Seekers Travel eZine

November 2012

Top Stories

Low Cost Carrier 1Time Airlines suspends all operations with effect 02 November 2012.

British Airways doubles Cape Town capacity to/from London on direct services.

Kenya Airways are set to increase it’s frequency to/from Johannesburg

Budget airline in Tanzania, FastJet, is set to commence flights in the coming weeks.

Turkish Airlines have announced it’s intention to fly to Tanzania.

Air Botswana announces the commencement of flights to Lanseria

Qatar Airways launches it’s 10th New Route of 2012 – Maputo, Mozambique.

Emirates will operate the first A380 into Athens, Greece.

Qatar Airways to fly the DreamLiner to London from December 2012.

New African signing for Hilton Hotels WorldWide.

Lufthansa confirms Germanwings branding for low-cost spin-off.

Emirates offers mobile phone connectivity on A380s

Latest Travel News

Low cost carrier 1time Airline announced on Friday, 2 November 2012 that it has suspended their operations and that all of its planes have been grounded with immediate effect.

"Our business rescue practitioner has advised that there are no reasonable prospects of survival as a potential financier notified us this afternoon that they are no longer able to invest in our airline. It is therefore with regret, disappointment and heartfelt disbelief that we have to terminate the business rescue and file for liquidation, which means the end of a dream and an era for all of us," said Blacky Komani, CEO of 1time Airline.

"I sincerely thank our employees who worked so hard over the years to drive 1time's business, the travel trade who have been steadfast in their support, and our passengers who carried and maintained 1time during our most difficult and trying financial times, your loyalty is appreciated."

1time's Business Rescue practitioner has sent out a notice to all creditors and will finalise all outstanding matters in the weeks to come. "Although 1time ceases to exist, the airline that we've built up through blood, sweat, tears and undeniable passion, will live on in the hearts of our passengers and also our competitors, who know that they have lost a formidable and world-class player in the low cost market."

Customers who paid cash for their 1Time air tickets might not get refunded, according to a report on Monday.

The Star quoted 1Time spokeswoman Refilwe Masemola as saying the airline's hands were tied as far as cash-paying customers were concerned. "If you've bought a ticket via credit card, you can call the bank and they have a chargeback. N ot sure how long it will take," Masemola said. "The cash people... I can't give you a comment on that, I'll have to find out from the business practitioner on Monday." Masemola posted a statement on Facebook advising passengers on how to tackle the chargebacks with various banks, the Star reported.

No details on how cash-paying passengers would get their money back was provided. ABSA, Nedbank, First National Bank and Standard Bank had announced it would reimburse passengers who paid with their cards.

Scores of passengers were left stranded when the low-cost airline announced on Friday that it had applied for liquidation and stopped all operations. It had about R320 million in short-term debt and had been in negotiations with creditors since March.

South African aviation company Comair has responded to the news that budget airline 1Time filed for liquidation on Friday. In the process, Comair pointed out that 10 of the 11 independent, private airlines launched in South Africa since deregulation in 1991, have failed, leaving only kulula.com and British Airways, which are both operated by Comair. “Due to the less efficient fleet it operated, the ultimate closure of 1Time was inevitable,” said Erik Venter, CEO of Comair. “However, we are certain that in the absence of state-subsidised Mango, 1Time would have made adequate profits to upgrade its fleet and be sustainable over the long term. Based on the previously released financial statements of SAA, and recent parliamentary comments, Mango made a loss of half a billion rand since its 2006 launch, due to undercutting the viability of the private low cost carriers.” 1Time announced on Friday that it had applied for business liquidation, and that all of its flights had been grounded. The firm had about R320-million in short-term debt and had been in negotiations with creditors since March.

Latest Travel News

British Airways has doubled its existing capacity to Cape Town, with two daily direct services between London Heathrow and Cape Town International. The additional frequencies will increase the number of available seats on the route by nearly 2,400 a week. BA, which has been flying to the Mother City for 27 years, is currently the only carrier to operate year-round, directly between London and Cape Town. Both the inbound and outbound services will fly overnight, a schedule which appears popular with customers. As well as carrying visitors and cargo to and from Cape Town, British Airways will also be showcasing South African wines onboard. The wine selection is one of a series of product and service improvements which are being rolled out across the airline, as part of a five-year £5 billion pound investment. This includes new aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A380. BA expects to be operating both by July next year, which will make it the first carrier to have these two aircraft types in its fleet. Onboard it has equipped 2,000 senior cabin crew with iPads. These enable them to access customers’ preferences, onward flights and quickly resolve any service-related issues. The inflight catering has been improved in every cabin and a new inflight-entertainment system is being fitted with the new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins. This gives customers 50% more choice of movies and doubles the range of TV and music options. There’s also the rollout of a new £100 million First cabin.

Kenya Airways is set to increase the frequency of flights between its Nairobi hub and Johannesburg, in a move that is geared towards meeting demand and improving flexibility in connecting to other parts of the world. Beginning 1 December, the airline will introduce an extra weekly flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The additional frequency between Johannesburg and Nairobi has been made possible by the recent acquisition of the new Embraer E190 jets that will service this route. The aircraft features individual screens for every seat, with inflight entertainment on demand. It accommodates 84 Economy and 12 Business Class seats. This new flight will see the capacity increased by 384 seats a week on the route. The additional flight will depart from Nairobi every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 12h10 and arrive at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 15h15. The return flight will depart on the same day at 16h10, arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 21h15. Kenya Airways flies to over 59 destinations worldwide, 46 of which are in Africa.

Budget airline, FastJet is set to commence flight operations in Tanzania next month, as it awaits approval to operate in Kenya. FastJet Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Bodin said that they would be offering fares as low as $20, depending on how early customers book their tickets. FastJet is owned by international investment firm Rubicon, which acquired a 49% stake in Fly540. The company, which has received the nod from Tanzania's civil aviation authorities, will deploy an Airbus A319 aircraft in Dar es Salaam next month, with tickets going on sale a few weeks earlier. "Our initial focus will be on East Africa, with the airline's first base in Dar es Salaam,” said Bodin.

“This will be followed by a second base in Nairobi, once the A319 is approved there.” The company has applied for approval to operate budget flights in Kenya, alongside Kenya Airways, which intends to launch its own low-cost airline, Jambo Jet. Fast Jet will have a maximum of four flights per day, with the biggest flight enjoying a capacity of 156 passengers. It also has plans to launch in Ghana and Angola, once it is established in East Africa.

Serena Hotels has announced that it will extend its free Wi-Fi service to more of its properties in East Africa. The service is being extended to properties in Kenya and Tanzania at the Serena Beach Hotel & Spa in Mombasa and the Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel.

Latest Travel News

Following an aggressive marketing strategy for the airport, spearheaded by the Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company, Turkish Airlines is set to begin scheduled services to Kilimanjaro International Airport from 4 December. KADCO, the company that manages operations at KIA, has already secured credit of $30 million from Netherlands-based Orion Grand Facility, in a bid to transform KIA into a fully-fledged tourists' gateway by 2014.

Turkish Airlines will operate five times a week with a B737-900 series aircraft on the Istanbul Ataturk - Kilimanjaro Mombasa route. The landing of the airline will help connect Tanzania and other neighbouring countries to markets in the US, Canada and Europe, through the Turkish Airlines network. Turkish Airlines joins other global airlines, such as Qatar Airways, KLM, Edelweiss Air, Condor Air and Ethiopian Airlines, in flying to the northern airport that literally drops tourists in the middle of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara safari parks.

Air Botswana has announced the commencement of four flights a week between Lanseria International Airport, to the north-west of Johannesburg, and Gaborone.The flights will commence in November. The airline will operate its 47-seat capacity ATR 42-500s on the route. Air Botswana’s Sales Manager for South Africa, Charmain Lemkus said that the decision to operate out of Lanseria was both operational and commercial. “Lanseria’s proximity to the business and shopping centres located in Sandton and surrounds played a role in our decision. Lanseria International Airport is also easily accessed from the West Rand, Pretoria and on no toll roads,” she said. Lanseria International Airport is currently constructing a new three kilometre runway to accommodate growth in future aircraft movement. Airport Manager, Gavin Sayce supports the idea that Lanseria will become the centre of a developmental node in the north-west region of Johannesburg, within the next decade. "Increased traffic, both domestically and regionally, as well as the geographic position of the Lanseria area and growing economic activity in its surrounds, has positioned the airport perfectly as a catalyst for growth. Lanseria is geared for progress,” he said.

Qatar Airways has launched three-a-week services between Doha and Maputo, its 10th new route of 2012. The inaugural flight QR584 was welcomed by a customary water salute and traditional dancers, which was followed by an airport ceremony attended by more than 80 local dignitaries and media. A two-class B777 is operating the route with 42 business and 293 economy class seats. Qatar Airways' CEO Akbar Al Baker said the discovery of large natural gas reserves - one of the main engines of Doha's economy - means Mozambique is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the region. "Mozambique has historic links with Europe, being a former Portuguese colony, so we look forward to flying passengers with family, or business ties to and from Lisbon through our online points in southern Europe," he said.

Emirates has begun offering mobile phone reception on its A380 aircraft. The service, provided by OnAir, allows passengers to make and receive calls and send text messages during flights. Passengers then pay roaming fees to their own mobile phone service providers, with no extra fee charged by the airline. The service is currently available on two of Emirates' A380s. It will be gradually retrofitted to the remaining 23 in operation, and will be fitted on all of the new A380 aircraft the airline has on order. Passengers can check whether the service will be available on their flight here. The airline also now offers OnAir’s wifi service on the majority of its A380 flights. Emirates joins a growing number of airlines that have recently begun offering passengers mobile and wifi connectivity, including Singapore Airlines (see here) and Garuda

Latest Travel News Emirates will operate the first A380 scheduled service into Athens on October 26. EK105 will depart Dubai at 0855 and arrive in Athens at 1250, while the return flight, EK106, will depart Athens at 1640, arriving in Dubai at 2205.

However, Richard Jewsbury, Senior Vice President Commercial Europe and Russian Federation, said it has no immediate plans to operate an A380 on the route permanently. Services are currently operated by A340s.

Emirates’ fleet of 25 A380s now serve Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Manchester, Melbourne, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto and Tokyo. Upcoming A380 destinations include Singapore and Moscow, both from December 1.

Qatar Airways' CEO Akbar Al Baker has confirmed its first Boeing Dreamliner aircraft will debut on the LondonDoha route from December. Speaking at this week’s Aviation Club lunch in London, Al Baker said that Qatar had “taken the keys to the aircraft”, which is currently in California for final connectivity fittings before being official delivered to the carrier next month.

The outspoken CEO also said Qatar Airways was “working Boeing hard”, and delivery of five of the carrier’s 60strong fleet of Dreamliners is now expected before the end of the year. Al Baker also took the opportunity to call on the UK government to press ahead with expansion at Heathrow, warning that “A third runway at Heathrow is not an option. It is a necessity”.

“Heathrow is bursting at the seams and in my opinion, has reached a critical point,” said Al Baker. “The government cannot afford to immerse itself in long-winded debate and public enquiries. Get on with the business and resolve this.” Qatar currently serves London five times-daily, and Al Baker said there is “demand for further expansion on the route”, but warned that this would require a relaxation in current bilateral constraints, and improved slot availability.

Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of a licensing agreement with long-standing franchisee, the Opulent Group, for the conversion of a hotel in the capital city of Bujumbura in Burundi, East Africa. The 130-room DoubleTree by Hilton Bujumbura will open in early 2014. Formerly the Novotel, the hotel will undergo an extensive 18-month improvement and rebranding programme, before officially opening under the DoubleTree by Hilton banner. Renovation plans are already under way and will cover all key areas of the hotel, including full refurbishment of the hotel lobby and renovation of all guest and meeting rooms. A new business centre and fitness centre will also be introduced for the first time. DoubleTree by Hilton Bujumbura will be located in the centre of the commercial district and close to businesses, embassies and government offices. Once open, the hotel will boast four conference rooms, a business centre, fitness centre and outdoor pool. Dining options will include two restaurants, including one speciality and one all-day dining, and a bar. Guests at DoubleTree by Hilton Bujumbura will benefit from the brand’s standout features, including the welcome of the brand’s legendary chocolate chip cookie presented to every guest upon check-in; an array of upscale amenities and guest services; and the rewards of the Hilton HHonors guest loyalty programme. Hilton Worldwide currently operates 56 hotels in Middle East and Africa, totalling more than 17,000 rooms across 19 countries, and has a signed development pipeline of an additional 52 properties across Middle East and Africa in the U.A.E, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa and Cape Verde.