EMIRATES ADDS SECOND DAILY FLIGHT TO CAPE TOWN
Dubai-based Emirates Airline is to strengthen its commitment to South Africa with the launch of a second daily flight to Cape Town. The new service will offer passengers more choice and flexibility, as well as providing additional connection opportunities to a wide range of onward destinations. “South Africa and the United Arab Emirates enjoy a thriving trade and investment relationship and the launch of our second daily service to Cape Town will help boost this further by supporting new business and tourism opportunities,” said Richard Vaughan, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations Worldwide, Emirates Airline. The second rotation will be added from March 27 and operated using a three-class Airbus A340-500 configured with 12 First Class private suites, 42 angled lie-flat beds in Business and 204 Economy Class seats. Known for its dramatic natural skylines, amazing wildlife and for being a melting pot of cultural influences, Cape Town is a hub of creativity and a magnet for artists and performers. It is estimated that the ‘Mother City’ attracted three million visitors in 2010, with almost 63 per cent coming from Europe, a market that Emirates serves well via its Dubai hub. “We have seen very strong inbound and outbound demand for our South African services over the last year,” added Richard Vaughan.
BRUSSELS AIRLINES TO ADJUST CAPACITY TO AFRICA
As we prepare for the launch of the summer schedules later this month it seems that Brussels Airlines is to reduce capacity to Africa, cutting frequencies on some routes and changing aircraft routings on others. According to latest GDS information the airline is to cut weekly flights from Brussels to Abidjan from six last year to just two; to Dakar from daily to five-times weekly and to Monrovia from four to three via Banjul. Links to Conakry will remain twice-weekly but operating via Banjul in each direction rather than a triangle service with Freetown, while Cotonou will be served via Ouagadougou in each direction rather than as a triangle service with Abidjan. Capacity to Banjul will increase from three to four flights per week, while Lomé will now be served directly twice every week rather than via Ouagadougou. The Belgian airline currently serves 13 non-stop destinations in the continent from Brussels with over 30 weekly flights during the Northern Summer schedules. Due to its historical links, Belgium has a strong number of connections into Africa with more than 1.2 million O&D passengers travelling to the continent from Brussels Airport in 2010.
SPANAIR ADDS SECOND WEEKLY BAMAKO LINK
Fresh from last week’s news that its Star Alliance partner TAP Portugal is to offer flights to Bamako in Mali this summer as it continues to expand its presence in Northern and Central Africa, Spanish carrier Spanair has revealed plans to add a second daily service on its route from Barcelona. Approximately 228,000 O&D passengers travelled between Europe and Mali in 2010 with around 5,000 from Barcelona. Spanair launched operations on the route in December 18 and will add the second weekly rotation from June 1, departing the Spanish city on Wednesdays, returning from Mali on Thursdays.
ASKY AIRLINES TO ADD MALABO SERVICE
Asky Airlines, the Togo-based minority-owned subsidiary of Ethiopian Airlines, is to add Malabo in Equatorial Guinea to its network from March 27. The destination will be served as an additional stop on the airline’s existing flight from Lomé to Libreville, Kinshasa and Lagos. Ethiopian Airlines already serves Malabo from Addis Ababa and Libreville but this flight will be the first direct connection into the market from Togo.
AIR MAURITIUS INCREASES WINTER CAPACITY TO EUROPE
Air Mauritius is to offer non-stop flights from the Indian Ocean Island to both Frankfurt and Geneva this winter having previously served the two European cities on the same service. The delinking of the flight for the entire winter schedules from October 2011 to March 2012 will increase capacity by around 14 per cent with just under 6,000 more seats available across the whole season in comparison to winter 2010/2011, according to the Mauritian tourist authority.
GHANAIAN START-UP READY FOR LAUNCH
New Accra-based carrier Africa World Airlines will launch in July after being awarded its operating licence by state authorities earlier this month. The privately-owned company is a joint venture between SAS Finance Group, an integrated investment banking and financial advisory firm, and Chinese investment and technical partners. It plans to operate a low-cost business model across domestic and regional destinations using “all-jet” services creating a hub at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport to allow “seamless one-change connections between multiple city pairs”. The start-up will initially serve Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi, according to a company representative. Only Kumasi is currently served from the Ghanaian capital, twice-weekly by Antrak Air using a Beech 1900.
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