AFRAA BULLETIN

AF R I C AN AI R LI N ES A SSO C I AT I O N

A S SO C I AT I O N D ES C O M P AG N I E S A ER I E N N E S AF R I C AI N ES

From the editor

Welcome to the February issue of

the AFRAA Bulletin.

As the year starts off, AFRAA

Secretariat and IATA VP Africa

& Middle East and his Regional

Leadership team for Africa met at

the AFRAA Headquarters to

discuss areas of mutual support to

African airlines. Both Associa-

tions are happy to partner in

growing aviation on the continent

and in addressing some of the

critical challenges confronting

African aviation. AFRAA also

hosted Embraer team for a busi-

ness a familiarization visit where

both teams had productive discus-

sions at the meeting. The issue

covers new aircraft orders, sign-

ing of agreements, plans for new

routes among other stories.

Inside this Issue:

Jambojet to begin

Commercial flights in

April 2014

2

SAA celebrates 80th

Anniversary 2

Former SA President

Mbeki tours ET

Facilities

3

LAM and Boeing

announce Boeing 737

NG order

3

Embraer visits AFRAA 4

New appointments 4

AFRAA Vacancy

Announcement: Fuel

Project Officer

5

Volume 6, Issue 2

February 2014 Issue

I ATA Regional Vice Presi-dent - Africa & Middle East,

Mr. Hussein Dabbas, accom-

panied by the new IATA

Vice President – Africa, Mr. Raphael Kuuchi and his team met

the AFRAA Secretary General,

Dr. Elijah Chingosho, on 19 Feb-

ruary 2014 at the AFRAA Head-quarters to discuss areas of mutual

support to African airlines.

Speaking on behalf of IATA at the opening of the meeting, Mr. Dab-

bas said, “Our intention is to work

hand in hand with governments

and Associations like AFRAA to assure the success of the aviation

industry.” The meeting kicked off

with an introduction of both teams

and an outline of key focus areas for 2014.

AFRAA Secretary General pre-

sented AFRAA’s joint initiatives

Issued by the African Airlines Association

AFRAA - IATA meet to discuss areas of mutual support to African airlines

among its member airlines and underlined the importance of facil-

itating interconnectivity and coop-

eration among airlines. The joint

initiatives being undertaken by the

AFRAA Secretariat include: the Joint Fuel Purchase Project, Joint

Ground Handling Task Force and

Route Network Coordination.

Continued on page 2

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AFRAA Secretariat and IATA Africa Leadership Team at the

AFRAA Headquarters in Nairobi on 19 February 2014

AFRAA NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, Issue 2 Page 2

Issued by the African Airlines Association

Kenya Airways’ Jambojet to begin commercial flights in April this year

Continued from page 1

Among others, AFRAA and IATA dis-

cussed at length the following areas for

cooperation, setting out action plans and

activities to be covered in 2014:

Safety and security

Environment

Liberalization

Infrastructure

Training

Participation in forthcoming events:

IATA AGM, IATA Aviation Day,

Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders

Convention and AFRAA AGA

Also present from IATA was: Ms. Tanja

Grobotek - Regional Director, Safety and

Flight Operations, Africa, RSFO, Ms.

Adefunke Adeyemi - Regional Head,

Member and External Relations, Africa

and the Middle East, RMER, Mr. Hassim

Pondor - Africa Head – Airport, Passen-

ger, Cargo & Security (APCS) and Ms.

Sally Osure – newly appointed Area

Manager – East Africa. Present from the

AFRAA Secretariat was: Mrs. Juliet

Indetie - Deputy Director, Corporate

Finance and Administration, Ms.

Maureen Kahonge – Business Develop-

ment Manager and Mrs. Pamela Radier,

PA to the Secretary General.

Whilst in Nairobi, IATA held other meet-

ings with Kenya Airways, ICAO, Kenya

Association of Travel Agents and Kenya

Civil Aviation Authority.

ECAIR to take delivery of Boeing aircraft for new African routes

K enya Airways’ Jambojet,

is scheduled to begin

commercial flights in

April 2014. Initial

flights will be within Kenya, linking

Nairobi with Mombasa, Eldoret and

Kisumu. Bookings commenced in

February 2014.

Jambojet will launch with fares as

low as Kshs3,000 (US$35) one way.

The Kshs3,000 fare compares favour-

ably with road transport options which

cost as much as Kshs1,500 for an eight-

hour journey from Nairobi to Momba-

sa. A flight on the same route lasts

approximately 45 minutes with a jet-

powered aircraft. However, the low

price of Jambojet air tickets may only

apply for those booking well in ad-

vance. Jambojet will utilize 2 Boeing

737-300 aircraft.. Source: Kenya Avia-

tion

South African Airways Celebrates 80th Anniversary

S outh African Airways cele-

brated its 80th in February

2014. SAA has faced many

changes over its history and

has experienced many highlights and

some turbulent times. Through the

years, SAA, and its employees have

shown extraordinary resilience and

capacity for change.

In another development, SAA an-

nounced a new code share agreement

with Virgin Australia. “Through the

code share agreement with Virgin Aus-

tralia, our valued customers will gain

new travel choices to primary markets

across Australia via Virgins’ extensive

network and hubs in Perth and Mel-

bourne, providing seamless travel, and

earning of miles through the Voyager

frequent flyer programme,” said Kendy

Phohleli, SAA General Manager Com-

mercial (Acting). Source: SAA Photo: SAA

Photo: EcAir

EgyptAir’s security efforts for N.Y Flights applauded

T he American Transport

Security Administration

praised EgyptAir’s secu-

rity efforts in general and

the teamwork responsible for New

York flights in specific during the

inspection visit performed at Cairo

Airport. In this visit, the delegation

has inspected all the security proce-

dures applied at Cairo Airport and on

EgyptAir flights departing to the

USA.

The delegation had no comments on

the applied security procedures as

they are according to the American

standards especially in the inspection of

luggage and aircraft.

In another development, the Egyptian

Minister of Civil Aviation Abdul Aziz

Fadel revealed that the ministry is

preparing a plan to increase the

EgyptAir fleet by $10m US dollars

during the coming few years. This

amount will include an increase in the

number of EgyptAir airplanes to reach

127 aircrafts by 2025 as opposed to the

current 81 aircraft.

AFRAA and IATA meet

in Nairobi

Photo: Kenya Airways

Air Seychelles signs agree-

ment with Viking Air

A ir Seychelles has signed a

firm order with Viking Air

for three additional DHC-6

Twin Otter Series 400s, due

for delivery from 2015 onwards. The new

aircraft, scheduled for delivery from 2015,

will be configured as standard 19-

passenger commercial turboprops and will

be used in expanding services between

Mahé, Praslin Island, Bird Island, Denis

Island and Frégate Island. The airline

currently operates one Viking Air DHC-6

Twin Otter Series 400 and three Series

300 aircraft. Source: ch-aviation

Photo: Air Seychelles

E CAir is set to develop

Brazzaville as a regional

Central African hub with

the imminent launch of

routes to Libreville, along with Lomé,

Malabo and Luanda later this year.

According to ECAir Chairman, Jean

Louis Osso, flights to Beirut, Dakar

and Bamako are also on the cards. To

aid the expansion, ECAir will take

delivery of two new B737-700s in

May to be followed by a B767. Mr

Osso also disclosed that the airline is

in talks with Ethiopian Airlines, Ken-

ya Airways and considering opening

dialogue with Etihad Airways over

possible partnership plans.

In another development, ECAir is seek-

ing to launch its first commercial flight

from Congo-Brazzaville to Dubai by

March 2014. The flight will be opera-

tional three times a week, between

Dubai International Airport and Maya-

Maya Airport.

"This is a historic event for ECAir

because this will strengthen our Middle

East network through one of the most

important hubs in the world. This flight

is the first direct connection from Con-

go-Brazzaville to the UAE," said

ECAir chairman Jean Louis Osso.

Source: African Review

Source: EgyptAir

Photo: EgyptAir

AFRAA NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, Issue 2 Page 3

Issued by the African Airlines Association

L AM Mozambique and

Boeing announced an

order for three Next-

Generation 737-700

airplanes. "LAM has developed an

in-depth Strategic Business Plan

which resulted in the restructuring of

its network to facilitate its growth

and expansion," said Dra. Marlene

Mendes Manave, CEO of LAM

“This investment in the Next-

Generation 737-700s will help

Mozambique to remain at the fore-

E thiopian Airlines re-

ceived a courtesy visit

from former South Afri-

can President, H.E Mr.

Thabo Mbeki, a loyal and esteemed

customer of the airline, in February

2014 at its headquarters in Addis

Ababa.

"We are highly honored to welcome

H.E. President Mbeki, a very good

customer of Ethiopian, at our head-

quarters in Addis Ababa. We share

his great Pan-Africanist vision, and

A ir Namibia announced that for

the past six months it has rec-

orded a very good On-Time

Performance (OTP), reaching

over 93% OTP in some months.

The newly-appointed Chief Operation Of-

ficer (COO) of Air Namibia, Rene Gsponer

said: “Air Namibia is serious about signifi-

cant improvement on its operational perfor-

mance and financial sustainability. \feed-

back shows our On-Time Performance for

the past 9 months has been above our target

of 90% this is a commendable achievement

for Air Namibia and we have seen an equal-

ly positive response from the market in

terms of ticket sales and positive feedback.”

Source: Air Namibia

Air Namibia records excel-

lent on-time performance Former South African President Mbeki tours Ethiopian facilities

are doing our part in the realization

of the African Union’s vision of a

peaceful, integrated and prosperous

Africa", said CEO Tewolde Ge-

bremariam.

In another development, Ethiopian

Airlines announced that it has re-

ceived the 2013 "GOLD Level Boe-

ing Performance Excellence Award"

for its outstanding performance at

the Wire Kits Harness Manufactur-

ing Plant. This is the second Gold

award the plant has received from

Boeing. The Boeing Company issues

Photo: Boeing

front of the growing demand for air

travel in our region and enable expan-

sion into several new markets."

Van Rex Gallard, vice president of

Sales for Africa, Latin America and

the Caribbean, Boeing Commercial

Airplanes said. "This order for Next-

Generation 737-700s will enable

LAM to realize greater efficiencies,

improved performance and enhanced

passenger comfort, as the airline

continues to move forward with its

A friqiyah Airways and

Libyan Airlines could

resume flying to the

European Union by

March this year, Captain Nasereddin

Shaebelain Director General of the

Libyan Civil Aviation Authority

(LYCAA) recently said at an avia-

tion conference in Tripoli.

Shaebelain revealed that a verifica-

tion team arrived in Tripoli from the

EU to be updated on the progress

achieved by LYCAA.

The Director General of LYCAA

confirmed that his organization had

been receiving help in raising stand-

ards from an international partner. He

was optimistic that the ban could be

lifted on either of the two largest

passenger carriers, Libyan Airlines or

Afriqiyah by March 2014. Source:

the award annually to recognize suppli-

ers who have achieved superior perfor-

mance. Source: Ethiopian

LAM and Boeing announce Boeing 737 Next-Generation order

Libyan planes to fly to EU by March 2014

B oeing has started assembly of

the first Next-Generation 737 to

be built at the increased rate of

42 airplanes per month. Since

2010, production of the 737 has increased

about 33 percent, from 31.5 to 42 airplanes a

month, its highest rate ever.

"This rate increase once again reflects our

commitment to put the world's best-selling

airplane into the hands of our customers as

quickly as possible," said Beverly Wyse,

vice president and General Manager, 737

Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"Efficiency improvements in the factory,

many of them developed by our employees,

are a big part of why we are able to

successfully increase the number of

airplanes we build." Source: Boeing

Boeing to start building

First Next-Generation 737

at increased production

rate

ambitious growth." Source: Boeing

libyaherald

m ercator scooped

the 'Stat Times

International

Award for Ex-

cellence in Air Cargo' in the catego-

ry of IT System Provider of the

Year. The award was presented

during the gala event organized as

part of Air Cargo India 2014 in

Mumbai.

SkyChain, mercator's cargo solu-

tion, received the highest number of

nominations from Stat Times' readers

worldwide. Stat Times, the interna-

tional multimodal transport media,

has been promoting and recognising

excellence in the air cargo industry

since 1986.

"We are very proud of this award as it

demonstrates how our SkyChain

continues to meet the business needs

of our customers by replacing legacy

mercator Scoops “IT System Provider of the Year” Award for Air Cargo

platforms with modern, flexible and modu-

lar solutions. We systematically aim to

incorporate our customer's voice into

product development, so it is great to be

recognised by our customers and industry

partners." said Fayyaz Alam, Vice Presi-

dent mercator. Source: mercator

EgyptAir renews contract for Lufthansa Systems’ SchedConnect solution

E gyptAir renewed the

contract for the

codeshare management

solution SchedConnect

from Lufthansa Systems on a long-

term basis. With SchedConnect

EgyptAir can optimize their

codeshare management, which leads

to cost savings and higher revenues.

SchedConnect offers a high degree of

automation, calculating the optimum

codeshare assignments based on the

Photo: Ethiopian Airlines

Photo: Afriqiyah

Photo: Air Namibia

current flight schedules every day. Each

month, the system processes up to 35 mil-

lion schedule changes made by SchedCon-

nect customers worldwide. Source:

Lufthansa Systems

T he African Airlines Association

(AFRAA) and the former AFRAA

Secretary General, Mr. Nick Fadug-

ba, are pleased to announce that they

have reaffirmed their commitment to continue

working closely to promote the African aviation

industry. AFRAA wishes to place on record its

appreciation to Mr. Fadugba for his commitment

and contribution to the Association during his

tenure as Secretary General of the Association.

Working together to pro-

mote African Aviation

AFRAA NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, Issue 2 Page 4

Issued by the African Airlines Association

T esting continues on the

high pressure compressor

(HPC) module for the

GE9X engine that will

power Boeing's 777X aircraft. The

tests began in September at a GE Oil

& Gas testing facility in Massa, Italy,

and the module has accumulated

close to 300 hours of testing today.

Bill Millhaem, General Manager of

the GE90/GE9X Program at GE

Aviation said: "The testing has vali-

M s. Ana Carolina do

Lago-Barber, Em-

braer Marketing

Director – EMEA,

CIS & Central Asia, accompanied

by Mr. Raul Villaron, Manager,

Market Analysis, Commercial Avia-

tion – Middle East and Africa made

business a familiarization visit to the

AFRAA Secretariat in Nairobi on

Friday 20 February 2014.

During the visit, they met with the

Secretary General of AFRAA, Dr.

Elijah Chingosho and his team to

discuss threats and opportunities for

African Airlines, Embraer’s interest

to invest in education in Africa,

support and maintenance of Em-

braer aircraft in Africa and areas of

mutual partnership with AFRAA.

Following fruitful discussions at the

meeting, Dr. Elijah Chingosho,

AFRAA Secretary General said, “It

was a pleasure meeting and discuss-

ing with Embraer various issues

pertaining to the African airline

f astjet announced the appointment

of Jimmy Kibati as fastjet General

Manager, East Africa. Jimmy

joins from Kenya Airways where

he held the position of Acting Commercial

Director.

Working alongside the fastjet management

team, Jimmy will be responsible for lead-

ing the airline's expansion in East Africa.

He will take up his new position in March

2014 and will be initially based in Dar-es-

Salaam, overseeing fastjet Tanzania.

Jimmy Kibati has over 20 years' experi-

ence in the commercial airline business,

having joined Kenya Airways in 1992

immediately following the completion of

his studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi,

Kenya. Source: fastjet

Jimmy Kibati appointed

fastjet General Manager

East Africa

Embraer visits AFRAA

industry and exploring areas for

cooperation. AFRAA appreciates the

willingness of Embraer to be a criti-

cal partner in the development of

African aviation.” Ms. Ana Carolina

added, “Embraer is very keen in

working closer with AFRAA and

making our relationship even strong-

er.” AFRAA and Embraer’s partner-

ship dates from 2006.

dated the efficiency and operability

of the HPC module design well ahead

of the entry into service and supports

our plan to deliver a 10 percent fuel

burn improvement over today's GE90

engines."

GE will spend a total of $300 million

in 2014 on maturation testing of

technologies for the new GE9X en-

gine. Testing will include the Univer-

sal Propulsion Simulator (UPS) fan

performance tests that is underway at

A WAS announced that it

has delivered one new

737-800 aircraft on

long-term lease to

Travel Service. This aircraft comes

from AWAS’ existing new order

pipeline. Michal Tomis, Managing

Director Travel Service commented,

“We are very pleased to accept deliv-

ery of this new 737-800 to expand

and modernise our growing fleet.

AWAS’ team listened to our needs

and worked quickly to secure an

aircraft that was right for our busi-

ness.” “AWAS is proud to add Travel

During the meeting Embraer disclosed

their intention to locate their Senior Air-

line Analyst for Africa Commercial Avia-

tion in Nairobi, Kenya. The move was

much welcomed as it would bring Em-

braer closer to its customers in Africa.

The meeting concluded with a tour of the

AFRAA offices.

Strong Results for GE's High Pressure Compressor Rig Testing

Boeing's Seattle, Washington facility.

This test will provide key data on the

GE9X fan design. Source: GE Aviation

AWAS delivers one new 737-800 aircraft to Travel Service

Manoj Papa appointed

CEO of Air Seychelles

A ir Seychelles recently an-

nounced the appointment of

Mr. Manoj Papa as its new

Chief Executive Officer. He

succeeds Cramer Ball. Mr. Papa joins from

South African Airways, where he held the

position of Acting General Manager: Com-

mercial, overseeing the entire commercial

portfolio for the airline. As part of this, he

was also instrumental in developing the

Long Term Turnaround Strategy for SAA.

Mr. Ball will stay on to ensure a seamless

transition until Mr. Papa officially assumes

the position of CEO in March 2014.

Source: Air Seychelles

Service as a customer today,” said Marlin

Dailey, Chief Commercial Officer

AWAS. “We look forward to years of

future growth together.” Source: AWAS

From L-R: Mr. Raul Villaron, Dr. Elijah Chingosho, Ms. Ana

Carolina do Lago-Barber and Ms. Maureen Kahonge

B OC Aviation has select-

ed Pratt & Whitney

PurePower PW1100G-

JM engines for 15 firm

A320neo aircraft. Deliveries are

scheduled to commence in 2017.

"BOC Aviation's prominence in the

aircraft leasing industry continues to

increase, and Pratt & Whitney is

proud to have its PurePower engines

play a part in their future growth,"

said Dave Brantner, president, Pratt &

BOC Aviation Selects Pratt & Whitney Engines for New Airbus Aircraft

Mr. Manoj Papa

CEO of Air Seychelles

Mr. Jimmy Kibati

fastjet General Manager, East

Africa

Whitney Commercial Engines.

Source: Pratt & Whitney

Issued by the African Airlines Association

About AFRAA

AFRAA, is a trade organization of Airlines from the member states of the African Union (AU) whose aim is to foster commercial and technical cooperation for

airlines and represent their common interest. Founded in Accra, Ghana in April, 1968, and currently headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the Association members

represent 83% of total intercontinental traffic carried by African Airlines. For more information, visit: www.afraa.org

The AFRAA Bulletin is monthly publication by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). Send articles or enquiries to: mkahonge@afraa.org

AFRAA NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, Issue 2 Page 5

Capacity Data

NB: Data is for all Passenger flights, both non-stop and flights with stops

February 2014

Source: AFRAA/OAG Source: AFRAA/OAG

February 2013

T he African Airlines Association

(AFRAA) invites applications from

suitably qualified candidates for the

position of Fuel Project Officer in

its Nairobi head-office, Kenya.

Details of the job description and qualifications

are available on the AFRAA website: http://

afraa.org/index.php/about-us/careers. Interest-

ed applicants for the above position to send

their motivation letters and resumes to:

jindetie@afraa.org on or before 07 March

2014

AFRAA Vacancy Announce-

ment: Fuel Project Officer

SITA holds its 2014 Aviation ICT Forum

shape their business.

With the number of global business travelers set to

double by 2030, aviation IT will play a major role in

shaping the passenger experience. The aim of the Avia-

tion ICT Forum is to demonstrate the importance of

business transformation and stakeholders’ collabora-

tion, while placing the passenger at the forefront of the

aviation strategy.

S ITA held its 2014 Aviation ICT Forum

from 11-12 February 2014 at the Intercon-

tinental Hotel, Festival City, Dubai. The

forum was hosted in conjunction with

AACO, ACI AFRICA, AFRAA and IATA.

The conference program addressed business-critical

issues and solutions, providing innovative thinking

for future developments, exploring the potential of

collaboration, making aviation more efficient, profit-

able and still exceeding travelers’ expectations. The

forum provided a unique opportunity for executive

managers and business professionals to identify and

understand the latest aviation trends, which will

African Airlines Other Carriers

February 2014

flights seats %

African

Carriers flights seats

%

Other

Carriers

Intra Africa 67,418 6,840,051 95.26% 3,352 610,673 4.74%

Africa Europe 4,663 748,147 37.13% 7,896 1,562,468 62.87%

Africa - N. America 238 65,510 58.05% 172 38,970 41.95%

Africa - M. East 2714 518151 43.84% 3,477 741,098 56.16%

Africa - Asia 584 151,394 80.66% 140 36,251 19.34%

TOTAL 75,617 8,323,253 15,037 2,989,460

February 2013

Intra Africa 67,082 6,581,568 95.03% 3,508 630,478 4.97%

Africa Europe 4,616 748,380 37.58% 7,667 1,588,606 62.42%

Africa - N. America 205 55,645 58.74% 144 33,700 41.26%

Africa - M. East 2,267 420,943 38.87% 3,566 750,258 61.13%

Africa - Asia 579 153,589 78.88% 155 40,348 21.12%

TOTAL 74,749 7,960,125 15,040 3,043,390