The airline has agreed to initially acquire five E-Jets - three E170s and two E190s, from ECC Leasing, a wholly-owned Embraer subsidiary. It will start to receive the aircraft in the first half of this year with a further eight E190s joining the Airlink fleet subject to formalisation of lease deals.
The new airport will completely revolutionise not only travel for the residents of St Helena, but will boost tourism. Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, more than 2,000 kilometres from the nearest major landmass. It is currently linked to the world by RMS St Helena which sails between the island and Cape Town, a five day adventure across, at times, rough seas, but which is due to retire from service in July.
The new airport will completely revolutionise travel to and from the island. At present, Saint Helena is accessible by a boat trip that takes around five days from Cape Town.
Etihad currently operates five 787-9s serving the markets of Brisbane, Washington, Singapore and Zurich from its Abu Dhabi International Airport hub. The type will become the UAE national carrier’s flagship long-haul aircraft in the coming years with a further 66 aircraft due to be delivered.
Gulf carrier Qatar Airways confirmed in February this year that it would introduce flights to this year’s World Routes host city as part of an expansion of its network in South Africa. The four times weekly service, as an extension of an expanded schedule between Doha and Johannesburg, will be launched from December 17, 2015, just three months after World Routes, providing an important new hub connection offering to the coastal city.
What are the world's longest scheduled air routes by distance and block time? As Emirates Airline reveals plans to launch a Dubai - Panama City route in February 2016, Routesonline investigates.
This winter, fastjet will add additional capacity on routes to Johannesburg, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe and its recently launched service to Lilongwe, Malawi this winter, as well as increasing its domestic offering to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza.
Flights were initially intended to commence operation in February, but this was delayed, and now the airline is planning to launch on September 2, 2015 from the Namibian capital.
The low-cost airline currently has a fleet of five older 737-400 models and will use the 737-800s to support growth in existing markets and to support future network expansion. The additional capacity of the 737-800 versus the 737-400 of around 20 seats mean a like-for-like aircraft deployment switch will boost capacity by around 12.5 per cent.
The conventional, full-service airline plans to inaugurate operations into neighbouring South Africa from August 26, 2015 and alongside serving OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg plans to add links to Cape Town. It also plans to begin domestic operations to the redeveloped Victoria Falls International Airport.
Durban will be Turkish Airlines’ third destination in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. The airline first introduced flights into the country with a three times weekly joint operation to Johannesburg and onward to Cape Town from its Istanbul Ataturk International Airport hub in September 2007 but has grown to offer a daily service on the route, currently flown using an Airbus A330.
South African low-cost carrier, FlySafair, is to introduce new links from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Durban and East London after initially asking the public to vote for their preferred new route among the four city pairs. The airline launched the campaign earlier this month, but rather than simply selecting the most popular choice, has decided to launch all four from the end of October 2015.
Independent South African carrier, Skywise Airlines, will announce at least one new market next month as it expands its fleet and builds on the success of its debut on the busy Johannesburg – Cape Town route. The carrier says it will bring more value to domestic travellers with the introduction of an expanded network, launching from August 2015.
The largest airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it has finalised preparations to start flights to Cape Town – its second destination in South Africa, and Gaborone in Botswana.
The construction of an international airport is a major development for the island. Long rumoured and discussed, the British Government finally announced its plan to construct the facility in March 2005 for completion in 2010. However, the financial crisis and delays with consultations meant that it was not until November 2011 that an agreement was reached with a South African contractor to build the international lifeline.
Airports Company South Africa, owner and manager of South Africa’s nine principal airports has signed a cooperation agreement with Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding during the Air Cargo Africa Conference and Exhibition for 2015.
Africa continues to play an important part in Qatar Airways’ global network expansion strategy and the airline currently operates 140 flights per week to 19 African gateways.
Over a twelve-month period, preliminary data shows a growth rate of 5.1 percent year over year, with both international and domestic traffic posting strong growth rates of 5.8 percent and 4.5 percent respectively.
In what is described as a new era of cooperation between the two national flag carriers, SAA will introduce the daily link from March 29, 2015, which will complement Etihad Airways’ existing flights between the two cities to offer a combined double-daily frequency on the route.
The enhanced focus on the African market is a key part of the carrier’s Long-Term Turnaround Strategy, and is in response to positive market growth. Over the course of the first week of December 2014, SAA is adding another seven weekly flights across four routes.
The network growth is being facilitated by the continuous growth of the airline’s fleet and the new non-stop Doha - Cape Town route will be operated by one of the carrier’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliners which are configured in a two-class arrangement with 22 Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats.
The Zimbabwe operation of flyafrica will commence flights from July 16, 2014 initially offering a three times weekly offering on the Victoria Falls – Johannesburg.
Speaking to The HUB Daily on the sidelines of this year’s Routes Africa forum in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Peter Mukarkate, the airline’s general manager passenger and cargo confirmed that the airline has recently concluded a detailed analysis of its markets and identified the capacity niches which would best fit demand on its network.
The Johannesburg-based carrier, already an operator of the type, will likely utilise three aircraft on its domestic routes from OR Tambo International Airport to Margate, Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town, while five others will be placed on contract perations outside the country.
