South African Airways to Fly to Kigali and Bujumbura
South African Airways (SAA) is to launch flights between Johannesburg and the African cities of Kigali and Bujumbura from the start of next year. As exclusively revealed by The HUB during the Routes Africa forum in Bamako, Mali earlier this year, SAA is planning to introduce a further eight African destinations in 2011/2012 fiscal year and although the airline had not confirmed its network plans, we suggested the destinations would include Bujumbura in Burundi and Kigali in Rwanda. SAA will inaugurate flights on the Johannesburg – Kigali – Bujumbura route from January 17, 2012, subject to government approval. It plans to use an Airbus A319 on the route, which will be flown three times weekly. It is understood to have also secured traffic rights for the Kigali – Bujumbura sector. SAA currently serves 19 destinations in Africa but will focus on the region for its growth. It plans to increase its passenger numbers by 37 per cent over the coming three years and by 2015 plans to almost double its fleet to 94 aircraft.
Royal Jordanian Sets Course to Africa
Royal Jordanian is planning widespread growth in Africa over the coming 12 months. In the last few days it has confirmed the launch of two new routes into the continent and has revealed it is finalising plans to add two further destinations to its network. The Middle East carrier will introduce a twice weekly link to Lagos, Nigeria from December 3 and a four times weekly service to Nairobi, Kenya from December 16, but also plans to serve Accra, Ghana and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the near future. The airline is working to develop the local tourism sector and Amman as a mini-hub in the Middle East and these four new routes to Africa will enable it to benefit from the vast tourism potential in these East and West African countries, according to Hussein Dabbas, President and Chief Executive officer, Royal Jordanian. There has been a decline in tourism movements to Jordan from the traditional markets of Europe and North America over the past couple of years and Royal Jordanian believes Africa has a strong potential for development. Hussein Dabbas notes that the new routes are “bound to attract large numbers of tourists to the Kingdom,” particularly religious travellers, for example Muslim pilgrims who wish to continue their flights to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, and Christians, who come to Jordan to visit the Baptism site and other Christian holy sites. According to data from Royal Jordanian, the four African cities it plans to serve all have large Muslim and Christian populations. The Nairobi route will be served with an Airbus A319, while the Lagos service will be flown by an A330-200. The Middle Eastern carrier now operates three A330-200s, its latest example arriving at the end of July on a long-term operating lease until January 2017 and is providing the short-term capacity to bridge the gap before the arrival of the carrier’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner: the first of eleven is due in early 2014. It has also enabled Royal Jordanian to retire its older A310s from service. Royal Jordanian introduced its first two A330s into service in May 2010 and now using the type on links to Bangkok, Detroit, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madinah and Montreal. The aircraft are all configured for 283 passengers with 24 Crown Business Class and 259 Economy seats.
RAK Airways Confirms Khartoum as Fourth New Winter Destination
RAK Airways has revealed it will introduce flights to the Sudanese capital Khartoum this winter, confirming a story we reported last month (‘RAK Airways Increases GCC Footprint’). This will be the fourth new destination for the Ras Al Khaimah-based carrier this winter, following Kuwait City, Lahore, and Peshawar. The airline will offer a three times weekly schedule from December 15. “We had a clear mandate to fly to 10 destinations within one year of re-launching our operations. With the introduction of our flights to Khartoum, we have achieved our objective and laid the foundation for a successful and profitable future for the airline,” said Omar Jahameh, Chief Executive Officer, RAK Airways.
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