ZAMBIA: Zambia Airways Relaunch For January 1st, 2019, 3 More Planes Expected October 2018

Government has announced that three planes to be used by Zambia Airways are expected in the Country next month.

Minister of Transport Brian Mushimba says the planes will initially fly into two regional destinations and domestic routes.

Mr. Mushimba has maintained that the inaugural flights are scheduled for January 1st, 2019.

He says after the signing of an Agreement with Ethiopian Airlines the process is now gaining momentum.

Mr. Mushimba said in a telephone interview that the board of directors has also been appointed but did not disclose names.

Mr. Mushimba anticipates that over 5 hundred jobs will be created directly among Zambians.

He further says the airline will improve aviation services in the country as well as market Zambia as a tourist destination.

The planned relaunch of Zambia Airways has been deferred to January 1st 2019.

It was planned that the new Zambia Airways will take to the skies on October 24th this year, on the occasion of Zambia’s 54th independence anniversary.

But it was announced during the signing ceremony of a shareholder agreement between the Industrial Development Corporation and Ethiopian Airlines that the inaugural flight will only take off on January 1st, 2019.

According to the agreement, IDC owns 55 percent of the shares while Ethiopian Airways has 45 percent.

The Airline has an initial startup capital of US$30 million dollars.

IDC Chief Executive officer Mateyo Kaluba said the establishment of the national airline will deepen and strengthen growth in the country’s industrialization.

On the other hand, Ethiopian Airlines Group Executive Officer Tewolde Gebremarian said his firm will work hard to ensure Zambia Airways succeeds.

Zambian Airways was the flag carrier of Zambia, based in Lusaka, Zambia.

Zambian Airways suspended operations on January 10, 2009.

Mines Air Services Limited (MAS) was incorporated in 1948 as a subsidiary of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM).

As part of the process of privatisation of the mines, MAS was disposed of by the government of Zambia on 28 April 1998.

MAS purchased two new Raytheon Beech 1900D Airliner aircraft from Raytheon Credit Corporation (RCC) in July and August 1998 respectively.

The company has been operating these two aircraft since then, under the trading name of Zambian Airways.

On 10 January 2009, the company announced it was suspending operations citing high fuel costs as the main reason.

Shareholders were not available for comment in order to answer questions about when or if the airline may commence operations again, but according to the Zambian Minister of Communications and Transport, Dora Siliya, 41 passengers had been stranded in Johannesburg as a direct result of the airline suspension of operations.

The Zambian government announced on 9 February 2009, that it intended to sue Zambian Airways in order to recover the money the airline owes various firms. Its debt was noted to be US$29 million.

The unrelated carrier Zambia Airways was the state-owned Zambian flag carrier which went bankrupt in 1994.

Zambian Airways used to serve the following destinations when it operated:

Democratic Republic of the Congo

- Lubumbashi (Lubumbashi International Airport)

South Africa

- Johannesburg (OR Tambo International Airport)

Tanzania

- Dar es Salaam (Julius Nyerere International Airport)

Zambia

- Chipata (Chipata Airport)

- Livingstone (Livingstone Airport)

- Lusaka (Lusaka International Airport) Hub

- Mfuwe (Mfuwe Airport)

- Ndola (Ndola Airport)

- Solwezi (Solwezi Airport)


Tourism Observer

ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Airlines Launches Direct Flights To Namibia

Ethiopia Airlines has launched direct flights to Namibia.

Although Kenya Airways signed a new code-share agreement with Air Namibia way back in 2013 for direct flights, the deal has not been implemented five years later.

The deal would have paved the way for direct flights between the airlines’ Nairobi and Windhoek hubs through Johannesburg in South Africa and Lusaka in Zambia.

The move would have extended the national carrier’s footprints in southern Africa region.

Under the code-share agreement, Kenya Airways was to place its ‘KQ’ code on Air Namibia flights from Johannesburg and Lusaka to Windhoek.

In turn, Air Namibia was to place its ‘SW’ code on Kenya Airways flights from Lusaka and Johannesburg to Nairobi.

Ethiopian Airlines took the opportunity to launch three weekly direct flights to Namibia in October and further signed a code-share agreement.

The idea of direct flights from Nairobi to Windhoek was conceptualised in mid 2000 when former Tana River Governor Hussein Dado was the Kenya’s high commissioner to Namibia.

The idea was pushed because Kenyans travelling to Namibia are compelled to get South Africa transit visas, which take a minimum of seven working days to process.

The direct flight was therefore aimed at cutting costs and delays.

Then Kenya Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni at the signing ceremony in Windhoek had said the move would facilitate convenient travel for passengers, and would enable the airline to contribute towards spurring sustainable development in Africa.

The two airlines, according to Naikuni, expected the agreement to allow them both to expand their regional network through their mutual services and facilitate the provision of competitive and convenient travel choices to their respective clients.


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

MALAWI: Fly Malawi Airlines

Domestic Flights

BLANTYRE
With Malawi Airlines known for our on-time performance, you are rest assured of being on time for your meeting or business in Blantyre courtesy of our daily morning flights to the commercial capital. Our Bombardier Q400 departs Lilongwe every morning at 08:30 and arrives in Blantyre at 09:10, Monday through Sunday. Book your flight to Blantyre today. Experience our unbeatable on-time performance. Fly Malawi Airlines.

LILONGWE
Our daily afternoon flights to Lilongwe from Blantyre offer you wonderful opportunity to go about your business in the commercial capital with no stress at all knowing Malawi Airlines is there to take you back to the Capital City. Our Boeing 737-700 departs Blantyre at 15:55 and arrives in Lilongwe at 16:35 Monday through Sunday. Book your flight to Lilongwe today. Experience our unbeatable on-time performance. Fly Malawi Airlines.

Regional Flights

Johannesburg
No more stress. Our daily morning flights to Johannesburg provide you great and convenient opportunity to do business in the Rainbow Nation and/or connect to the rest of the region and the world. Our Boeing 737-700 departs Lilongwe at 08:20 and arrives in Blantyre at 09:00 and later departs Blantyre for Johannesburg at 09:45. Book your flight to Johannesburg today. Experience our unbeatable on-time performance. Fly Malawi Airlines.

Nairobi
Introducing flights to Nairobi, four times a week, Wednesday through Saturday. From 29th March, 2017, Malawi Airlines will commence evening flights to Nairobi with our Boeing 737-700 departing Lilongwe for Nairobi at 17:45 every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Return flights from Nairobi to Lilongwe will be at 06:15 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays. Experience our unbeatable on-time performance. Experience the difference. Fly Malawi Airlines.

Lusaka
We fly to Lusaka four times a week on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Fly Malawi Airlines and experience our on-time performance at unbelievably affordable fares.

Harare
We fly to Harare four times a week on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Fly Malawi Airlines and experience our on-time performance at unbelievably affordable fares.

Dar es Salaam
We fly to Dar es Salaam four times a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Fly Malawi Airlines and experience our on-time performance at unbelievably affordable fares.

Zanzibar
From 5th April, 2017, Malawi Airlines will commence late afternoon flights to Zanzibar with our Bombardier Q400 departing Lilongwe for Zanzibar at 17:30 every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Return flights from Zanzibar to Lilongwe will be at 05:15 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays. Experience our unbeatable on-time performance. Experience the difference. Fly Malawi Airlines.

RWANDA: RwandAir To Open Mumbai Route

RwandAir will start flights to Mumbai, India later this years, John Mirenge, the chief executive officer, has said. Mirenge said the airline would start operating four flights to Mumbai per week in December 2016 flying its brand new A330-300 aircraft.

He said the national carrier has already appointed India's Bird Travel as the general sales agent as it prepares to launch the route.

"We want Bird Travel to position our brand by creating awareness about our products and services in this market," Mirenge noted.

He explained that the sales agent will act as the liaison point for the airline's sales development in India, providing ticketing and direct support services.

He added that Bird Travel, which is part of the Bird Group founded in 1971 as an aviation management company, use its vast experience to market RwandAir in the vast travel market presented by India.

The firm specialises in representing airlines and other travel and tourism partners majorly as sales agent for operations, and aviation management.

With over 40 years of experience and more than 45 offices supported by over 6,000 staff and an impressive clientele of over 500 top corporate companies, Praful Khosla, the Bird Travel executive vice-president, is confident RwandAir made a right choice.

"Bird Group is one of the largest and most diversified entities within the industry in the Indian sub-continent. We are therefore delighted to be associated with RwandAir as their exclusive sales agent in India," Khosla said, adding that they are optimistic about the partnership. RwandAir signed a purchase agreement with Airbus A300-200 and A330-300 last year as part of its expansion strategy to Europe and East Asia, including India.

The national carrier is IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certified, which guarantees its safety and airworthiness.

Sonia Kamikazi, the airline's corporate quality assurance manager, said the certification ensures the airline is competitive in the cutthroat aviation industry.

Currently, the airline flies to 17 destinations, including Nairobi, Entebbe, Mombasa, Bujumbura, Lusaka, Juba, Douala, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Johannesburg, Dubai, Lagos, Libreville and Brazzaville.

Jambojet To Fly Into East African Region

Jambojet, Kenya Airways' low cost subsidiary, has been flying on domesti routes for some time now but was last year also given the designation to fly into the Eastern African region.

Out of Nairobi does the airline serve the coastal destinations of Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa and Ukunda while also operating flights to Eldoret and Kisumu.

Comments attributed to the airline's CEO Willem Hondius however now suggest that the airline could turn its attention to widening its network and begin flights into the Eastern African region, which if correct will no doubt intensify the battle for the skies with airlines like Fastjet, also a low cost carrier presently operating out of Dar es Salaam to Nairobi and Entebbe, while serving Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Mbeya on domestic routes.

Lusaka, Harare, Lilongwe and Johannesburg are additional destinations FN flies to out of Dar.

Jambojet's air service license allows them, subject to landing rights from the respective countries' civil aviation and transport authorities, to target Entebbe, Juba and Dar es Salaam, among other overall 9 regional destinations.

For East Africa's aviation pundits it is of particular interest that Entebbe is a likely early target, as Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni last week laid into airlines of EAC member states and NCIP countries, short for Northern Corridor Integration Projects, otherwise also known as the coalition of the willing in the EAC to fast track various developments.

President Museveni declared that the country felt let down over the high level of airfares when he told his new cabinet that the formation of a national airline therefore should be a priority, no doubt rattling the cages of the leading regional carriers from Addis to Nairobi.

Should indeed Jambojet opt to begin operations from Nairobi to Entebbe - Kenya Airways presently flies five times a day and serves both point to point traffic but most notably connecting traffic into the wider region and the rest of Africa - it could indeed lead to lower fare levels, taking the wind out of plans to relaunch a Ugandan national carrier.

'When you look at traffic numbers between Nairobi and Entebbe, remember that Air Uganda, before the Ugandan CAA killed that airline off, flew three times on working days and twice over the weekend alongside Kenya Airways' five daily frequencies.

Now there are some smaller airlines from Kenya on the route but their passenger numbers are relatively low as they only offer point to point to Nairobi, no frequent flyer bonuses, less desirable departure times and most important, they operate oldish aircraft.

Now were Jambojet to come to Entebbe they would probably start off with one flight a day before expanding to twice a day but the main challenge for them will be the aircraft they use. Their B737's are probably too large with over 140 seats to make economic sense and their two leased Bombardier Q400, with less than 80 seats more suitable, are fully occupied with flights in Kenya.

They would need to source additional aircraft and when that happens it will give us a better idea how they intend to roll out into the region.

Air Uganda's initial success was based on their use of CRJ200's with just 50 seats and break even on such an aircraft is much easier to accomplish than on a relatively larger Boeing. Turboprops are also planes of choice because they too operate at lower cost than a jet and breakeven is accomplished with more ease than when using larger jets.

If Entebbe becomes their first destination, they will clearly lay down a challenge to any new upstart from Uganda because the more crowded the skies are, the bigger will be the challenge to a start up airline to capture that vital traffic share.

Air Uganda took several years and those fundamentals have not changed much' offered a regular source as his opinion when discussing Jambojet's apparent expansion plans.

The speculation over Jambojet's regional plans was further fueled when news broke over the weekend that the airline employed a fully fledged CFO amid rumours that Kenya's main LCC had gone active in the market to source additional aircraft.

Out of Entebbe does RwandAir presently also fly twice a day to and from Nairobi under fifth freedom rights and is said to be eying a third daily flight, made more viable through the triangular routing which always includes one leg either to or from Kigali.

Watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news from across the entire Eastern African region and Indian Ocean islands.

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.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Expands To New Destinations

During the opening day of ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel fair, Qatar Airways announced its plans for 14 additional new destinations, including a new service between Doha and Auckland, which would become the world’s longest.

“Qatar Airways prides itself on being a global connector, and most importantly, providing seamless and convenient connections for our customers, so that we remain their airline of choice.” Qatar Airways GCEO Mr. Akbar Al Baker said in a statement. “Qatar Airways prides itself on being a global connector, and most importantly, providing seamless and convenient connections for our customers, so that we remain their airline of choice.” Al Baker said.

The carrier’s route portfolio will grow with five destinations in Europe (Pisa, Sarajevo, Helsinki, Nice and Skopje), six in Africa (Marrakech, Windhoek, Douala, Libreville, Lusaka and Seychelles), two to Southeast Asia (Krabi and Chiang Mai in Thailand) and Auckland in Southwest Pacific.

Qatar Airways’ announcement confirms the expansion plans of the carrier into Africa, competing directly with Kenya Airways and South African Airways, both of them reported heavy losses after the fall of prices in commodities and political unrest in the region.

RELATED: African Airlines Face Powerful Incomers

The introduction of the new destinations comes two years after the opening of Qatar Airways’ hub at Hamad International Airport in Doha. According to the airline, it currently serves more than 28 million passengers annually, and is set to grow up to 50 million in 2018.

This year, Qatar Airways started services to Los Angeles in January. It is expected to start flights to Boston in the next week and to Atlanta in June.

TANZANIA: Fastjet Daily Flights To Harare And Lusaka From Zanzibar

The daily flights between Harare, Lusaka and Dar es Salaam will connect seamlessly on to the airline’s upcoming Zanzibar service which will be launched on the 11th of January 2016.

Schedule adjustments will permit passengers coming from Zimbabwe and Zambia to immediately transit on to the Zanzibar flight after their arrival in Dar es Salaam and with a dispatch reliability of over 90 percent of all flights leaving and arriving on time will travel to Zanzibar certainly be made much easier for travelers from South and Southern Africa.

Tourism stakeholders on Zanzibar have expressed broad support for the new connection as it will also allow visitors from the Tanzanian mainland to use the airline for the short flight to the main Zanzibari island of Unguja. Several hotelier spoken with over the past few days expressed their excitement to have another direct flight from Johannesburg to serve the South African market which has been growing fast since the launch of direct flights by other airlines but the addition of both Zimbabwe and Zambia has clearly widened the opportunities for the resorts on the Spice Island to sell holiday packages in Harare and Lusaka.

Additional information is also awaited on the additional routes Fastjet is expecting out of Harare as well as the operations start in Zambia, where local airlines are reportedly exploiting their monopoly with high fares, setting the scene for Fastjet to bring the cost of air travel down considerably and, as seen in other countries, attract an entirely new generation of passengers flying probably for the first time due to the affordable fare levels. For breaking and regular aviation news from across Eastern Africa look no further but this space.

ZAMBIA: Zambia Launches e-Visa

The Zambia Tourism Board is pleased to announce that the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Immigration) launched the e-Visa facility on Wednesday, 14th October, 2015 at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka which was officiated by the Minister of Home Affairs.

The e-Visa facility is open to all foreign nationals who require visas to come to Zambia and can be accessed through the web portal indicated below:

http://e-Visa.zambiaimmigration.gov.zm/#/

What is an e-Visa?

An e-Visa is an alternative to conventional visas issued by the Department of Immigration in Zambia (through Headquarters, Ports of Entry and Zambia Missions) permitting foreigners who require visas to enter Zambia. Applicants therefore, may obtain their e-Visa approval letter electronically after submitting required information and payment is made by Cash and Credit or Debit Card (Master or Visa) at the point of entry. The link to download your e-Visa is given on the final step where you will be informed that your application has been completed successfully. In addition, the same link to download your e-Visa will be emailed to you. Immigration Officers at Ports of Entry can verify your e-Visa on their system. However, you are advised to download and keep the hard copy of your e-Visa Approval Letter.

As in the case with other visas, respective Zambian Officials at the Port of Entry reserve the right to deny entry into Zambia to a holder of an e-Visa Approval Letter without any
explanation.

Eligibility

All foreign nationals who require visas to come to Zambia are eligible to apply for an e-Visa.

e-Visa Fees

The normal visa fees shall apply as follows:

? Single Entry-US$ 50
? Double /Multiple Entry -US$ 80
? Transit US $50
? Day Tripper US$ 20

For regular updates, visit The Immigration website: www.zambiaimmigration.gov.zm

Validity

Normal validity rules shall apply

e-Visa processing time

For nationals that may obtain visas at ports of entry, the e-Visa will take 3 working days to process and for nationals that require visas prior to travel to Zambia processing time will take a minimum of 5 working days.

Benefits

? Convenient and reduces logistical cost
? Paperless administrative processes
? Broader reach
? Optimised use of human resources

Further Details

For further details and enquiries, please get in touch with:
The Public Relations Office
Department of Immigration Headquarters
LUSAKA

Tel: +260 211 255282 (PR)
Tel: +260 211 252622 (Customer Service Centre)

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.

BOTSWANA: Botswana’s Capacity Grows By 3.3% In 12 Years; South Africa Is Top Country Market

Known for its fast-growing economy and for being home of Amantle Montsho (400-metre gold medallist at Daegu 2011 World Championships and at Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games), Botswana is also an African aviation hot-spot, being served by four international airports this February.

While it is home to an estimated population of 2.2 million inhabitants, Botswana covers an area of 581,730 square kilometres (around the size of Ukraine). In fact, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated nations in the world, with around 10% of its population living in the capital city, Gaborone. Previously known as the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. Being classified as one of the poorest countries in the world once, having a GDP per capita of around $70 per year in late 1960s, the country has since emerged into one of the fastest-growing economies. As of 2013, Botswana had a GDP per capita of around $16,400 per annum according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

The aviation sector played a significant role in this rapid economic growth, with Botswana being served by four commercial airports according to Innovata schedule data for February 2015, of which Gaborone (perhaps better known as Sir Seretse Khama International Airport) controls around 66% of the country’s scheduled seat capacity. With all four airports offering international services, Gaborone is the main gateway to the country as it offers a combined 86 weekly flights to Cape Town, Harare, Johannesburg, Lusaka and Nairobi.

Annual capacity down 3.1% in 2015
Examination of Innovata annual capacity for this February reveals that around 502,000 one-way seats may be offered on air services involving Botswana airports in 2015, which may account for a decline of 3.1% when compared to 2014 figures, assuming that there are no significant changes in carriers’ schedules. Nevertheless, this figure is likely to alter as airlines may introduce or cancel services over the following 11 months. Based on schedules currently filed, domestic traffic is expected to register a decrease rate of 8.1%, while the international sector may go down by only 1.5%.



Looking at annual seat figures between 2004 and those currently posted for 2015, the combined capacity of the four Botswana airports grew with an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3%, with the international sector (+4.2%) outperforming the domestic market (+0.8%). Also interestingly, the international sector may increase by 64%, while the domestic one may go up 10% in 2015, when looking back 12 years to 2004. Not surprisingly considering the country’s political and economic instability in recent years, Botswana’s air traffic market saw an uneven development in the 2004-2015 timeframe.
Air Botswana bosses Botswana with 58% and 61% of seats and flights

As of February 2015, Botswana is served by five airlines, with the national carrier Air Botswana being the dominant player in this country market, as it controls 58% and 61% of all weekly seats and flights respectively. This week, Air Botswana operates a total of 16 airport pairs, of which eight of them are international routes. Johannesburg is the flag carrier’s most frequently served international destination, being served with 47 weekly flights from Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Francistown.
South Africa is top country market

A total of six country markets can be reached non-stop from Botswana according to Innovata schedule data for this February. At around 7,149 weekly seats and 3.1% more than in the corresponding week last year, neighbouring South Africa tops the list of country markets served, with a combined 107 weekly flights operated by Air Botswana and South African Airways. In addition, the domestic sector accounts for 25% of all weekly capacity, being served by only Air Botswana with 40 weekly flights.


Zambia is a new entrant into this year’s ranking, owing to Air Botswana adding twice-weekly flights on the 1,065-kilometre sector from Gaborone to Lusaka over the past 12 months.

SOUTH AFRICA: South African Airways’ Three Main Airports Report Average Decline In Capacity

South African Airways launched its first North American destination from Accra to Washington Dulles. The service, which originates in Johannesburg, has contributed an additional 45% in terms of seat capacity from the Ghanaian capital this summer, making it the only airport in the Star Alliance member’s top 12 airports to report growth.

South Africa is a very unique country as it’s the only one in the world (excluding Antarctica) to have coastlines on both the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Lying at the tip of the African continent, the country’s largest city, Johannesburg is home to over four million people, representing approximately 9% of the population. With this fact, it is no surprise to see that the country’s national carrier, South African Airways (SAA), has a majority of its available seat capacity on domestic services, so it is able to connect Johannesburg with the remaining 91% of the population. One of the airports on the airline’s route network that will be getting a large influx of additional passengers next month is Durban, as it gets ready to stage the World Routes Conference, hosted by Province of KwaZulu-Natal at the Durban International Convention Centre between 19 – 22 September.

Johannesburg controls 44% of seat capacity

With Johannesburg being the largest city in South Africa, it is of no surprise to see that SAA has centred its operations at the hub, which occupies 44% of the Star Alliance member’s available seat capacity in S15, and has non-stop connections to 62 airports this summer, of which 19 are domestic. Of the five international airports that make it into the carrier’s top 12 airports (highlighted in light green), Accra has witnessed that largest growth in seat capacity, seeing an increase of 45%. Like Harare (-5.4%), Windhoek (-0.8%) and London Heathrow (-3.9%), the rest of the airports in the top 12, except Lusaka (+0.1%), are all showing declines in seat capacity when compared with S14, with Bloemfontein showing the largest decrease in seat capacity of -48%. South African Airways three largest airports, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, are reporting an average decline in seat capacity in S15 of 7% when compared with S14.

Ghana fastest growing; UAE newest market


As shown in the graph above, Ghana has seen the biggest seat capacity growth when compared to the same time period last year, helped by the launch of services from Accra to Washington Dulles. The most popular European market is Germany, which is reporting an increase in capacity of 1.3%. SAA serves both Frankfurt and Munich airports from Johannesburg, however London Heathrow is the most popular European route despite it witnessing a seat capacity decrease. Although not in the top 12, Mauritius (16th most popular) achieved a respectable growth rate of 13% when compared with S14, as did the Democratic Republic of Congo (+14%). The newest country market added to the airline’s portfolio is UAE. The Star Alliance member launched services to Abu Dhabi on 29 March, operating on a daily basis using the airline’s A330-200s.

New York JFK tops ASKs

As it was in 2014, New York again leads the top 12 routes for ASKs. The result means that the airline’s most popular route in terms of seat capacity (highlighted in light green) comes second in terms of the top 12 for ASKs. It is impressive though to see that the domestic link between Johannesburg and Cape Town has made it into the top 12 at second place, although this is helped with the sector seeing 125 weekly flights according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. New to the top 12 is the recently launched service between Accra and Washington Dulles that places in 10th spot, just ahead of the new service connecting Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi in 11th, illustrating the development being seen in the airline’s long-haul network.


South African Airways was greeted with a water arch salute upon arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport as the Star Alliance member launched its daily A330-200 service from Johannesburg.

TANZANIA: Fastjet Grows With Arrival Of Fourth A319;

fastjet’s most recent route launch was from Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe in Malawi on 27 July. The route is currently served twice-weekly, though frequency will increase to four flights per week from mid-September. The LCC now operates to nine airports, four in Tanzania and five others in five different African countries.

The idea of a pan-African LCC is very appealing, but the lack of liberalisation across much of the continent has made it impossible (so far) in practice. fastjet was established to try and be such a carrier, but at present it has been confined to operating domestically and internationally from Tanzania, with its main base at Dar es Salaam. The airline’s first flight was on 29 November 2012 when domestic services were introduced. International flights started on 18 October 2013 with the airline’s first service to Johannesburg. fastjet now operates in four further countries; Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In Dar es Salaam fastjet is by far the leading carrier with over 11,000 weekly departing seats on its fleet of three A319s. This represents over one quarter of all seat capacity at the airport. The airline’s most recently published traffic statistics indicate that it carried 71,763 passengers in July (a new monthly record), an increase of 36% on the same month in 2014. Load factor was 72%. In 2014, fastjet carried almost 600,000 passengers. In the 12 months ending July 2015 that has increased to almost 750,000.
Domestic network currently accounts for 75% of ASKs

fastjet operates to five destinations non-stop in both directions from Dar es Salaam. These are Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Mwanza in Tanzania, Johannesburg (South Africa) and Lilongwe (Malawi). Entebbe in Uganda is served from Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro, while Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia) are served using a triangular routing; Dar es Salaam-Lusaka-Harare-Dar es Salaam, resulting in both routes having a stop in one direction.

The airline’s domestic routes (shown in dark green) currently account for 75% of total weekly ASKs (Available Seat Kilometres), with the route to Mwanza alone accounting for over 42% of the carrier’s ASKs.
4th aircraft from mid-September

From mid-September fastjet’s fleet will increase to four A319s. No new routes are being added at this time but there will be frequency increases (especially on international routes) and schedule quality will improve with the return flight from Johannesburg no longer operating during the night. Frequency on the Johannesburg route will also increase from three flights per week to seven. The arrival of the fourth aircraft will see weekly flights across the network increase from 167 to 217, with international sectors almost doubling from 25 to 49. As a result, the proportion of ASKs coming from domestic flights will fall from the current 75% to around 61%.

fastjet’s network currently comprises nine airports, including four in Tanzania. The airline’s longest route is to Johannesburg in South Africa, which was also the carrier’s first international destination. The addition of a fourth A319 in mid-September will help allow frequency increases on international routes, but will not see any new routes launched.

ZAMBIA: Marriott Brand For Ndola

Work has commenced on the construction of a new Protea Hotel in Zambia, located in the city of Ndola opposite the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium along the important Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway. This hotel will increase the Protea Hotels' presence in Zambia to 8 hotels.

With properties geared to service both the tourist and the business market, Protea Hotels, a proud member of Marriott International, a leading global hotel group, is confident in the potential of the Zambian economy to deliver results. From a tourist perspective, facilities in Livingstone and Chipata open up to iconic sights like the Victoria Falls, and to safari and game-viewing, as well as offering a gateway to neighbouring countries such as Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Described as the Commercial Capital City of Zambia, Ndola is the 3rd largest city in the country. Situated 320km north of Lusaka, Ndola is the gateway to the mineral producing region of the country, including the Zambian Copperbelt, and also serves as the end-point for the oil pipeline from Dar-es-Salaam, providing a refinery for the processing of oil for the country, an all-important part of the Zambian economy.

“This means that business travel to the area is significant and, as such, we see great potential for future business in the area,” explains Mark Satterfield, Chief Operating Officer for Marriott International, Middle East & Africa and Marriott International’s Business Leader for Protea Hotels. “This new hotel development under the Protea Hotels brand reinforces our focus on continuing to grow the footprint of Protea Hotels and Marriott International in strategic growth areas such as Zambia throughout Africa.”

These sentiments are echoed by Mark O’Donnell, Chairman of Union Gold, the company that owns the Protea Hotels in Zambia, who says, “Union Gold Zambia Ltd has every confidence in the long-term growth of the Zambian economy. Our commitment to Protea Hotel Ndola is an indication of this confidence. Protea Hotel Ndola will be the eighth hotel in the Protea Hotels Zambian portfolio and it will make Protea Hotels the largest hospitality brand in the country. The Protea Hotels brand is highly respected in Zambia and is synonymous with a high quality and trusted stay experience combined with warm and genuine service to ensure every guest feels important and appreciated.”

The building will be a 2-floor hotel offering 80 rooms, as well as three conference rooms. Large conferences of up to 100 delegates will be possible in the facilities. In terms of size, this will be the second largest hotel in the city, and it is anticipated that up to 180 jobs will be created through this new initiative.

“The projected date of completion of the construction is Q3 2016,” Satterfield says. “Protea Hotels looks forward to continuing successful business ventures in Zambia.”

GABON: Gabon Launches Low Cost FlyAfrica.com

After Zimbabwe and Namibia, the South African group FlyAfrica.com launches new low-cost subsidiary in Gabon.

This is Gabon's President Ali Bongo who has himself announced the arrival of low cost Pan in Gabon following a partnership agreement between the Gabonese government and the South African group: "We must be connected between partner countries . Africa is our continent, it is up to us ", he said. It is true that Gabon no longer national airline since the collapse of Gabon Airlines in 2011. "The extension of FlyAfrica.com network of Southern Africa to Central Africa responds to the aspiration of the Heads of State of the continent ", welcomed in a statement FlyAfrica.com Group, owned by the South African company Paramount.

The headquarters will be based in FlyAfrica Gabon Libreville, the Gabonese capital. No decision has yet been taken regarding its fleet, offers and routes. But the goal is to provide low cost flights at very low prices, like the subsidiaries in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

If the group's subsidiaries FlyAfrica.com -Gabon FlyAfrica, Namibia and Zimbabwe FlyAfrica- FlyAfrica are legally separate, they use the same website, which now features eight destinations in Southern Africa (Windhoek, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Victoria Falls, Bulawayo, Harare and Lusaka) pending the opening of the destinations of the Gabonese subsidiary in Central Africa.