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www.airlines-africa.com Airlines Africa Superjet 100 Hot Soak Trails On August 4, 2011 the Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight prototype SN95005 landed at Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) to undergo hot soak trails (above +40°C). The tests will last about one month. The aircraft is equipped with special detecting devices to register the aircraft temperature in different zones. The test program includes extensive ground testing of the engines, APU and avionics and check flights. Ground hot soak trials are aimed at proving the ability of the aircraft, its systems and avionics to resist temperature shock. These tests shall confirm reliable starting and operation of the APU and engines at high outside air temperature even after long parking. As part of the test, Sukhoi will run the airframe through special checks to demonstrate the reaction of the composite materials. Check flights are aimed at confirming declared takeoff and landing aircraft performances as well as stable engine operation in steady and variable modes of operation. The test program also includes the performance of the continued takeoff, single-engine go-around and relight in flight. Improving Flight Data Management Lufthansa Systems has announced an expansion in the functionality of its Integrated Commercial Platform (ICP). The ICP/Perform module features new applications for optimizing cost-efficiency of flight routes. ICP/ Perform calculates route profitability and assists with budget planning while also automatically settling invoices for air traffic control costs, airport fees and similar expenses. “The ICP already enables airlines to make decisions by providing a complete overview of their central flight operations planning data. We have taken this approach even further with ICP/Perform. The new module allows analyzing the profitability of individual routes and contributes to cost-efficient flight operations,” said Stefan Auerbach, senior vice president airline solutions at Lufthansa Systems. The ICP covers all of an airline’s network and revenue management processes. It provides a compre- hensive overview of the information relevant to commercial planning and gives airlines a solid foundation of data for managing their business. The ICP thus enables carriers to be more agile and flexible. ICP/Perform handles route profitability functions within the ICP. Its fast, precise reporting tool covers everything down to the level of individual flights, providing a basis for airlines to make better network planning decisions. The system combines flight operations information with cost data and sends the results directly to the respective finance systems. It also has interfaces to the revenue accounting and flight operations systems so that revenue and cost data can come from a central data source. ICP/Perform additionally prevents overpayments by settling accounts precisely. The new ICP/Perfom is being offered in cooperation with Megabyte Ltd., a renowned Maltese IT company. Air Tweets Turkish Airlines has announced that, subject to government approvals, they could begin scheduled cargo service to Lagos from Istanbul as early as September. 4 Arik Air issued a statement to correct and clarify the details surrounding one of its aircraft held on the ground in Dakar, Sengal. Published reports stated that the aircraft had been impounded over outstanding payments. The airline reports that the dispute was over navigational charges, that Arik and other carriers have been working as an ongoing concern. The airline also took expection to reports on the financial insolvency of the airline which it claims are “unfounded.” The Nambia Airports Company is sponsoring research on the danger of wildlife near airports. Different that some studies, this report will seek proactive measures to mimimize the risk as opposed to seeking remedies once birds and wildlife are already a risk to aircraft. TAAG wants to resume flights to the northern Zaire airports of Soyo and Mbanza as soon as the Zairian National Institute of Civil Aviation certified the airports for commercial operations. Swissport Tanzania posted a Sh3.9 billion profit before taxes for the first six months of 2011. This is a 44 percent increase over the same period over last year. Joel Chilufya, president of Fly Zambia Airline Limited has reported that, with an investment of some $21 million, the airline is set to launch service within 30-45 days. At start, the carrier plans to have two Fokker 100 and two Fokker 50 aircraft (one aircraft will reportedly be in an all-cargo configuration. The management team is reported to be experienced and from both Zambia and South Africa. August 15, 2011
Airlines Africa 5 Etihad Airways Set to Launch Service to East Africa— Developing Fastest Connections to China and the East Etihad Airways recently announced the start of flights to Nairobi, its first destination in East Africa on April 1, 2012. The daily service from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi will be operated by a two-class A320 aircraft with 16 Pearl business class and 120 Coral economy seats. Nairobi becomes the 72nd destination in Etihad’s global network and the return flights will create a new link between the two capital cities of Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. “This new route will allow Etihad to tap into large traffic flows between East Africa, North Asia, and the Indian subcontinent,” the airline‘s chief executive officer, James Hogan, said. “Our strategy is to target areas of strong growth in emerging economies such as north, east and central Africa and we have a number of other destinations under active consideration. “East Africa has been on our radar for some time now,” Hogan told Airlines Africa. “We have done a detailed evaluation of a number of potential markets over the last 12 months, and recently decided that Nairobi was the most appealing destination for our network in the short term. The reason for deciding to launch flights in April 2012 is that we have seen strong recent growth in the Kenyan economy, and in trade between Kenya and the UAE, and believe that there is now sufficient demand for a direct link between the two countries’ capital cities. We are also expanding our Chinese network in the first half of next year. The delivery of an additional narrowbody aircraft at this time allows us to complement this growth in China with an important new connection to East Africa.” “Nairobi is an ideal addition to Etihad’s global footprint. There are 38,000 Kenyan nationals residing in the UAE and there are large and established point-to-point traffic flows between the two countries. “Also, Abu Dhabi and Kenya have www.airlines-africa.com much in common economically. Both have 2030 plans in which tourism plays a vital role and the UAE is one of the largest exporters to the country.” In 2010 more than two million tourists visited Kenya, including some 295,000 from the Middle East. This new route will also service the considerable and growing flow of people and capital between Kenya and North Asia, with major Chinese investment in Africa generating passenger demand in both directions. “Our Nairobi service will originate and terminate in our Abu Dhabi hub, and will have its own flight numbers,” Hogan said. “However, we have specifically designed the schedule to provide fast and seamless connections over our Abu Dhabi hub to a number of key markets including China, India and Australia, as well as to and from Europe. As an example of this, in the summer 2012 season, Etihad will offer the fastest online connection in the market between Nairobi and cities such as Beijing, Cochin, Hyderabad and Sydney.” “While we don’t have any full time Etihad staff in Nairobi we do have staff in Africa with regional responsibility for Kenya,” Hogan explained to James Hogan Airlines Africa. “However, within a few months we will be appointing a country manager who will lead a team of 11 commercial staff. We will also have several staff based at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.” The managing director of the Kenya Airports Authority, Eng. Stephen Gichuki said, “Kenya Airports Authority has enjoyed a good relationship with Etihad Airways throughout its three years of operations to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Our airport is currently undergoing an expansion and upgrading of its facilities which includes the construction of a new terminal. This will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers, and construction is expected to begin in January 2012.” Etihad began dedicated cargo services to Nairobi in March, 2009 and now operates five freighter flights with a total capacity of 340 tonnes each week. This will increase by five per cent from April 1. “We operate two A330 freighters via N’Djamena into Abu Dhabi, two MD-11 freighters into Amsterdam via Johannesburg and Lagos respectively and one A330 freighter roundtrip to Abu Dhabi,” said Hogan commenting on the freight service and the planned growth. “Our freight capacity increases are from a combination of freighter aircraft—for example the full impact of our new 100 tonne 777 freighter—as well as the increase from the bellyhold space of our new passenger aircraft being deployed on new routes and frequency on existing routes.” August 15, 2011
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