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Air
Highways to Africa, New Transportation
Edition to Launch at New York Times Travel
Show, February 24-26, 2006
Africa's Future is in the Air
By
Mira Berman,
 ATA,
which represents the hopes, desires, plans
and potential of Africa's travel - tourism
industry was born in 1975 and raised under
the most trying political, social and
financial conditions. Today's ATA
continues to seek new markets, win new
friends and open new doors. So much has
happened in the past decades, it's hard to
fathom - but in Africa, recent years have
signaled remarkable changes. Ranking high
are new direct routes and realistic fares
from New York and other U.S. gateways. In
evaluating Africa's transportation scene,
ATA members can be considered among the
most astute judges of
all.
Ms. Berman is Executive Director, Africa
Travel
Association.
More;>
Aviation
News Items
From
Prof. Wolfgang Thome (ATA Uganda).
Pearl
News
 KENYA
AIRWAYS' NEW DESTINATIONS
Item
from Prof. Wolfgang Thome.
With
the onset of the autumn/winter schedule KQ
will be adding twice weekly flights from
Nairobi via Harare to Mozambique's capital
city of Maputo, where incidentally
Serena's hospitality can be experienced at
the Polana Hotel, the city's leading 5
star property. At the same time flights
commence three times a week to the Chinese
city of Guangzhou, tapping yet further
into the Chinese business and leisure
market for the East African carrier. All
three countries in East Africa, Uganda,
Tanzania and Kenya are now on the approved
list of the Chinese government for
travellers to the region and expect a
substantial upturn of traffic from China
in coming
years
AVIATION
WORKSHOP DISCUSSES NEW
REGULATIONS
The Uganda
CAA this week discussed the new draft
regulations for Uganda with stakeholders
in the presence of observers from their
counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania, the
panel for harmonization at the East
African Community and members of the US
FAA who supported the exercise. Over 220
submissions were made by stakeholders,
namely the Uganda Association of Air
Operators (UAAO) but also from Mission
Aviation Fellowship (MAF), the police air
wing, Uganda Air Force, air traffic
controllers association and the
meteorological department. While a good
number of objections were taken care of
during the meeting by amendments,
alterations or deletions from the
presented text, other areas were deferred
for further discussions with stakeholders.
The
President of the Uganda Tourism
Association during the closing ceremony
underlined the partnership between
regulator and aviation fraternity but also
called for an intensified institutional
dialogue between the parties to address
issues as an ongoing practise and asked
the regulators to accept the private
sector stakeholders as full partners and
not only call upon them when convenient or
impossible to ignore. He also asked for
membership in the aviation bodies UAAO and
BAR to be made mandatory by the regulator
to bring all aviation companies under a
private sector platform and then allow
them a regular consultation with the CAA
and other relevant government
bodies.
KENYA
TO STUDY RAIL LINK FROM AIRPORT TO THE
CITY
Assistant
Minister for Transport in Kenya, Andrew
Ligale, had during a recent workshop of
East African Airports Association
announced that the Kenya Government was
studying the possibility of a rail link
between the airport and the city centre.
The main rail line from Mombasa to Nairobi
runs near the perimeter of the airport and
a link could substantially speed up the
transfer time from the city to the
airport.
KQ
TO OFFER LONDON &endash; MOMBASA DIRECT
FLIGHTS
From
December onwards Kenya Airways will ease
travel from the UK to the Kenya Coast by
introducing a weekly B 777 service ever
Friday evening from Heathrow via Nairobi
to Mombasa. This will make clearing
customs and immigration of visitors on
this flight in Nairobi a thing of the
past, as they will do their clearance in
Mombasa, from where the flight is then due
to return non-stop to London. Demand for
Kenya holidays has rocketed during the
year inspite of lingering anti travel
advisories and the entire region has
recorded a renewed interest of overseas
visitors
International
Air Cargo Forum and
Exposition
Calgary,
Alberta, Canada, September
2006.
.
WTTC
REPORT-
EGYPT
WTTC
report highlights the importance of
aviation liberalization for Egypt's Travel
& Tourism
AIRLINE INDUSTRY IN DANGER OF TRAVELLING
AT TWO SPEEDS
The airline industry's goal of sustainable
profitability depends on speedy and
universal adoption of Information
Technology. The results of SITA's seventh
annual Airline IT Trends survey, announced
today, confirm there is a danger of a
growing technology divide that threatens
to split the airline industry into have
and have-nots. The pace-setting airlines
are embracing new Internet Protocol (IP)
and wireless-based technologies that
underpin applications, such as e-ticketing
and self-service kiosks. But the survey
also highlights that a significant
minority of airlines are still lagging
behind. "There is the spectre of a
two-speed industry, with weaker airlines
losing competitive advantage because of a
lack of technology investment," Peter
Buecking, SITA President,
commented.
Details->
...
IATA:
Rebalancing Air Transport
Industry
BRITISH
AIRWAYS STRIKE IMPACTS ON EAST AFRICA
Hundreds
of passengers were stranded in London and
beyond and across East Africa, when a 2
day wildcat strike hit what was once 'the
world's favorite airline'. Repeated strike
action however in recent years at the peak
of the season did little to uphold this
level of customer affection, when people
who needed to get back to work were kept
against their will in the destination or
others wishing to come to East Africa for
a safari or beach holiday were short
changed of their annual vacation time.
There was also not much 'windfall' for
other airlines operating to East Africa,
as during the peak season few seats are
going unsold, in spite of substantial
capacity increases by such airlines as
Kenya Airways, which is now also using
their new B 777 on the European
routes.
KENYA
AIRWAYS GETS NEW BOARD CHAIRMAN
Following
the retirement of the long time incumbent
chairman Mr. Omollo Okero, under whose
stewardship Kenya Airways transformed into
a profitable airline striving for global
status, the main shareholders KLM and the
Government of Kenya have now voted Mr.
Evanson Mwaniki as the new board chairman
during the ongoing AGM of the airline. The
new chairman also chairs the BAT board in
Kenya. Mr. Ayisi Makatiani was elected as
new director instead of Dr. Chris Obura,
who had to retire by rotation and was not
reelected.
Visi
MOMBASA
AIR SAFARIS Head
Office at the General Aviation Terminal at
Mombasa's Moi International Airport and
you will step out of bright tropical heat
into cool efficiency. With its separate
terminal building with hard stand for
aircraft parking just outside the window,
you can be ticketed and through the
passenger lounge for screening and then
board your flight in minutes. Mombasa Air
Safari has staff based at Diani Beach,
Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu all along the
Kenya Coast to provide friendly and
efficient services on their daily flights
to LAMU, AMBOSELI, TSAVO and the MASAI
MARA. Owned and operated by two Kenyans,
Christine Cronchey and John Cleave since
1974, they can claim to be the best known
Kenya Coast airline
More->
SN
BRUSSELS GETS MORE AIRCRAFT
From
Prof. Wolfgang Thome, Uganda. News broken
to this correspondent by the CEO of SN
Brussels Airlines Mr. Peter Davies
indicate, that the SN management has now
received the green light from their
supervisory board to acquire an additional
Airbus A 330 aircraft, to be deployed on
both present but also new routes.
According to Mr. Davies the possibility is
there that Entebbe may get an additional
flight per week, maybe combining it with
either Kigali/Rwanda or Bujumbura/Burundi.
This is due to be achieved over the next
9-12 months at which time planning for
possible new routes should also be
complete.
Mr.
Davies met the press, travel agents and
corporate clients during a cruise on Lake
Victoria last week, when he visited Uganda
for the second time. Also introduced
during the visit was the successor to Mr.
Geert Lemmen, who was country manager
Uganda for SN and previously SABENA for
over 10 years. While Geert is now
confirmed to take charge of the Freetown
station, his successor will be Pierre
Declerck, who will start work in Kampala
in August and formally take up his new
appointment. Also present were Manager
East Africa, Philippe Saeys-Desmond and
Peggy Esseldeurs, Vice President Africa
for SN Brussels, underlining the
importance SN attaches to their East
African destinations in general and Uganda
in particular
NOV
. 1 FOR KLM
Information
received now confirms that KLM will begin
operations into Entebbe three times a week
from 01st November onwards. The
airline will fly a B 767-300 every
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday non stop from
Amsterdam to Entebbe, offering seamless
connections from their entire network and
their airline partners for Uganda bound
travelers. In addition, through a KLM / KQ
codeshare, another 11 weekly flights
between Amsterdam and Entebbe route via
Nairobi. Meanwhile, KLM's partner airline
Air France continues to operate a weekly
cargo flight to Entebbe via Nairobi, at
least until the cargo capacity from the
scheduled services comes into
effect.
CIVIL
AVIATION BODIES AGREE ON SINGLE
SKY
During
consultations between the three East
African aviation bodies last week in
Entebbe it was agreed to fully harmonize
aviation policies and regulations amongst
the East African sister states, extend
full privileges to airlines licensed and
registered across East Africa and open all
destinations to traffic from the region.
This is considered a shot in the arm of
advocates for easier air operations and is
bound to open new routes from country to
country. The measures are to take effect
by October this year, subject to
ratification by the Council of Ministers
during their next session
Precision
Air Expands:
Following
the return of its sole B 737 to Kenya
Airways last year and the subsequent halt
of flights to Johannesburg due to lack of
suitable aircraft, Precision Air is now
once again looking into the future with
hope. A new ATR 72 aircraft has joined the
fleet and apparently orders for additional
new aircraft to be delivered over the next
two years have also been placed. The
Precision Air head office has also been
moved from Arusha to Dar es Salaam, from
where it operates 5 flights a week to
Mombasa via Zanzibar as well as 5 flights
a week from Mombasa to Kilimanjaro /
Arusha. Nairobi is served daily from Dar
and the Kilimanjaro Nairobi route has 3
flights a week. The present fleet now
stands at 8 aircraft including one ATR 72,
three ATR 42, three LET 410 and one Cessna
Grand Caravan. Precision Air is 49 percent
owned by Kenya Airways, which also
provides management support. (Prof.
Wolfgang Thome)
"Open
Skies for Africa Aviation Conference"
We
salute the Africa/USA Aviation Summit in
Washington, DC which featured the
regulatory and commercial implications and
opportunities of Open Skies. We built a
magazine and web site around Open Skies in
the USA and Canada, and are devoting an
entire edition of Africa Travel Magazine
that will include:
•
Open Skies implications for Africa
• Airline competition and
Cooperation,
•
Aviation regulations and air safety.
• Airports and ATC development.
• Finance strategies and sourcing
funds.
• Aviation training and
education.
• Maximizing Business
Opportunities.
Air
Highways to Africa,,
Aug. 2005
The
total scene, from airlines to airport
development, route maps and aviation
history. Plus rail travel, highways and
sea lanes. Visit the Air
Highways
Website
for sample topics.
South
African Airways Service from New York to
Johannesburg via
Dakar
SAA
service from JFK to Dakar to provide the
only and much needed nonstop service
between North America and Senegal, West
Africa. These major schedule enhancements
are complemented by a major service
improvement &endash; one which I'm
privileged to introduce to you tonight ...
the progress of air travel, South African
Airways style. An environment where air
travel feels more like a stay at a
five-star hotel than a fifteen hour
flight. An environment where people can
experience the finest South African
hospitality, comfortably and effortlessly.
An environment where the most important
investment is always in the comfort of our
passengers.
KENYA
MAKING STRIDES TOWARDS FAA
CERTIFICATION
A team from the American FAA and from
Miami Civil Aviation are in Nairobi at
present to assess the progress made by
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
towards category one approval, which is
mandatory to commence flights by KQ to the
United States. Miami is in contention with
other key airports in the US to become the
first destination in America for Kenya
Airways, once the certification process is
completed. The US are a key market for
tourists to East Africa and also capable
of absorbing much of the exports from the
region like fresh fish, fruits and
vegetables, besides textile exports under
the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunities
Act) statute, which grants African
countries preferential access to the US
markets. Uganda's' main international
airport Entebbe is expecting FAA Cat 1
status shortly, having completed all the
necessary improvements and upgrading last
year.
Flying
to Africa via
Europe?
Hotel reservations service in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Check this comprehensive Web Site:
http://holland.amsterdam.sunscale.com/
AFRICAN
AIRLINES ASSOCIATION
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