South African regional airline Airlink has announced that it is starting a major new international route, between Johannesburg and Nairobi, Kenya, next month. Airlink will become the first private-sector airline to operate on this route.

This will make Kenya the third East African country, and the fifteenth African country, served by Airlink. The new service will start operating on April 24, and will be operated daily.

“Airlink’s entry on the route supports last November’s agreement by Kenya and South Africa to eliminate trade barriers and strengthen commerce and economic ties by opening up business and cooperation between the two major economies in key sectors and markets,” explained airline CEO and MD Rodger Foster. “It also follows South Africa’s removal of visa requirements for Kenyans visiting South Africa for up to 90 days (South Africans do not require visas to visit Kenya).”

The carrier will operate the service using its 98-seat Embraer E190 jet airliners. The Johannesburg-Nairobi flights will be coded 4Z 070, and depart at 09h40, arriving in Nairobi at 14h45. The return flights will be coded 4Z 071 and leave Nairobi at 15h45, landing at Johannesburg at 19h05.

“This is also an important moment for Eastern-Southern Africa connectivity,” he highlighted. “With Airlink’s network now including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and most of the Southern Africa Development Community nations, we offer travellers the widest set of choices and convenient regional and intercontinental connections on our aircraft and with our global carrier partners. These enable the businesses and economies Airlink serves to expand their own respective market reach. Similarly, our competitive services will promote tourism in both markets, generating additional foreign travel spend.”

Airlink operates a fleet of 60 jet airliners and, over the past two years, according to Airports Company South Africa, has achieved an average on-time departure performance of 95.73%. It also operates flights to St Helena Island in the South Atlantic. It is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is accredited under the IATA Operational Safety Audit programme.

Source: Engineering News

Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) is considering the acquisition of an A321-200N to serve Rodrigues Island once the airstrip on the island has been sufficiently extended and once the airline grows its fleet with the expected arrival next month of two A330-200s on a three-year lease from Carlyle Aviation Partners for use on medium-haul destinations, including a new twice-weekly service to Delhi International in India from May 3.

The A330s will also be deployed on existing routes to St. Denis de la Réunion and to Antananarivo, Madagascar, Mauritius’ Defi Media reported. The widebodies would allow Air Mauritius to offer more frequencies and help it adapt its fleet to market and passenger needs.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the aircraft are the 254-seater VP-CPJ (msn 751) and VP-CPQ (msn 807) previously flown by Fiji Airways (FJ, Nadi). Delivery has been delayed since the end of 2022. The airline also has an outstanding order for two A350-900s (registration number unknown), according to ch-aviation fleets advanced data.

The expected arrival of the two new A330s will bring the number of aircraft in the fleet to 11. This includes two A330-900Ns from Air Lease Corporation; four A350-900s (two leased from AerCap, one leased from Tokyo Century, and one-inhouse aircraft); and three owned ATR72-500s.

Air Mauritius’ new chief executive, Kresimir Kucko, was not immediately available for more information on the A321neo plans. The aircraft type is classified as suitable for Code 4C category airports as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), requiring runways that are 1,800 metres or longer. The present runway at Rodigues measures 1,287 metres, according to the ch-aviation PRO airports module.

Since its return to service at the end of 2021 after 18 months of voluntary administration to avoid liquidation, Air Mauritius has gradually resumed operations with flights showing satisfactory load factors on most routes, the report said.

Source: Ch-Aviation

It’s still way too early to tell whether it was the right decision to nix the Vistara brand, but Air India clearly has its work cut out for itself as the brand name also comes with a lot of baggage.

The Tatas will let go of Indian full-service carrier Vistara as they look to merge the airline with the more “internationally-recognized” Air India, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said on Monday.

Wilson told news agency Press Trust of India that efforts would be made to retain some of the “Vistara heritage in that new manifestation.”

He added that the process of Vistara’s integration with Air India is awaiting regulatory approval from the Competition Commission of India.

AirAsia India will also be merged with Air India Express. “In the next couple of months we will start deploying more public facing steps that will indicate the coming together of these two airlines,” the Air India CEO said.

Once completed, the Tatas will end up with one full service and one low-cost airline, Wilson said, while reiterating the aspiration of attaining that 30 percent aviation market share objective in India both domestically and internationally.

Calling it an amalgamation of the existing assets, Wilson said, “We are picking the best from each of those airlines to carry forward and using the combined economies of scale and combined knowledge to elevate the proposition beyond what’s offered by any of the existing airlines currently.”

The mergers would also help the group to tap a market segment that it previously hasn’t been quite equipped to take full advantage of, according to the CEO.

Air India’s Record Aircraft Orders

While there have been talks of Air India’s record order of 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, Wilson said the task is more than just buying aircraft. “It’s the absolute and complete transformation of Air India,” he said speaking to Indian media.

With the Tatas taking over Air India, the erstwhile Indian state carrier, in 2022, the transformation has been focusing on three phases, Wilson said.

In the current take-off phase, Wilson said they have been putting a comprehensive effort to address some of the issues that have accumulated over many years of underinvestment, addressing system shortages and restoring aircraft to flying service.

Wilson said despite the challenges the airline has so far announced 16 new international routes and capacity has been increased on nine others.

United Arab Emirates’ national carrier Emirates is also reportedly looking at a codeshare pact with Air India, according to reports in Indian media.

Having already put significant capacity into North America from both Delhi as well as Mumbai and some from Bengaluru, the airline has also added capacity into Europe — Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, and now has 12 services into Gatwick.

The airline is also looking to establish direct connectivity with New Zealand. No airline currently offers direct flights between the two countries. 

The Investments

The Tata Group is not shying away from investing in the Indian aviation sector, Wilson said. “The aircraft order requires a significant sum and how that will be funded is a matter of internal deliberation but there are many sources.”

The group plans to fund its $70 billion order for a record 470 aircraft with internal cash, equity and through sale-and-leasebacks, according to a Reuters report.

The group has also committed $400 million in refurbishing the existing aircraft and more than $200 million in upgrading and improving the IT systems, according to Wilson.

He said the group is also investing significantly in a training academy and is in deep discussions with a number of potential partners to set up what will be one of the world’s largest training academies in India.

“As time progresses, we can build our own talent pipeline clearly for Air India as the first priority. But secondly, and perhaps more significantly, for India as a whole,” he said.

And with all that investment, profitability is definitely an objective for the group. But Wilson said the group is not putting any time to any milestones, as it is a work in progress.

“There’s a lot of growth that we need to invest in, a lot of capabilities that we need to strengthen and deploy,” he said.

Source: Skift

Emirates has been exploring options to codeshare on flights with Air India, as the Indian flag carrier continues to pivot its brand to offer a more premium service since it was acquired by Tata Sons. 

Talks with Air India “are at an early stage,” said Mohammad Sarhan, the Vice President of India and Nepal at Emirates, during an interview with India-based business news publication, Mint. Sarhan said that the Indian carrier’s main priority right now is the merger with Vistara, which is why the two sides are only at the “initial-level talk” stage. “Let’s see how it evolves,” Sarhan continued.  

While Emirates has interline agreements with almost all airlines based in the country, the “best way forward” for the Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based airline would be a partnership with a premium carrier, Sarhan added.  

When Air India and Singapore Airlines, a minority (49%) shareholder of Vistara, announced the merger between the now-privatized airline and Vistara in November 2022, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, stated that the merger would make Air India “a truly world-class airline”. 

Tata Sons finalized the acquisition of Air India from the Indian government in January 2022 and, with 51%, is a majority shareholder of Vistara. 

Emirates previously signed a codesharing and interline agreement with Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet in November 2019. However, while the interline agreement went into effect, the two airlines have not placed their codes on each other’s flights. 

The United Arab Emirates’ national carrier has partnerships with two low-cost carriers, namely another Dubai, UAE-based airline flydubai, and the British no-frills airline easyJet. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

After a duel in 2018 for the supply of Uganda Airlines long-haul fleet that ended with Airbus’ A330-800neo carrying the day with an order for two aircraft, the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers are back in the trenches, this time for a potential order of up to six aircraft.

Although it is an outlier, Brazil’s Embraer is also understood to have thrown its hat in the ring, making for a three-way competition.

Delegations from Airbus and Boeing were in Kampala this week to make pitches for their respective models, as Uganda Airlines approaches decision time for a selection of the aircraft that will power its mid-range passenger and cargo fleets.

Industry sources confirmed that at different times during this past week, teams from both manufacturers met with Uganda Airlines management and officials from key aviation stakeholder organisations such the Ministry of Works and Transport as well as sector regulator Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.

Confirmed meetings

Without divulging details, Uganda Airlines chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki confirmed the meetings.

“Everyone is pitching: Airbus is pitching, Boeing is pitching and Embraer is pitching, but as Uganda Airlines, what we are interested in is a mid-range aircraft,” she told The EastAfrican.

The airline urgently needs an aircraft to fill the gap between the 76-seat Mitsubishi CRJ-900 and the 257-seat A330-800. Although the operational radius of the CRJ-900 can cover the airline’s envisaged African route network, it is severely weight-limited, imposing a trade-off between loading passengers and baggage.

There is also a financial imperative to the midrange. Uganda Airlines, which saw its loss widen to Ush266 billion ($72.5 million) for the 2021-22 fiscal year, partly blames its financial position on slow route development and a mismatch between passenger volumes and the higher cost of operating its Airbus A330 on the Entebbe-Dubai route — its longest sector. 

Because of the passenger profile on the Dubai route (mainly traders), the airline is not maximising yield from the A330 because its business and premium economy cabins, which have a combined 48 seats out of the 257 on board mostly go unsold.

Aviation fuel price

A spike in the price of aviation fuel has pushed the hourly cost of operating the type to $15,000, making it uneconomical to operate on some routes.  In an earlier interview with this newspaper, Ms Bamuturaki said that they were interested in an aircraft that can adequately serve the heavier routes such as those planned for West Africa, while also capable of substituting the A330 on routes such as Dubai, London and Mumbai, which are expected to launch later this year.

“We want an aircraft that can do Dubai, Mumbai or London when we have low loads. We also want a mid-range one on those routes where the A330 is either too big or unavailable,” she explained.

At stake for the manufacturers is an order of up to six aircraft: Four in the 100-plus seat category and two freighters; one with a capacity of 30 tonnes to serve regional routes and another with 60-tonne capacity for the intercontinental market.

Buy two tranches

The aircraft will be bought in two tranches, with two passenger and a cargo planes coming in the short term followed by another pair of passenger aircraft within a five-year timeframe.

Sources familiar with the discussions say Airbus is offering its A321, but it was not clear which specific variant of the type it was pitching. Meanwhile, Boeing is understood to have made presentations on all variants of its B737 Max family for the airline to select.

If range and size are the primary considerations, then the race will be between Airbus’ A321-LR and A321-XLR versus Boeing’s Max 8 and 9. With a capacity of between 162 and 178 passengers in a two-class configuration, and a range of 3,550 nautical miles, the Max-8 or its larger sibling the Max-9 with similar range but with five extra seats, can easily reach London.

The Max-7 with 3,850nm range and 138-153 passenger capacity, and the Max-10 with 3,300nm range but with 188-204 passengers are, however, likely out of contention for now, because they are yet to secure US Federal Aviation Administration certification.

Also, the Max-10 would also be restricted in terms of range while the Max 7 would impose a seat-mile cost penalty because of limited seat capacity.

According to analysts, however, a big selling point for Boeing is scalability. Looking at an eventual fleet of four aircraft, between the Max-7 and 9, Uganda Airlines would have more flexibility in managing capacity in response to varying market opportunities. But that will come at the price of fleet complexity and added training and tooling costs.  At a minimum of 180 seats, the A321 could prove too big on some regional routes.

Source: The East African

The cargo and logistics division of Etihad Airways, Etihad Cargo, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Astral Aviation to expand the partnership between the two parties and enhance the cooperation between the regions of Abu Dhabi and Nairobi, further growing Etihad Cargo’s reach into the African market.

This latest agreement builds on Astral Aviation’s expanding partnership with Abu Dhabi, which will see Astral Aviation operating more flights to the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) capital, supported by Etihad Cargo.

Through the comprehensive MoU, Etihad Cargo’s customers will benefit from additional cargo capacity out of Nairobi through the introduction of additional services from Nairobi to Etihad Cargo’s hub in Abu Dhabi from April 1.

In 2021, Etihad signed a service level agreement (SLA) with Astral Aviation to provide reliable and cost-effective air freight solutions for the transport of pharmaceuticals across Africa.

The SLA was Etihad Cargo’s first pharmaceutical interline agreement and ensured the carrier’s partners’ full compliance with the latest International Air Transport Association pharmaceutical and gross domestic product regulations and standards.

Etihad Airways global sales and cargo senior VP Martin Drew says the signing of the MoU demonstrates Etihad Cargo and Astral Aviation’s shared commitment to joint network development and providing a more comprehensive solution to international cargo transportation between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi.

“The partnership will enable Etihad Cargo to expand its African network and offer increased cargo capacity both into and out of Nairobi, strengthening the connection between the two cities via this key route and further developing this critical African gateway,” he says.

Astral Aviation CEO Sanjeev Gadhia says the MoU with Etihad Cargo will enhance accessibility and connectivity through Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub.

“We look forward to transporting perishables from Kenya into Abu Dhabi and beyond on Etihad’s network, and on the return with cargoes from Asia, [the] US and Europe to connect into Astral’s intra-African network in Nairobi. This cooperation will create new opportunities for our respective clients and will be a win-win partnership,” he says.

The agreement will see Astral Aviation and Etihad Cargo sharing up to 50% of all available capacity on the new Nairobi-Abu Dhabi-Nairobi flights, increasing the capacity Etihad Cargo offers air cargo and air mail customers.

Through Etihad Cargo’s Abu Dhabi hub, the carrier’s global network will offer connectivity to destinations around the world. Etihad Cargo will use its expansive road feeder service network to transport cargo arriving in Abu Dhabi from Nairobi to destinations throughout the UAE and other offline stations.

Source: Engineering News

The Kenyan government is moving forward with its plans to halt support for Nairobi-based Kenya Airways (KQ) by the end of 2023, having now trimmed KQ’s bailout package.    

The Kenyan National Treasury has cut Sh10 billion ($80 million) from the package, a 33% reduction from the original figure, according to a Business Daily report.  

The Kenyan government initially approved a Sh34.9 billion ($278 million) bailout package in December 2022 in a bid to help the airline repay its arrears to lessors.   

Kenya’s government is the majority shareholder in KQ, with a 48.9% stake. KQ has received a total of Sh98.2 billion ($784 million) in bailout loans from the Kenyan government. 

However, the East African state is keen to turn KQ’s misfortunes around, with the flag carrier having last turned a profit in 2012. 

Kenyan government keen to sell controlling stake in KQ to investors 

In mid-December 2022, the Kenyan government announced its intentions to pair the Kenyan flag carrier with a strategic investor, which would involve selling its entire stake in KQ (48.9%) to interested parties.   

In an interview with Bloomberg, Kenya’s newly elected President William Ruto revealed that Kenya was actively exploring options and potential partnerships to make KQ a “profitable entity”.   

Delta Air Lines was among the potential airline partners with which the government was interested in partnering, stating that discussions with the airline were at a ‘preliminary stage’.   

Source: Aerotime Hub

The Kenyan government is developing a financing strategy for Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) that will end its reliance on state support by the end of December 2023, according to a brief note in its draft 2023 Budget Policy Statement.

“To support the aviation industry, the government will develop a turnaround strategy for Kenya Airways. A critical plank of this strategy will be a financing plan that does not depend on operational support from the exchequer beyond December 2023,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, the technically insolvent flag carrier will receive state support of KES34.9 billion shillings (USD283.2 million) this year after the government earlier pledged continued financial aid in FY2022/23 to prevent defaults for the settlement of lessors’ arrears and working capital support. Since June 2022, Kenya Airways has been undergoing restructuring – financed with state loans that will have to be repaid – focusing on fleet and network simplification, staff rationalisation, cost management, labour agreement overhauls, ancillary business and strategic partnerships.

In May 2022, the government approved a state loan of KES20 billion shilling (USD173.9 million), and the airline borrowed another KES11.3 billion (about USD95 million) in the half-year ending June 30, 2022. This followed loans of KES11 billion (USD95.2 million) in 2020 and KES14 billion (USD121.1 million) in 2021.

The Kenyan government, in the meantime, is looking for a cash-rich foreign airline to take Kenya Airways off its hands. President William Ruto reportedly pitched a plan to Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) during a visit to the United States recently.

Source: Ch-aviation

Rekindled optimism of the Federal Government to float a new national carrier in the twilight of this administration berates sincerity and real national interest. Characteristically, this administration promised more for aviation development than it has delivered and the telltale signs are all over the industry. But a horridly packaged new national carrier will not assuage inherent poor leadership in the air transport sector nor cover up for policy missteps. In place of another albatross, the Ministry of Aviation should stay focused on realistic developmental policies. 

The project handlers recently came up with the nomination of Ethiopian Airlines owning a major share of the national carrier and much to the displeasure of some stakeholders, including local airline operators that have protested and taken the matter to court. It will be recalled that the new national carrier, already christened Nigeria Air, is one of the electoral campaign promises of Muhammadu Buhari just before 2015.

Added to that was the 2016 pledge by Hadi Sirika, the Aviation Minister, to concession all the airports for efficiency, set up a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, attract aircraft leasing companies to Nigeria and build aerotropolis at major airports nationwide. All of those promises only exist in Sirika’s playbook till date.

But a national carrier would always be a sentimental subject, especially for those that saw the defunct Nigeria Airways in its heydays. Airliners, branded in national colours, are always elegant assets and national pride globally. They are synonymous to having embassies in motion, showcasing the splendor and economic powers of a country in diplomatic space.

With over 100 Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) already racked up by Nigeria, it means 100 potential markets for a new national carrier to operate commercially and unhindered by the aeropolitics that often clip the wings of designated flag carriers.

As patronising as the venture sounds, the logic is flawed. Airline business is high-capital intensive and too expensive a bill for national pride alone. A new aircraft costs an average of $80 million and the industry, in good times, has a profit margin of about five per cent return on investment. That explains why economic superpowers like the U.S., UK, France, among others, have over the years shared the burden of ownership with the private sector.

Even the most successful airline in Africa – Ethiopian Airlines – once hinted of plans to divest both assets and liability to enhance chances of survival. Apparently with that in mind, the Outline Business Case of the proposed Nigeria Air has a joint partnership between the state and private sector, with the latter expected to bear as much as 95 per cent of ownership.

But the project has been a hard sell for Sirika and his team of consultants who have been unable to convince stakeholders and investors alike. It is on record that only Ethiopian Airline (ET) expressed interest in the Nigeria Air project globally when Nigeria called for bidders, taking advertorial pages in international newspapers.

Perhaps their first error was to unilaterally conceive and christen the new airline in London, far away from the glare of Nigerians that only welcome it with vitriolic criticism. It couldn’t fly until COVID-19 caught up with it and it has since remained a hard nut to crack, failing to take-off in five attempts.

If it was difficult convincing credible investors before COVID-19, it must be more difficult now in a world ravaged by economic downturns of Russia and Ukrainian war. The timing is also wrong for the Nigerian economy that is in recession and borrowing to augment one-third of its 2022 budget amid an almost100 per cent debt-to-revenue ratio.

The national carrier has also proven its capacity for prodigality. In the last five years, the project has racked up an estimated N15.9 billion in budgetary votes, though Sirika has lately countered that only N352 million was approved and another N299 million for Transaction Advisers and Consultants.

It is a shame that the incubation phase of the national carrier has taken forever where the likes of Ibom Air, owned by Akwa Ibom State government, started small in about a year of conception and earned a major stake in Nigerian domestic airspace.

How come the likes of Boeing and Airbus plane manufacturers are not showing interest or signing deals to avail brand new aircraft to launch the new carrier like Boeing has done in Ghana? Why are the local stakeholders that earlier warmed up to the project turning their backs on it, describing it as “Sirika’s project” and a giveaway to ET that is already an operator and fellow competition on the continental space? The minister should be answerable and made accountable for every penny spent on the project to date.

Tellingly, the minister has failed in his remit. Though he came in as an aviator and has been the longest serving helmsman, his deliverable has been less than convincing. As an aviator that understands the prevailing operating environment, he knows that there are too many booby-traps in the local environment that hobble the growth of all operating carriers, including the proposed national carrier.

There are perennial problems of decrepit airport infrastructure, low capacity and aircraft underutilisation, multiple taxation, multiple destinations for foreign carriers, foreign exchange scarcity to fund aircraft maintenance and buy spares, scarcity and hike in the cost of aviation fuel. As a ministry in particular and government in general, what solutions or policies have been proffered to ameliorate these problems to save the sector from imminent collapse?

The foreign airlines are exploiting Nigerian air travellers through hike in airfares and the stuck fund window; does that bother local authorities? It is not enough for a government to blame unanticipated challenges for its woes. The actual business of governance and leadership is to solve those problems and not give excuses that are typical of charlatans.
  
Surely, the local operating environment is not homely for a new national carrier notwithstanding its benefits. And to save our cash-strapped country from another round of wastages, more legal fireworks and heartaches in the post-Buhari era, it is safe to ditch the national carrier plan for now.

Rather, Sirika, the ministry of aviation and relevant stakeholders should pay closer attention to policy formulation for the development of the sector and the economy at large. Successful aviation sectors, in other parts of the world, are designed to complement other sectors like tourism, logistic services, agriculture, mining and so on. Aviation in Nigeria needs such a robust template and problem-solving leadership to turn the corner and have an enviable sector for all to thrive. A new national carrier, no matter how well-intentioned, will not fill that void.

Source: The Guardian

Ethiopian Airlines will next month lift capacity on its China flights and restore frequencies to pre-pandemic levels from the start of March following the recent easing of Covid travel restrictions in the Asian country.

The African carrier will be one of the first international operators to restore pre-Covid capacity levels to China since restrictions, including the requirement for visitors to quarantine, were eased earlier this month.

China was a key market for Ethiopian prior to the pandemic with the carrier serving Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Cirium schedules data shows it has been serving all four cities since November, albeit at much lower frequencies.

It will now from 6 February lift to daily its service to Guangzhou, before restoring frequency to 10 flights a week from the start of March. Ethiopian will lift frequency on its Beijing and Shanghai service to four flights a week next month and restore daily links from 1 March. It will also add back a fourth weekly flights to Chengdu, restoring to 28 its weekly China services.

Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Mesfin Tasew says: ”China is one of the largest markets for Ethiopian Airlines outside Africa, and the increase in flight frequencies will help revive the trade, investment, cultural and bilateral cooperation between Africa and China in the post-Covid era.”

He adds: “We are keen to further expand our service to China going forward.”

Ethiopian also operates cargo flights to Guangzhou, Changsha, Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Wuhan.

International carriers, particularly in Europe and North America, are largely yet to commit to restoring China capacity  despite the easing in travel rules. Though China lifted the most onerous of Covid travel restrictions, PCR testing remains in place – while many countries have reimposed a testing requirement of their own on Chinese arrivals amid the surge in Covid cases which has followed China’s dropping of its zero-Covid policy.

Source: Flight Global