Airlines Africa

Airlines Africa

Airlines Africa May 16, 2011

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Serving the Airline Industry and Airline Professional Across Africa

Precision Air Announces New Click South African Airways Cargo & Fly Payment Options Airline of the

Precision Air of Tanzania has Precision Air sales outlets or travel introduced a new and convenient agents.” He added. method of booking and paying online

This means a customer can book Year and New for its customers who do not wish to via the Precision Air website and get leave the comfort of their home or ofa response of the booking itinerary Nonstop fice. with the cost of the itinerary via email.

Speaking during a press conference at the Precision Air Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, the airline’s Director of Commercial Mr. Phil Mwakitawa said; “This is a new product that allows Precision Air customers to be able to do their ticket payments online.”

“This product is mainly focused on email bookings. Today a customer who wishes to book and ticket via email does not need to pay a visit to

Once the customer confirms ready to pay, a payment link will be sent to the customer allowing him/her to process the payment online using Visa credit or debit card. This way the customer receives his ticket while seated at his offices or home via email.

As part of the continuous improvement of its product and services, Precision Air recently launched its Continued on Page 2

South African Airways (SAA) Cargo has, for the fourth consecutive year, been named the Best African Cargo Airline 2011.

SAA Cargo is ranked with the best in the world and has, over the years, ensured that the needs of its valued customers are prioritised. “We are delighted and honoured that we have been voted the best in Africa by our customers for the fourth consecutive year,” said Tleli Makhetha, general manager of SAA Cargo. “Our customers will continue to benefit from another year of excellence from the dedicated team at SAA Cargo,” said Makhetha.

Effective May 1, 2011, South African Airways launched new roundtrip nonstop service, between New York (JFK) and Johannesburg, South Africa. The new nonstop service on Continued on Page 4

Join the AFRICAN AIRLINES African Airlines Association

Don’t let another minute pass without being a part of the airline community of ASSOCIATION Africa.

Whether an airline or an industrial Association des Compagnies Aériennes Africaines SITA: NBOXA8X P. O. Box 20116 Nairobi Airlines 00200 Kenya supplier, the African Association Tel: 254 20 2320144/2320148 Email: afraa@afraa.org is waiting to partner with you.

Fax: 254 20 601173 Web: www.afraa.org www.afraa.org AFRAA MEDIA BRIEF www.airlines-africa.com

Air Namibia Visits AFRAA

16TH February 2011

May 16, 2011

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Airlines Africa

Precision Air Continued from Page 1 third generation fresh and vibrant new uniform. The uniforms cost $170,000.

The airline’s ultra-modern $5.7 million hangar is in the final stages of construction and once compete, the facility will be the only full-maintenance, repair and overhaul ATR service provider in east and central Africa.

Plans to go to the market with the IPO are still on course. This IPO will set the stage for an aggressive network expansion focusing domestic and regional routes. The airline is currently sourcing for an additional B737 and two ATR42 by July this year to achieve that mission.

Precision Air is committed to providing its customers with choice across its network using the latest equipment on the market.

In 2006 Precision Air and ATR signed a $129 million deal to deliver seven brand new aircraft under its fleet modernization program. The last of the seven aircraft arrived in Dar es Salaam in September 2010. Five of the seven aircraft are fitted with state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment systems allowing passengers to watch movies and listen to music during flight.

The delivery of the last aircraft brings the total number of fleet to ten, seven of which are brand new. Precision Air

Precision Air Marketing Manager, Emillian Rwejuna announcing the Click & Fly payment option. Looking on are the Commercial Director - Phil Mwakitawa and Information Systems Director – Gardy Mbala. Click & Fly enables a passenger to pay online for his ticket using a Visa credit or debit card. also operates a Boeing 737.

The airline has the largest local and regional network comprising; Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Mwanza, Kigoma, Tabora, Musoma, Shinyanga, Mtwara.

Regionally Precisionair flies to Nairobi, Mombasa and Entebbe.

EmQuest, Sabre Distributor Sign New Contracts

EmQuest, the sole distributer of Sabre products in the UAE and Africa, signed nine key travel agencies at the Arabian Travel Market..

The agencies, from Dubai and the Northern Emirates, who attended the joint-signing were honoured with the presence and signing of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group. These key customers have used EmQuest solutions for the last 20 years and have shown their preference over other offerings due to the loyalty, commitment and superior service offering from EmQuest.

“We highly value our clients who, through their loyalty, hard work and dedication, have made Sabre a major success within the UAE,” stated Naz Nizari, senior vice president of EmQuest.

“EmQuest has a wide range of solutions that are being continuously enhanced to meet the region’s growing travel needs; including a complete www.airlines-africa.com

portfolio of airline solutions, customer profiling, and travel security tools for client management. With Sabre’s newest platform—Sabre Red Workspace—we offer agents a solution that allows them to grow, evolve and develop their business and better served their clients,” she added.

In addition to extending the products to agencies, EmQuest is invest-

Airlines Africa Airlines Africa is the definitive weekly news and information source serving the African airline and transportation community. Copyright © 2011 It is published 48 times annually by Defense House Publishing. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be copied, reproduced, duplicated stored or retransmitted in any form without the expressed written pemission of the publisher.

ing in regional distribution solutions to provide content such as tour holidays, travel insurance, mid-back office solutions and online booking solutions to provide agencies with a single, powerful platform to help serve their clients.

EmQuest and Sabre have reinforced their commitment to continuously invest and grow in the Middle East and African markets.

Jeff McKaughan Publisher jeffm@airlines-africa.com 1- 443-243-1710 For details on advertising, please contact the publisher.

Airlines Africa P.O.Box 236 Forest Hill, MD 21050 USA www.airlines-africa.com May 16, 2011

Airlines Africa

Emirates to Launch First A380 Service to Africa

Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, announced today that Johannesburg, the industrial and economic capital of South Africa, will be the next destination slated for its flagship A380 aircraft. The daily A380 service will start October 1, 2011.

The announcement of Emirates’ first scheduled A380 service to Africa comes as the airline unveiled its full year financial results for 2010-11.

These revealed a surge in the number of South African travellers flying with Emirates—with total passenger growth up 12 percent over the previous financial year. Overall revenue from the South African market also rose sharply, up 34 percent from 2009-10.

The year that saw South Africa host the highly successful 2010 FIFA World Cup also saw Emirates record a huge rise in inbound traffic to South Africa—with passenger volumes up 20 percent in the calendar year 2010.

As an official FIFA Partner, Emirates helped to bring the world to South Africa by flying in football fans from across its network of six continents.

“We have enjoyed a successful partnership with South Africa since launching services in 1995, and now connect our Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban gateways to our vast global network through 42 nonstop flights each week to Dubai,” said Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline.

“The very positive trends we have witnessed over the last 12 months will only be boosted by the arrival of our flagship A380 aircraft, which has set a new benchmark for air travel.”

“Our A380 demonstrates the future of aviation—both in terms of passenger experience and environmental sensitivity,” he added. “By launching the aircraft to Johannesburg, we are further underlining our commitment to serving South Africa and we anticipate very strong demand from leisure and business travelers keen to experience its unique features and unparalleled levels of comfort in the air.”

The 489-seat Emirates A380 ofwww.airlines-africa.com

fers 14 private first class suites, 76 lie-flat beds in business class and 399 seats in economy class. First class passengers have access to two onboard shower spas, while all premium passengers on the upper deck can socialise at 40,000 feet in the on board lounge. Beverages and bar snacks are served once the aircraft reaches cruising altitude—all the way until descent.

The A380 service will operate daily as EK 761, departing Dubai at 0440hrs (local time) and arriving at O R Tambo International Airport at 1050hrs (local). The return flight, EK762, departs Johannesburg at 1410hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0010hrs (local) the following day.

The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai will offer passengers from South Africa convenient connections to an extensive range of destinations within Europe, which following the June 1 launch of Geneva and the Copenhagen launch on August 1, will stand at 27. Passengers will also be able to connect seamlessly to a wide range of points within the Middle and Far East.

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Customers wishing to break their journey in Dubai will discover a huge variety of things to see and do in what is often billed as the world’s ultimate stopover city. Attractions range from world-class golf courses to indoor skiing, fine dining to desert safaris and shopping options spanning from gold, diamond and spice souks to chic designer boutiques; not to mention the chance to get a true birds-eye view of the gleaming cityscape from the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

The new A380 service will also help to support the thriving trade relationship between South Africa and the UAE, which has enjoyed an average year-on-year growth of eight per cent since 2007. Total trade volumes rose from $1,379,000 in 2007 to $1,749,000 in 2010.

Emirates currently operates a three times daily service to Johannesburg, a double-daily service to Cape Town and a daily service to Durban; while the airline’s fleet of 15 A380s operate on services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

May 16, 2011

Airlines Africa

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South African Airways Continued from Page 1 the northbound flight will eliminate the stop in Dakar, Senegal and reduce the overall flying time by more than 90 minutes.

According to the company South African Airways will have the most convenient service to/from South Africa and over 40 destinations on the African continent for business and leisure travelers. With SAA’s unrivalled African network, same-day flight connections are available via our JNB hub on South African Airways and their regional partners, South African Airways

Express and South African Airlink to dozens of destinations throughout South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa and Africa’s Indian Ocean Islands

Convenient connections to/from SAA flights at New York (JFK) are also available via their Star Alliance code-share partner, United Airlines

and interline partners, jetBlue Airways and Virgin America from over 60 cities throughout the U.S. and Caribbean.

With their new round-trip nonstop service between New York to Johannesburg, SAA customers can enjoy the fastest and most comfortable way to Southern Africa.

From left to right: Edgar Lacker (Aviareps Executive Vice President Europe & Project Manager, Frankfurt, Germany); Claudia Kuechler (Ethiopian Airlines Global Account Manager Europe, Frankfurt, Germany); Mariamawit Abera (Ethiopian Airlines Manager Global Corporate Sales, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia); Amare T. Tsadik (Ethiopian Airlines Director Global Corporate Sales, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia); William Wang (Ethiopian Airlines Global Account Manager Asia, Shanghai, China); and Heiko Oeser (AVIAREPS Director of Sales Germany & Project Manager, Frankfurt, Germany).

Aviareps and Ethiopian Airlines Work Together

Constantly monitoring the volume of business trips originating in Europe and Asia, Ethiopian Airlines is increasing the focus on the field of business travel in its African network. Given that traffic is expected to further increase www.airlines-africa.com

in this segment, the African airline is setting up a new project to develop the company’s corporate sales. As a result of the longterm and successful cooperation with Aviareps as its preferred general sales agent in 13 countries in Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Hungary), Russia and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela), Ethiopian Airlines recently appointed the company as its sole partner for global corporate sales for the regions of Europe and Asia.

With two global account managers being responsible for the development of the new segment in Europe and Asia, Aviareps will set up regional activities to attract global companies to the attractive flight offers from Ethiopia’s flag carrier and conclude air transport contracts.

Based in Germany and China, both account managers are in charge of establishing contacts with affiliated groups, global companies and travel agencies to promote special company fares.

May 16, 2011

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Airlines Africa

Passenger & Cargo Data March 2011 vs. March 2010

YTD 2011 vs. YTD 2010

RPK

ASK

PLF

FTK

AFTK FLF

RPK

ASK

PLF

FTK

AFTK FLF

Africa

-7.0%

1.0%

62.7

-2.8%

-1.8%

32.2

-1.7%

4.0%

63.7

2.6%

3.0%

27.7

Asia/Pacific

0.0%

6.7%

74.2

-0.6%

6.0%

64.8

3.2%

6.9%

75.9

-0.1%

6.0%

62.0

Europe

5.3%

9.1%

75.3

6.1%

8.6%

54.0

6.8%

9.3%

74.0

7.1%

9.2%

51.4

Latin America

22.2%

16.2%

77.0

10.4%

4.6%

44.9

14.8%

13.8%

77.6

11.7%

4.3%

42.6

Middle East

5.6%

9.8%

73.2

10.1%

17.1%

46.9

8.4%

10.4%

73.9

9.4%

14.4%

44.8

North America

3.7%

9.9%

76.9

7.1%

13.0%

44.3

6.4%

10.6%

75.4

9.4%

13.8%

42.5

Industry

3.8%

8.6%

74.6

3.7%

9.1%

54.3

5.9%

8.9%

74.5

4.6%

9.2%

51.6

RPK: Revenue-Passenger-Kilometers; ASK: Available-Seat-Kilometers; PLF: Passenger-Load-Factor; FTK: Freight-Tonne-Kilometers; AFTK: Available Freight Tonne Kilometers; FLF: Freight Load Factor; All Figures are expressed in % change Year on Year except PLF and FLF which are the load factors for the specific month.

Arik Air Temporarily Suspends Flights to Calabar

Arik Air announced it will be suspend flights into Margaret Ekpo Airport, Calabar from Saturday, May 7, 2011 till Thursday, July 7, 2011.

This is the result of the planned closure of the airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to enable necessary repair works on the runway. During the period of the closure, Arik Air will be using Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo as the alternate airport.

In order to continue offering services from Calabar, a new ticket and service desk in the Metropolitan Hotel Calabar will be opened to ensure passengers can buy tickets to travel to both Abuja and Lagos from Uyo airport. Tickets can also be bought online on the airline’s website, at Uyo Airport or at any local travel agent. Arik Air will operate daily flights into Uyo from both Lagos and Abuja. It was the first airline to operate commercial flights into Uyo Airport on December 2, 2009.

www.airlines-africa.com

Event

Calendar

May 24-25, 2011 African Women in Aviation Conference Johannesburg, South Africa www.amabhubesi.com/index.php/currentevents/african-women-in-aviation-conference/ May 25-29, 2011 Africa Travel Association World Congress Dakar, Senegal www.africatravelassociation.org July 4-8, 2011 Managing Aviation Policy and Regulation Johannesburg, South Africa www.iata.org/training/courses/Pages/tcvg26. aspx June 12-17, 2011 Airplane Maintenance Production Planning and Control Orange, CA http://active.boeing.com/special/fleetteam/ prodplan/index.cfm June 20-26, 2011 Paris Airshow Paris, France www.paris-air-show.com

July 11-13, 2011 Aviation Outlook Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com/2011/aviationza July 18-22, 2011 Managing the Safety Oversight Function Johannesburg, South Africa www.iata.org/training/courses/Pages/tcvg13. aspx August 28-30, 2011 Aviation & Allied Business Leadership Conference Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania www.aviationbusinessjournal.aero/conference2011.aspx September 6-8, 2011 Air Africa www.airafricaexpo.com October 17-21, 2011 Aging Airplane Schedule Maintenance Requirements Seattle, WA http://active.boeing.com/nosearch/svceng/ events.cfm November 20-22, 2011 AFRAA Annual Conference Marrakech, Morocco www.afraa.org

May 16, 2011