SENEGALESE NEWCOMER LAUNCHES FLIGHTS
New African flag carrier Senegal Airlines has filled the void in the West African market following the collapse of Air Senegal International in 2009. The start-up, a joint venture between the local government and a consortium of private investors, launched flights on January 25, initially offering connections from Dakar to Abidjan, Bamako, Banjul, Nouakchott and Ouagadougou with two leased 136-seat Airbus A320s – a third is due for delivery before the end of May to boost frequencies. The airline’s launch routes cover the largest markets from Dakar, according to IATA BSP O+D passenger data for the year ending November 2010. Over that 12 month period the top five destinations to and from Dakar (two-way traffic) comprised Bamako (100,400), Banjul (95,115), Abidjan (82,580), Conakry (40,060) and Freetown (38,552). The latter two destinations will certainly be future growth opportunities for Senegal Airlines, as would the sixth largest destination, Johannesburg, which is already served by South African Airways but where the average one-way fare is US$942, considerably higher than all other markets from Senegal. The airline has bold ambitions with plans to capture at least a 40 per cent share of the market at Dakar and to launch long-haul flights to Asia, Europe and North America within the next three years. “I think the geographical position and the stability of the country will help us to build what we would like to build, which is basically to have a hub in the sub-region in West Africa,” said Edgardo Badiali, Chief Executive Officer, Senegal Airlines at a pre-launch event. Approximately 600,000 passengers travelled between Senegal and other destinations in Africa during the 12 months ending November 2010.
AERO CONTRACTORS BOOSTS DOMESTIC NIGERIAN LINKS
Nigerian carrier Aero Contractors is to relaunch services between Lagos and Enugu, in the southeast of the country, from February 7. The daily flights will be operated using a Boeing 737-400 and will be in direct competition with Arik Air and Dana Air which each offers a daily link between the two cities. In the year ending November 2010, just over 205,000 passengers travelled on the route with Arik Air holding a 52 per cent share.
TAP AND LAM STRENGTHEN THEIR PARTNERSHIP
European flag carrier TAP Portugal and African operator LAM – Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique have formalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fully co-operate on flights between the two countries and onward to South Africa. TAP currently offers three flights per week between Lisbon and Johannesburg with a stopover in Maputo, plus a fourth direct flight to the Mozambique capital, but with LAM now planning to resume its own flights to Lisbon, the framework of the agreement has had to be modified to account for the schedule changes. From June 2011 there will now be four direct codeshare flights per week – two operated using LAM aircraft and two with TAP jets – while LAM will provide onward connections to Johannesburg. According to IATA BSP data for the year ending November 2010, 58,000 O+D passengers travelled between Portugal and Mozambique.
FLYDUBAI BRINGS LOW-FARES TO PORT SUDAN
Middle Eastern low-cost carrier flydubai is to launch a weekly flight between Dubai and Port Sudan from February 28. It will become the first overseas carrier to offer scheduled links to Sudan’s Red Sea port city, a destination currently only served by Sudan Airways from Cairo and Khartoum and by Nova Airways from Khartoum, according to Flightbase (January 14-20). Port Sudan is developing as a leisure destination thanks to its excellent beaches and good scuba-diving conditions.
KENYA AIRWAYS TO INCREASE PARIS FLIGHTS
Kenya Airways is to introduce a daily service between Nairobi and Paris CDG from June 14. The African flag carrier currently offers five flights per week, according to Flightbase (January 14-20). It plans to continue using a Boeing 767-300 on the route, increasing weekly capacity from 1,080 to 1,512 seats.
ETHIOPIAN DROPS DIRECT LINK TO BUJUMBURA
Ethiopian Airlines is to modify its regional schedules introducing an intermediate stop on its flights to Bujumbura, the capital, largest city and main port in Burundi. From February 1, the carrier’s flight from Addis Ababa will operate via Kigali, Rwanda. This will be flown by a Boeing 737-800, except on Sundays when a 757-200 will be used on the route. According to IATA BSP data, Ethiopian carried just 3,300 O+D passengers between Addis Ababa and Bujumbura in the year ending November 2010.
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