Kenya Airwas changes its flights schedule for Accra and Dubai!

Kenya Airways has announced changes to its Summer Schedule as a result of the airline optimizing capacity as it opens new destinations and increases frequencies on existing routes. Key highlights include suspension of flights to Muscat and Rome effective immediately until further notice due to capacity optimization across the network.
The airline has introduced a new direct flight to Dubai which will operate three times a week with late evening departures from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to capture the late connecting traffic arriving into Nairobi. This is in addition to the daily Dubai service that the airline operates. The airline will now operate 10 non-stop flights to Dubai.
In West/Central Africa the ‘Pride of Africa’ has now combined all Lagos daytime flights to Accra as KQ 534 operating Nairobi – Lagos – Accra – Nairobi. As a result Kenya Airways will be flying into Accra 12 times a week and 9 times a week to Lagos.
Kenya Airways has also increased frequencies to Ndjamena, now flying non-stop 3 times a week. Flights to Dakar will now connect through Ouagadougou thus increasing flights to OUA to 3 times a week. Bamako flights will operate via Cotonou 3 times a week; this is expected to ease out on the payload issues that the Bamako passengers have experienced in the past.
The introduction of wide-body capacity into and out of Lagos and Accra is set to have significant impact on Kenya Airways’ passenger and cargo revenue streams as it will enable the airline to offer more capacity and minimum connecting time between Guangzhou, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dubai, Mumbai and West Africa.?
To Mumbai, KQ has increased from daily operations to 10 flights a week and 3 flights weekly to Delhi. The Middle East region will benefit from the extra frequency added on the Jeddah flights to 3 times weekly effective July 2012.
On the domestic Kenyan market, passengers to Kisumu City have more travel options with the introduction of an extra frequency over the weekends to 4 times daily. On specific weekdays the airline will maintain its 3 daily flights. The Embraer E190 will be deployed on the route especially in the mornings and evenings.
Europe has a capacity increase despite the suspension of Rome flights. Effective July 2012, flights to London Heathrow will increase to 10 flights per week on the 322 seater Boeing 777-200 this is expected to take care of the traffic demand during the Olympics. Paris flights will increase to 6 weekly flights during the July – August peak period and the daily Amsterdam capacity will be upgraded to Boeing 777-200.
The optimized schedule comes as the airline moves to increase frequencies on existing routes to meet changing and growing demand while opening new routes in Africa and the Middle East.
Kenya Airways Group Managing Director, Dr. Titus Naikuni said the decision to halt operations on the Rome and Muscat routes was also based on insufficient demand to sustain the routes.

Dar es Salam to host this year’s Lohana festival in December

Dar es Salaam  Lohana Mahajan Mandal under the chairmanship of Parag Somaiya is all set to host the 32nd Lohana sports and cultural festival this Christmas holiday. 
According to Subhash Modi the festival public relations convener, the festival executive management committee headed by secretary general  Manish Rughani will see Sachin Dawda, Amit Modi, Prahlad Nathwani, Situ Ramji, Vinay Dawda, Nikitsha Karia, Poojan Kanabar, Chandulal Thakrar, Rameshbhai Karia, Nayan Chotai, Jayesh Raja, Hemal Sachdev, Tilak Rupal and Dr. Lalseta as assistants. Seven centers Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kampala, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam are expected to participate in this festival which is the largest Lohana sporting gathering.  The festival was started in Kisumu during the Easter Holidays of 1974. D.P. Mandavia, Subhash Modi and Jayantbhai Badiani are the founder members of the festival. The last festival was hosted by Nairobi Lohana Youth League in Nairobi  under the chairmanship of Reshma Raikundalia, Lohana Mahajan chairman Kaushikbhai Manek and secretary general, Kamal Sanghani in 2006. The featured sports disciplines are  badminton, cricket, table tennis, darts, volleyball, golf, marathon, throwball, soccer, and swimming. Dar Salaam Mahajan are hosting the pre-festival meeting over this week end.

Fare hike shock awaits UAE travelers to New Delhi

Dubai All UAE flights to New Delhi are in for a steep fare hike following a 346 per cent increase in airport charges and a user development fee (UDF) that will be levied on passengers by the Indian capital's airport regulator, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India starting May 15.

The approximate increase in ticket prices, according to the country's airport operator, is estimated to be around Rs290 (Dh20) in the domestic sector and Rs580 in the international sector.

The current economy return fares flights from Dubai to Delhi range from Dh1,500 to Dh2,000 depending on the airline. An industry expert told Gulf News last night that the increase could result in fares between the UAE and Delhi rising by as much as 15 per cent. Tour operators in Dubai and Sharjah expect fares to go up as early as next month.

An Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News: "Emirates is concerned by the proposed increase in airport changes at Delhi airport. We are currently in discussions with the relevant authority and have no further comment at this time."An official of an Indian airline that operates from Dubai said: "Taxation in India is over the top. Already, 50-56 per cent of airline costs go into taxation and it can be assumed that any additional burden will be passed on to passengers."

Air Nigeria to commence flights to Johannesburg and London in May

Air Nigeria will on May 16 commence scheduled direct flights from Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos to London Gatwick with affordable fares for a return economy ticket, while, it will also on May 17, commence flights to Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo International Airport), South Africa, using a modern Airbus A330-200 aircraft to service both routes. 

The development is coming just as Air Nigeria is currently implementing a growth phase strategy initiated by Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim (OFR) who acquired the airline two years ago. The recommencement of the long-haul flights mark a historic moment for Nigerian aviation and in the West African sub-region as passengers now have a wider array of choice and more than ever before, can conveniently connect onwards to London and Johannesburg and points beyond.

Commenting on the commencement of both services, Mr. Kinfe Kahssaye, Chief Executive Officer of Air Nigeria said: “After the successful turn-around of the airline over the last two years, the airline is now well positioned to compete favourably on the international market”.

He further noted that the recommencement of the long-haul flights confirms Air Nigeria’s commitment to boost business and tourism travels through regular growth and innovation that will meet the aspirations of the travelling publics. Passengers will have distinctive onboard experience on the flights as indigenous meals and variety of movies will be offered as the airline is committed to delivering quality services at an affordable price.

Mr. Kahssaye also announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun as Executive Director, International Operation. Mr. Aisuebeogun, an ACI/ICAO International Airport Professional (IAP) brings a wealth of excellent leadership qualities and competence to drive the international arm of the airline in line with the overall business objectives.

Qatar Airways launches services to kigali (Rwanda)

Qatar Airways has further expanded operations in Africa with the launch of its 17th destination on the continent – daily scheduled flights to Rwanda.
The arrival of flight QR 536 to Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali takes the airline’s African capacity up to 132 passenger flights each week across a diverse network of cities.
A dramatic water salute soon after touchdown at Kigali International Airport signalled the arrival of Qatar Airways to its 113th international destination – a remarkable feat for an airline celebrating only 15 years of operations.
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker flew on the inaugural service from Doha, and received a colourful welcome by traditional Rwandan dancers followed by an airport ceremony attended by over 150 guests, including government ministers, local dignitaries, business leaders, airport officials and media. Chief guest was Rwanda’s minister of infrastructure, Albert Nsengiyumva.
With a strong focus on operating to underserved markets worldwide, Kigali is one destination which clearly fitted the bill for Qatar Airways, said Al Baker during an arrival speech at the city’s international airport.
“We have extended our reach to yet another underserved market with today’s launch of flights to Kigali,” he said.
“I would like to thank the Rwandan government, the local airport authority and the people of Rwanda for supporting Qatar Airways’ entry to this beautiful country.
“The direct daily air link between my home city of Doha and Kigali is further testament to Qatar Airways’ commitment to expanding our presence in Africa and East Africa in particular, a dynamic region to where we already fly twice daily to both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and daily to Entebbe.
“Our newest route connects the mineral rich Rwandan landscape with the energy rich nation of Qatar, neighbouring Gulf states and cities around the world,” added Al Baker, stressing that Africa continued to be a focus of growth for Qatar Airways this year as it plans further expansion across the Continent.”
Nsengiyumva, in his welcome address, said the arrival of a young and dynamic airline from the Middle East was a great boost for the aviation sector in Rwanda.
“The coming of Qatar Airways signals mutual development which will have a positive impact on the economic growth of both Rwanda and Qatar,” he said, adding that the chief executive’s leadership of the award-winning airline was highly commendable.
In recent months, Qatar Airways launched new African services to Benghazi in Libya and the Ugandan city of Entebbe, with a further three route start-ups planned over the next few months – Mombasa in Kenya, and both Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar in Tanzania.

Arik Air suspends Heathrow-Abuja flights

Arik Air has again been forced to suspend its route between Heathrow and Abuja, following the breakdown in discussions between the UK and Nigeria governments over bilateral air service agreements

The carrier suspended services in October last year, before restarting flights in December.

At the time Arik gave the reason for the temporary suspension of flights as being “due to a number of extraneous factors including operational considerations to support the regional programme ahead of the airline’s launch to new destinations in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali on December 6”.

However the carrier said that it will again suspend services from March 25, “following the inability of the UK and Nigeria governments to come to a solution on the 2008 Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) and access to slots in Heathrow in line with the frequencies agreed in the BASA”.

It says that the temporary reinstatement of flights had been made possible when UK authorities “facilitated the temporary continuation of the commercial lease of these slots in support of Arik Air’s Abuja – Heathrow operation”, but added that this “interim solutuion” was only available up until March 25.

British Airways also offers a daily service between Heathrow and the Nigerian capital.

Air France Launch flights to Abuja Nigeria

As from 4 June 2012, Air France will be operating a daily flight to Abuja in Nigeria on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Flights will be operated by Airbus A330-200. With a total capacity of 208 seats, it has 40 seats in the Business class cabin, 21 in the Premium Voyageur cabin and 147 in the Voyageur (Economy) cabin. All Air France’s Airbus A330-200s are equipped with the new “full sleep” Business class seat, which is longer, wider and more spacious. It is favoured by over 90% of Air France customers who appreciate the enhanced quality of sleep it provides during the flight. Five kilos lighter, it contributes to the reduction of CO² emissions and is therefore more environmentally friendly.

Flight AF 514 will leave Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:40 am and will arrive in Abuja at 3:35 pm before continuing on to Port Harcourt.

Flight AF 513 from Port Harcourt will leave Abuja at 11:15 pm and will arrive the following day at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 6:10 am, offering excellent connecting opportunities to the 254 Air France and KLM destinations.

This new non-stop route is in addition to the daily flights to Lagos and flights to PortHarcourt and strengthens Air France’s services to Nigeria, while at the same time illustrating Air France and KLM’s continuous growth strategy in Africa.

With its network of 69 destinations1 in Africa and Middle-East in summer 2012, Air France, KLM and its partners are offering even more destinations and non-stop flights between these regions and the hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol.