IBERIA TO OPEN ANGOLA FLIGHTS
Spanish carrier Iberia is to launch a twice weekly service to the Angolan capital Luanda later this year. The link will begin on September 30 and will be operated by an Airbus A340-300. There are currently no direct links between Spain and Angola, although an estimated 4,000 O&D passengers travelled between the two countries in the past year. There are already more than 20 flights a week to Luanda from other major European hubs including Air France to Paris CDG, British Airways to London Heathrow, Lufthansa to Frankfurt and TAP Portugal and TAAG Angola to Lisbon. Iberia anticipates that it will captured the majority of the market that currently flies via other countries as well as capturing additional connecting traffic from around its European, North American and South American networks and the flights of its sister carrier British Airways.
TAP PORTUGAL DROPS JOHANNESBURG SERVICE
TAP Portugal has this week suspended its own services between Lisbon and Johannesburg in favour of an expanded co-operation with African carrier LAM – Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique. From the start of June, a revised commercial agreement has been introduced with LAM resuming its own direct services to the Portuguese capital. TAP had previously operated three flights between Lisbon and Johannesburg via Maputo, alongside a direct flight to the Mozambique capital. However, from this week it has cut its own flights to just two Lisbon – Maputo rotations per week, with LAM also offering a similar number of weekly flights. LAM has now become responsible for providing connections between Maputo and Johannesburg on its own aircraft in a schedule connecting with TAP’s and its own arrivals and departures.
CAMAIR REVISES REGIONAL LAUNCH DATES
Cameroon’s flag carrier Camair-Co has delayed the launch of a number of new routes within Africa, but says it is committed to inaugurating these additional flights from this month. The carrier had planned to introduce services from Douala to Bangui, Brazzaville and Lagos last month, but due to undetermined reasons deferred their launch. Its latest schedule display shows these flights now revised for a June start, alongside links Cotonou, Dakar and Libreville. The airline launched operations on March 27 using a mix of 128-seat Boeing 737-700s and a 210-seat 767-300ER model. Its network comprises a mix of domestic and international services, initially covering Garoua, Maroua and Yaounde in Cameroon; Paris in France and N'Djamena in Chad. In its home market it will offer up to 23 weekly flights between Douala and Yaounde - the country’s main internal link
RWANDAIR CONFIRMS RETURN TO RUBAVU
African carrier RwandAir has confirmed that it has resumed flights between Kigali and Gisenyi in the western district of Rubavu after renovation work at the city’s airport was recently completed. RwandAir last served the destination, which is located close to the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2009 and has been offering four flights per week using a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 since the start of June. The airline already offers domestic services to Kamembe, and although the sector time of its new flight is just 20 minutes, government officials claim it will make a significant difference to local and cross border trade. "With more businesses coming up in Rubavu, this flight will contribute to the larger national agenda of boosting trade, investment and movement of people within our border and internationally," said Alexis Nzahabwanimana, the Minister of State in Charge of Transport. "We want to be a hub in air transport in the region since we are strategically located.”
KENYA AIRWAYS CONTINUES AFRICAN CAPITAL EXPANSION
Kenya Airways has taken a further step in its ambition to open air services to every African capital city by the end of 2013, by formalising its schedule to serve N’djamena in Chad. From June 19th the carrier will introduce a twice weekly link that will operate via Cotonou in Berlin. “Most countries in Central Africa including Chad are landlocked and thus have limited export opportunities. However, they represent an important trade corridor to the lucrative West African market where Kenya Airways has a strong presence,” said Titus Naikuni, Managing Director, Kenya Airways, adding that the carrier would open eight new destinations this year. "We are opening up Africa to a world of opportunity. Other markets around the world are already saturated and more airlines are increasing their presence in Africa as its the new business frontier," he added. There are currently no flights between Nairobi and N’djamena and Kenya Airways will hope to attract a mix of point-to-point traffic and transfer passengers on its twice weekly schedule. The Chad capital is already served by Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa, another developing East African hub, while Air France offers direct flights into Europe. Ethiopian Airlines has a seen a steady rise in passengers on its daily service with traffic increasing more than a half in the past year to an estimated 40,000 O&D passengers.
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