Our regular round-up delivers some of the latest key aviation and travel news stories from across the Continent.
Green Africa commits to leasing three A220s to enable launch in 2020
Nigerian start-up Green Africa committed to lease three A220-300 aircraft from GTLK Europe, in addition to the MoU for 50 A220s it signed with Airbus earlier in Feb-2020. Deliveries of the three leased aircraft will be complete by Aug-2020 and will support Green Africa's aim to launch commercial operations in 2020. Green Africa founder and CEO Babawande Afolabi said the leased aircraft "will help bridge the gap" until deliveries from Airbus commence in 2021.
Jambojet again postpones launch of its planned Mogadishu service
Jambojet reportedly postponed plans to commence Mogadishu service after it was unable to secure a morning slot at Mogadishu Aden Adde International Airport. Jambojet MD and CEO Allan Kilavuka commented: "We have put the plans on hold as we review whether the route will fit within our current operations". As previously reported by CAPA, the airline originally planned to commence Nairobi-Mogadishu service in Nov-2019 before postponing the launch to Feb-2020.
Air Mauritius reports EUR7.7 million profit in 4Q2019 with drop in fuel costs
Air Mauritius reported a EUR7.7 million profit for 4Q2019, with a 2.7% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers, a 2.9pp increase in load factor and a 2.9% increase in operating revenue to EUR139.1 million. Passenger yield recorded a "marginal drop" of 0.3%. The results were positively impacted by unrealised foreign exchange gains. Operating expenses decreased 6.5% to EUR129.4 million, mainly due to a reduction in fuel costs. For the nine months ended 31-Dec-2019, passenger numbers decreased "marginally" by 0.1%, load factor improved to 81.1% and yield recorded a "slight drop" of 0.3%. Operating revenue increased "slightly" by 0.2% and operating expenses decreased 5.2%, mainly due to lower fuel prices and reduced operations.
Mali may launch new national carrier
Mali's Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile director general Oumar Mamadou Ba reportedly stated the Malian Government plans to launch a new national carrier in 1Q2020. The proposed airline will reportedly have a budget of XOF4 billion (USD6.7 million) and will initially operate domestic services before expanding to regional and intercontinental routes.
Royal Air Maroc and British Airways agree new codeshare agreement
British Airways (BA) signed a new codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc. BA will codeshare on Royal Air Maroc services from London Heathrow to Marrakesh, Casablanca and Agadir. The agreement also includes reciprocal loyalty points rewards for both carriers, as well as access to Royal Air Maroc's airport lounges when flying in the airline's premium cabins under BA codeshare. Codeshare services will operate from 20-Feb-2020, prior to Royal Air Maroc joining oneworld on 01-Apr-2020.
CAPACITY SNAPSHOT: African Domestic Seats (as at 17-Feb-2020)Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG (NOTE: *These values are at least partly predictive up to 6 months ahead and may be subject to change)
News Briefs
- Groupe ADP has reported the signing of a 25 year concession agreement contract with Africa50 to finance the modernisation and extension of Conakry Airport.
- Royal Air Maroc has expanded its codeshare partnership with Alitalia to now include its routes from Casablanca to Abidjan, Accra and Lagos as well as the Italian carrier's flights from Rome to Kiev Zhulyany and Prague.
- Uganda's Ministry of Works and Transport has appointed Profiles International to search for candidates for the appointment of a new Uganda Airlines CEO. The contract of acting CEO Cornwell Muleya is scheduled to expire at the end of Feb-2020.
- Morocco's airports saw traffic increase 7.9% year-on-year in Jan-2020. Morocco's Office National Des Aeroports reported that domestic traffic rose 10.4% and international traffic increased 7.6% during the month. The strongest growth was from North America and among Maghreb countries, both up by more than a fifth year-on-year.
- Kenya Airways has expanded its codeshare network with Oman Air to include the latter's Muscat-Delhi and Muscat-Hyderabad services. Kenya Airways now has 23 codeshare partners and Oman Air has 17, according to OAG.
CAPACITY SNAPSHOT: African International Seats (as at 17-Feb-2020)Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG (NOTE: *These values are at least partly predictive up to 6 months ahead and may be subject to change)
Aircraft News
- AerCap delivered one A320neo on lease to EgyptAir. The aircraft is the first of a 15 A320neo family aircraft deal. With this delivery, EgyptAir becomes the first carrier based in mainland Africa to operate aircraft of this type.
- Air Senegal plans to replace A319 with A321 on six of seven weekly Dakar-Casablanca frequencies, effective 20-Apr-2020, reports Routes Online. The A321 will be configured with 16 full flat business class seats and 149 economy class seats.
- South African Airways (SAA) plans to deploy A350-900 on Johannesburg-Mauritius service from Mar-2020. The airline will operate the service five times weekly with A350 and twice weekly with A340-300.
CAPACITY SNAPSHOT: The largest LCCs in Africa (as at 17-Feb-2020)Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG
Route Update
- LAM - Mozambique Airlines plans to commence three times weekly Pemba-Johannesburg service on 30-Mar-2020, according to the CAPA Route Changes Database. SA Airlink is the only other airline operating on the route.
- Tassili Airlines plan to add to its domestic network in Mar-2020 with Algiers-Mechria (three times weekly, effective 04-Mar-2020); Algiers-Ghardaia (twice weekly, effective 05-Mar-2020); and Algiers-Mascara (weekly, effective 26-Mar-2020) services.
- EgyptAir plans to launch weekly Sharm el Sheikh-Lisbon charter service, effective 15-Jun-2020. The carrier plans to operate the route with Boeing 737-800 equipment.
- Ethiopian Airlines commenced three times weekly nonstop Addis Ababa-Goba service with Dash 8 equipment on 12-Feb-2020, according to the CAPA Route Changes Database. The service replaces three times weekly Addis Ababa-Awasa-Goba-Addis Ababa service.
- ASKY Airlines plans to commence daily nonstop Lomé-Johannesburg service with Boeing 737-800 on 15-Mar-2020. The airline will also continue to operate Lomé-Lagos-Douala-Johannesburg and Lomé-Lagos-Libreville-Johannesburg services.
- Air France plans to launch new routes and expand capacity to Algeria, subject to Algerian civil aviation authority approval. The comprise: Paris Orly-Algiers (up to 14 times weekly); Marseille-Algiers (up to seven times weekly); Toulouse-Algiers (up to four times weekly); Toulouse-Oran (up to four times weekly); Nice-Algiers (up to twice-weekly service).
- Ibom Air launched additional Uyo-Abuja and Uyo-Lagos frequencies, effective 15-Feb-2020. The airline now operates Uyo-Abuja three times daily and Uyo-Lagos four times daily.
- Cabo Verde Airlines plans to suspend three times weekly Sal-Salvador service, effective 01-Mar-2020. The airline will accommodate affected passengers on services to Fortaleza or Recife. The carrier also serves Porto Alegre.
- Air Peace is awaiting final approval from Indian authorities for the launch of Lagos-Mumbai service. Its chairman and CEO Allen Onyema said the airline hopes to commence the service "within the next few months".
- ASL Airlines France opened reservations for Paris CDG-Djerba service, scheduled to operate twice weekly from 29-Jun-2020 to 02-Sep-2020. Air France also plans to launch Paris CDG-Djerba seasonal service from Jun-2020, operating four times weekly.