Arik Air to Resume Abuja – London Link
Nigerian carrier Arik Air is to resume flights between Abuja and London Heathrow from December 12 following a six month hiatus, due to slot related issues in the UK gateway. The carrier had been forced to suspend its operation at the end of the Northern Summer 2011 schedule after failing to secure additional slots at London Heathrow. It launched services on the route in November 2009 and had previously rented a pair of daily slots from bmi British Midland International, according to local newspaper reports, but had been unwilling to continue the arrangement when the cost was increased. The airline simply says the closure was due to “a number of extraneous factors”. Arik Air will offer a daily operation on the route, complementing its existing Lagos – London Heathrow route and plans to use a Boeing 737-800 on the flight configured with 16 Business Class and 126 Economy seats. It had previously offered five flights per week between the destinations. “We are delighted to offer an alternative service on the Abuja – London, Heathrow route again,” said Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Group CEO and President, Arik Air. “We fully intended on flying the route again and we are glad that we have been able to fulfill this intention before the end of the year and we thank the respective governments for coming to agreeable terms which increases the capacity now and in to and out of Nigeria.”
Brussels Airlines Outlines African Market Expansion
Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines is to increase its flights into Africa from its Brussels International Airport base and upgrade its in-flight product from April 2012 following the arrival of an additional A330 into its fleet. The Star Alliance member has confirmed it will increase frequencies in six markets, with five seeing significant increases in capacity. The Belgian market has long historic links with Africa which date back long before the formation of Brussels Airlines, but the carrier has built much of its network around its strong presence in the continent. It carried around 616,000 O&D passengers between Africa and Europe last year, a figure that was boosted by the launch of new connections to Bamako, Mali and Marrakech, Morocco during the current calendar year. In West Africa there will be more capacity on offer into Cameroon and the Ivory Coast. An additional eight weekly frequencies will be provided to Cameroon with flights to the capital Yaoundé increasing from two to six a week, while Douala, the important harbour and economic hub of the country, will be linked to Brussels daily rather than three times weekly. According to Brussels Airlines, the Ivory Coast is witnessing a “strong economic revival” as the government has announced several measures to stimulate business and trade. Accordingly, the carrier will increase its three times weekly Abidjan service to a daily frequency (this route was served six times weekly in S10). In Central and East Africa, growth will occur in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya. A third weekly frequency will be added to the Burundi capital Bujumbura, while links to Kinshasa in the DRC will be grown to six a week. The Kenyan capital Nairobi will also receive an additional weekly rotation increasing services on the route from Brussels to four a week. Brussels Airlines has confirmed there will be market cuts as part of its revised network strategy and changes to aircraft routings. It will suspend its own operated flights to Accra (currently served three times weekly) in favour of a codeshare with its Star Alliance partner, and owner, Lufthansa, via Frankfurt, while Dakar, Senegal will be served four times weekly, down from six flights in S11.
EgyptAir Increases Capacity to Libya
EgyptAir will introduce a revised schedule to Libya this week almost doubling its existing capacity into the country. The North African airline currently operates eleven flights per week but will increase capacity to Tripoli to a double daily schedule from December 7 and up flights to Benghazi to a daily basis from December 8. The airline says the schedule change is in response to customer demand which has increased since a level of political stability returned to the country. “We expected the increase in operation after the decree of resuming flights to Libya last November, this is in addition to the increase in load factor on these routes, the matter which pushed us to increase the flights as a support to the links between Egypt and Libya,” said In this regard, Eng Hussein Massoud, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, EgyptAir Holdings. An estimated 259,000 O&D passengers travelled between Egypt and Libya last year, a figure that has declined by around 40 per cent in the past 12 months due to the political issues in each country. Around 148,000 passengers travelled between Cairo and Tripoli (down 45 per cent) and 31,000 between Cairo and Benghazi (also down 45 per cent) during the same period.
Arik Air to Introduce Angolan Link
Nigerian carrier Arik Air is to further expand its international network this month with the launch of flights between Lagos and the Angolan capital Luanda. The airline will offer a twice weekly flight on the route from December 13, becoming the first Nigerian carrier to operate scheduled services between the two cities. The flight will be operated by a two class Boeing 737-800 with 16 Business Class and 132 Economy seats and has been timed to offer good connections between Lagos and the airline’s other international destinations. “We are pleased to announce the launch of operations to a new destination, our second sub-Saharan and ninth African point,” said Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Group CEO and President Arik Air. “Luanda is a strategically important capital for the oil & gas and extraction industry and this new route offers increased availability and capacity to the capital as well as introducing the first route between Lagos and Luanda.” The flight will be operated under a codeshare arrangement with TAAG Angola, the flag carrier of the African state. “This codeshare agreement with TAAG is the first of its kind that Arik Air has undertaken,” explained Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide. “We can offer TAAG access to an extensive West African and Nigerian network and, similarly, it can offer our passengers the ability to utilize its domestic network and regional network incorporating 23 destinations in southern, eastern and West Africa.”
Royal Air Maroc Boosts Links to Moscow
North African carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) is to increase the frequency of its flights to the Russian capital Moscow from its developing Casablanca hub. The airline’s President, Driss Benhima revealed to The HUB at last week’s African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly (AGA) in Marrakech, Morocco that RAM’s new business model puts a greater importance on developing frequency on routes from the Moroccan capital to enhance connectivity. Earlier this year the national carrier cancelled many of its international flights from Agadir and Marrakech to focus on building Casablanca a regional hub. “We have had to focus on our core business,” said Driss Benhima. “Over the past four years there has been a 12 fold increase in traffic in and out of Morocco due to increasing competition and in particular the presence of low-cost airlines. It is all about surviving and we have had to reduce flights and concentrate on a hub-and-spoke concept at Casablanca to do just that.” The fourth weekly frequency Casablanca and Moscow Sheremetyevo will be added from March 25, 2012, with all the rotations due to be operated using Boeing 737-800 equipment. An estimated 12,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year, more than double the figure for the previous 12 month period, when there were no direct flights.
ASKY Flies Under Own Code
Lomé-based ASKY Airlines, which was established in June 2008 by Ethiopian Airlines to enhance its presence in West Africa, has started flying under its own code after securing its own Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). The airline, which is 40 per cent controlled by Ethiopian Airlines, launched operations in January 2010 and up until now has been flying under its shareholder’s ‘ET’ flight code. However, with immediate effect its flights are now operating under the ‘KP’ prefix. ASKY is also modifying its schedule in some markets, increasing frequencies to Abidjan (from daily to ten a week) and Accra (from six to nine a week) but reducing services to Bamako (from three to two a week) and Ouagadougou (from four to three a week). The airline has also added a twice weekly service to Abuja; the Nigerian city becoming a stop on its existing link between Lomé and Niamey.
Delta Celebrates Five Years of African Flights
Delta Air Lines has this past weekend (December 3/4) celebrated the fifth anniversary of the introduction of its flights to Africa from the USA. The US major inaugurated services between the two continents on December 4, 2006 when it introduced a link from Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa, via Dakar, Senegal. Just one week later it expanded its offering by serving Accra, Ghana, from its hub at New York JFK. These flights marked the first non-stop scheduled connections to Africa by a US major since Pan American World Airways served the market in the 1980s. "Five years ago, Delta saw an opportunity in Africa to offer our customers access to a region that had long been overlooked by U.S. carriers," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's Executive Vice President – Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing. "Today Africa has become a key part of our international network, and we're committed to continued long-term growth in the region." Delta Air Lines now flies to six African cities in five countries and is the largest US carrier serving the continent. In the past week it expanded its offering by introducing onward connections from Accra to the Nigerian city of Lagos on a twice weekly basis in partnership with Air Nigeria. From 22 weekly rotations in December 2006, Delta now offers 44 flights per week and has handled more than 2.5 million passengers on its flights in and out of Africa during the past five years. "Despite our success in Africa, we're not standing still. We continue to look for new opportunities to serve this fast-growing market, and I expect Africa to be an exciting part of Delta's long-term growth," added Perry Cantarutti, Delta's Senior Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Arik Air to Resume ‘Savannah Express’ Service
Independent Nigerian carrier Arik Air is to resume flights to the capitals of Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali after suspending its operations into the countries just weeks after launching services earlier this year. The West African carrier confirms that from December 6, it will offer a twice weekly flight under the ‘Savannah Express’ marketing brand that will operate on the Lagos – Cotonou – Ouagadougou – Bamako routing before terminating in the Senegalese capital Dakar. The flight will be operated by a Bombardier CRJ900 with 10 Business Class and 64 Economy seats. “The commencement of services between Lagos and the cities of Cotonou, Ouagadougou, Bamako and Dakar is significant because it marks the end to years of limited air links between Nigeria and the respective countries,” said Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Chief Executive Officer and President, Arik Air Group. “The inauguration is coming at a time when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is seeking closer relations among countries in the region. Arik Air’s new services will help Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali to foster even stronger economic ties and cement economic relations.” Arik Air already serves five destinations in West Africa with existing links to Accra (Ghana), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Banjul (Gambia), Dakar (Senegal) and Monrovia (Liberia). Its latest route launch will bring its total international network to eleven destinations with eight regional African points now connected to its hubs in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria.
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