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.

Senegal Airlines: Arrival of a new ATR-72 device to replace the ATR-42!

Senegal Airlines announces the arrival of a new device: An ATR-72 configured with 66 seats instead of its ATR-42 of 46 seats.

Units of greater capacity which will enable the company to meet a growing demand for its market on the short haul.

Indeed, the major traffic recorded including the Casamance justifies the strengthening of supply particularly on the Dakar, Senegal.

The said device and enter into service this Wednesday, March 21, 2012 and will allow the servicing of domestic routes such as Ziguinchor and Cap Skirring and neighborhood destinations including Banjul, Praia, Bissau, and Nouakchott.

As a reminder, Senegal Airlines is the result of an innovative partnership between the State of Senegal and the domestic private sector. Technical and strategic partnerships were also sealed with the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus fleet requirements, and with the Emirates, for the operational implementation.

Based in Dakar, the company now has four devices (three Airbus A-320 and one ATR) and operates flights to 15 destinations in Africa: Abidjan, Bamako, Banjul, Bissau, Conakry, Cape Skirring, Cotonou, Douala , Libreville, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Praia and Ziguinchor.

Qatar Airways is set to begin daily flights to Rwanda!

Qatar Airways is set to begin daily flights to Rwanda's Kigali International Airport. Joining the airline's aggressively expanding route map, Kigali is the third destination launched by the carrier so far this year and latest to the African continent. In February, the airline began services to both Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Operating via Entebbe, Kigali becomes Qatar Airways 17th route in Africa, joining its ever-growing global network that currently spans 112 destinations. Further expansion is planned across East Africa during 2012 with new services to Mombasa, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said: "We are pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa with the addition of scheduled flights to Rwanda, allowing us to further expand our business on the African continent."

Rwanda is fast emerging as a growing economic centre, forming strong trade links with Europe and Asia Pacific, thanks largely to its rich mineral resources.

For passengers traveling on Qatar Airways, they will have convenient access from the airline's expansive route network to Rwanda, via the airline's strategically positioned Doha hub.

Key feeder markets include India, Australia, China, the United States and United Kingdom.

Added Al Baker: "As a network global carrier we are able to fulfill the needs of the traveling public from such markets and for those wanting to travel there from destinations we serve around the world."

The exposure of Rwanda to the world through the airline's global network will enable the country to attract more tourists, with several attractions focusing on wildlife and natural scenic beauty.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 106 aircraft to key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.