue to make low-cost air-travel accessible to more people on the African continent'.

The low-cost airline was launched in November 2012 and operates five domestic routes in Tanzania from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro and since early this year also twice a day to Zanzibar. Fastjet’s growing network also services routes between international destinations such as Johannesburg, Harare, Victoria Falls, Entebbe, Nairobi and Lusaka.

fastjet expects many of its passengers on the routes it services to be first time flyers who, because of prohibitively high fares, could previously not afford to travel by air.

Supporting this statement is recent research undertaken by the airline, showing that up to 40% of passengers on all routes were first time flyers able to afford air travel for the first time, thanks to fastjet’s low fares.

Plane Carrying 140 Skidds Off Runway

When the bi-annual Bahrain Air Show opens its doors on the 21st of January will Qatar Airways once again be present in a big way, showcasing three of their state of the art aircraft for display.

It was just about a year ago when the airline as global launch customer entered the Airbus A350XWB into service with scheduled flights from Doha to Frankfurt. Qatar Airways now has seven of these state of the art aircraft in service, deployed on the routes to Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore and more recently Philadelphia. The world’s aviation media were invited for the global launch event a year ago and many will no doubt look forward to the Bahrain show which runs from the 21st to the 23rd of January at the Sakhir Air Base just outside the capital Manama.

Also on show will be Qatar Airways Airbus A380, featuring the airline’s acclaimed First Class cabin besides their award winning Business and Economy class sections. The third aircraft on display will this year come from the Qatar Airways Executive flight division, showcasing a Bombardier Global 5000 business jet.

Said the airline group’s CEO Mr. Akbar Al Baker, who during the launch event last week in Los Angeles on occasion of Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight to the City of Angels once gain robustly rebutted allegations by the US legacy carriers about unfair competition: ‘We look forward to welcoming guests and visitors on board our very latest aircraft at the Bahrain International Airshow, and celebrating the one year anniversary of A350 operations as the global launch customer.

This aircraft is the very latest in design, technology and comfort, and will make its first appearance at the air show this year, which will delight aviation enthusiasts, families and other visitors to the Middle East’s first major aviation event of 2016’.

Qatar Airways serves East African destinations out of Doha with Airbus A320 aircraft, flying to Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar while in the wider region also operating flights to Djibouti, Asmara and Addis Ababa.

In a related development will visitors to the Bahrain Air Show also no doubt look forward to the expected announcement by host country national airline Gulf Air, which has indicated that they will make public their future fleet renewal plans at the air show.

TANZANIA: Etihad To Fly From Dar Es Salaam To Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, yesterday widened its presence in East Africa with the launch of new services between Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian commercial capital and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

On touching down at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, the inaugural flight was welcomed with a traditional water-cannon salute and guets, when disembarking were greeted by a troupe of traditional Tanzanian dancers.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the auspicious occasion, which was attended by:

- Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka, Permanent Secretary, Tanzanian Ministry of Transport,

- Dr Adelhelm James Meru, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources,

- H.E. Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk, Tanzanian Ambassador to the UAE,

- H.E. Abdullah Ibrahim Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Tanzania, and

- Daniel Barranger, Etihad Airways’ Senior Vice President - Global Sales,

- Engineer Thomas Haule, Director, ‎Julius Nyerere International Airport

Dar es Salaam is Etihad Airways’ third destination in East Africa, along with Nairobi and Entebbe, and its ninth destination overall on the African continent.

The daily service will be operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, designed to provide business and leisure travellers with a direct daily connection between Dar es Salaam and Abu Dhabi. From there will travelers have convenient onward connections to key destinations in the GCC region, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia but also to North America.

Mr Barranger said when addressing guests: 't'.The launch of Etihad Airways’ flights to Dar es Salaam is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets. Dar es Salaam is a wonderful destination for tourists seeking to experience the great culture and history of Tanzania, and provides the gateway to numerous national and international tourist attractions, including Mount Kilimanjaro, the wildlife-rich national parks of the Serengeti, and the spice island of Zanzibar.

The UAE is also a major trading partner with Tanzania and our new point-to-point services strengthen the two-way flow of trade and commerce between the two countries. The flight scheduling offers guests convenient onward connections, and caters for the strong traffic flows between Tanzania and key destinations across our global network, such as Ahmedabad and Mumbai in India or Beijing and Shanghai in China. Not only does this service provide our guests with direct access to an exciting new business and tourism destination, it also further strengthens our presence in East Africa and across the African continent'.

Etihad Airways has steadily grown its presence on the continent since the launch of its first service to Cairo in November 2004. Since then the airline has introduced services to Casablanca, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Nairobi in codeshare with Kenya Airways, and Mahé in the Seychelles, and plans to launch to Rabat in Morocco, mid-January 2016.

TANZANIA: Fastjet gets Rights To Fly To Comoros But Kenya Still Refuses

Tanzania’s largest airline in terms of passengers uplifted, has secured traffic rights between Dar es Salaam and the Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport on the Comoros main island of Moroni.

Information sourced speaks of initially two flights per week between the Tanzania and the Comoros, which will increase as demand for seats and cargo goes up.

This makes it Fastjet’s sixth African destination out of Dar es Salaam after Johannesburg, Lusaka, Harare, Entebbe and Lilongwe, while their application for landing rights in Nairobi continues to gather dust in the deepest dungeons of Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority.

‘Other countries want us to fly to their capitals’ said a source close to the airline before adding ‘Why the Kenyans do not want Fastjet to fly there remains a complete mystery. All prerequisite criteria have been met, all the boxes have long been ticked but it seems that the KCAA is now changing the size of these boxes and wants crosses instead of ticks? Are they for real?

They are setting the worst possible example for the opening of the African airspaces. Have they ever heard of Yamoussoukro or the fact that Kenya signed on to the AU protocol about liberalizing air transport?. Their protectionism will come back to haunt them when TCAA again enforces the present BASA’.

Fastjet in Zambia is also reportedly now very close to attaining their Air Operator Certificate which will allow them to launch flight operations out of Lusaka, presently served daily in conjunction with Harare.

The Zimbabwean launch at the end of October proved highly successful with already over 3.500 seats sold on the route between Harare and Victoria Falls. Discussions with the CAAZ are reportedly continuing about adding Bulawayo and Johannesburg as next destinations, after Fly Africa continues to postpone their relaunch following their grounding by the CAAZ when their local partners handed in the airline’s AOC at the end of October. Sources close to the airline in Harare have confirmed that once the additional routes have been secured that an additional Airbus A319 aircraft will be deployed to Zimbabwe more or less immediately to have enough aircraft on the ground to serve the additional destinations.

RWANDA: Rwanda Air To Route Flights To India And China Via Dubai

Information received from an aviation source in Dubai suggests that RwandAir, due to receive two Airbus A330 wide body aircraft next year, may consider routing the planned flights to Guangzhou and Mumbai via Dubai.

Plans by RwandAir to launch Mumbai flights, using a B737-800NG via Dar es Salaam, came to naught when the Tanzanian aviation regulators denied the airline fifth freedom rights, claiming their own national airline was planning to launch flights, a preposterous suggestion causing widespread amusement considering the moribund state of Air Tanzania.

The Airbus order however puts paid to that plan as RwandAir will be able to launch flights from Kigali directly to Mumbai, but given that the airline apparently holds fifth freedom rights out of Dubai, may it well be a viable option to route is East bound intercontinental flights via DXB and pick up additional traffic from there.

The source attributed the information to RwandAir’s Deputy CEO Mr. Jean-Paul Nyirubutama, who is in the UAE for the Dubai Air Show, where he reportedly spoke to the media.

To boost continental flights from across Africa, key to feeding traffic into their planned intercontinental services to China, India and Europe, will a further two Boeing B737-800NG SkyInterior be joining the fleet in 2016 as well, very likely staged to arrive prior to the two A330’s which are due in Kigali in September and December next year respectively. RwandAir presently serves the West African destinations of Brazzaville, Libreville, Douala, Lagos and Accra while in Southern Africa flying daily to Johannesburg, a flight which presently routes three times a week via Lusaka. In Eastern Africa does RwandAir serve Bujumbura, Entebbe, Juba, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Mombasa and, as a sole domestic destination, Kamembe in the south east of the country at the border to Congo.

Dubai is served daily too with three flights routing via Mombasa, where the airline again has fifth freedom rights in both directions.

Regional Airlines Talk On Way Forward

The four partner states in the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) – Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan - have finally come to appreciate that the proliferation of airlines in the region will sooner or later bring about a waste of scarce resources unless cooperation supersedes national narrow-minded ego trips, mostly by people with their own agenda.

It was welcome news, therefore, when after the last meeting of the NCIP countries in Kenya, information began to emerge that in particular South Sudan – though not a member of the East African Community but nevertheless a part of the NCIP group – and perhaps more reluctantly Uganda, came on board and agreed to promote both RwandAir and Kenya Airways to provide for the air travel needs of their respective citizens.

Bureaucrats in the national aviation regulatory offices have been tasked to create a single airspace area for the four countries, effectively preparing the way for RwandAir and Kenya Airways – Uganda and South Sudan do not have national airlines – to operate without any restrictions across the region.

RwandAir is presently operating flights from Entebbe to/from Juba and from Entebbe to/from Nairobi under fifth freedom rights. The Rwandan national airline in particular, after announcing their order for four more brand-new aircraft due to be delivered next year, including two Airbus A330s, will offer Ugandans the option to travel across the region and the continent via Kigali while expanding destinations to China, India, and Europe next year.

Similar to operations by Brussels Airlines and KLM, both of which fly from their hubs via Kigali to Entebbe, RwandAir could route their wide-body flights via Entebbe, too, subject to sufficient passenger numbers boarding and de-boarding, or else provide more feeder flights out of Entebbe to Kigali.

The same principle applies to Kenya Airways’ flights in equal terms for Juba and for Entebbe, to connect passengers from these two points of origin into their regional, African, and intercontinental network.

It is understood that the opening of the airspaces might well be restricted to the respective national carriers leaving other airlines, in particular those privately owned in Kenya out of the equation who will have to compete as designated airlines for point-to-point traffic.

The ministerial working group will submit their findings and recommendations to the next NCIP Head of State Summit which was postponed due to East Africa’s presidents attending the UN General Assembly in New York, making a postponement of the Nairobi NCIP Summit necessary.

Mr. Barry Kashambo, formerly the head of CASSOA and now Regional Director for ICAO based in Nairobi, was quoted to have said that such a move was bound to bring airfares down and increase the number of frequencies connecting the region.

The new deal could become effective, provided that in particular the notorious Kenyan regulators are kept on a tight leash, as early as the first quarter of 2016 and then provide passengers out of Entebbe and Juba with additional flights operated by Kenya Airways and RwandAir.

Left out of this development are Burundi, the worst-connected country in the East African Community and also almost shunned due to recent political events, and Tanzania, which opted to stay out of the fast-track cooperation entered into by Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and Kenya.

Subsequently Tanzania’s airlines will not benefit from these additional opportunities which are now beckoning on the horizon, leaving that country to ponder what new path to embark on after a new president comes into office following the upcoming elections.

Aviation industry organizations like IATA and of course AFRAA, the African Airline Association based in Nairobi, have for long promoted the concept of closer cooperation instead of constant fragmentation to see more viable airlines emerge which have the capacity to withstand the competitive pressures of not just the European legacy airlines but in particular the emerging mega airlines from the Gulf and from Turkey.

What is need in East Africa, in fact across Africa, is a sound mix between full-service airlines and low-cost airlines. The latter has, and I give you Jambojet in Kenya and Fastjet in Tanzania as an example, brought a whole new segment of travelers to go by air instead of using buses or trains.

However, the former will equally have a place because of connectivity through their hubs rather than point-to-point traffic. If existing and well-operating airlines like Kenya Airways and RwandAir can be given full access to the market in Uganda and South Sudan, it will benefit travelers as much as the airlines.

What the countries must, however, watch out for is that limits are set on fares to avoid exploitative ticket prices, because that would kill this concept instantly.

UGANDA: Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Located 23km southeast of Entebbe in Lake Victoria, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, or ‘Chimp Island’, is home to over 40 orphaned or rescued chimpanzees who are unable to return to the wild. Humans are confined to one of the 40 hectares while the chimps wander freely through the rest, emerging from the forest twice a day for feeding at 11am and 2.30pm. This coincides with visitor arrival times to the island, with viewings of the chimps via a raised platform. The chimps return in the evening to sleep in their compound.

While it can’t compare to the experience of seeing chimps in the wild, especially due to the large electrified fence that separates chimp from human, it still makes for a worthwhile excursion to observe the animals’ remarkable behaviour. Guides here are informative, and there are individual profiles for each chimp, detailing both their distinct personalities and history. There are also big monitor lizards in residence as well as abundant bird life.

The island is a project of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust , which arranges bookings for day trips and accommodation.

Rates are based on a minimum group of four, with the price of a half-day trip costing US$110 per person, inclusive of entry, guide and boat transport. If you don’t have a group of four people, you can share the boat with others; otherwise the cost rises to US$210 per person. Two trips depart from Entebbe per day; in the morning at 9am, returning at 12.45pm, or departing at 12.45pm and returning by 4.45pm.

The CSWCT also offer an overnight experience where you can spend two days on the island staying in a self-contained, solar-powered safari tent. Including full board, transport and entry, the cost of staying overnight is US$872 for singles, and US$1264 for doubles. Check the website for add-on activities.