ExecuJet Europe Lands New FBO Business

ExecuJet Europe has won the right to manage the UK’s Cambridge Airport Fixed Based Operation (FBO) business, from 1 January 2012.

Cambridge Airport will be ExecuJet’s ninth European FBO and its first full-service FBO in the UK. 

Business aviation at Cambridge Airport has grown significantly over the last year, with movements year on year up by 15% and fuel sales up by 37%, as international operators and brokers increasingly recognise the convenience and importance of the airport.

“Cambridge provides an excellent access point to the extensive local industrial, technological and business communities. It is also an excellent alternative destination for London-based traffic, especially for travellers to and from the US, as the airport location lies directly on the flight path that avoids London’s busy airspace,” said Cedric Migeon, Managing Director ExecuJet Europe.

ExecuJet will be able to support Cambridge Airport’s Olympic traffic plans during the 2012 London Olympics, by bringing its experience of the 2010 South African World Cup and extensive worldwide network. 

Cambridge Airport opened its new build state-of-the art FBO two years ago and it includes executive passenger lounges, boardroom facilities and dedicated crew facilities.  

Avis Expands Carbon Neutrality

Avis - the first car rental company in South Africa to achieve CarbonNeutral certification - has renewed its position on carbon neutrality through The CarbonNeutral Company.

The two projects Avis has selected for its new two-year portfolio are the Tieling Coal Mine Methane Capture project in China and the Basa Magogo “Light it up” Improved Cooking Technique in South Africa.

The car rental company is well known for its environmental focus.

“Offsetting is merely an additional way to address our emissions, as we have reduced our electricity consumption by over 300,000 kWh per annum through switching off high energy consuming devices and changing our behaviour at Avis”, said chief executive Wayne Duvenage. “In addition, we continue to work with our motor manufacturer suppliers to introduce lower carbon emission products for use in our fleet, such as the Toyota Prius since 2007 and more recently the new Honda Jazz Hybrid”.

Southern Sun Acquires New Property

Southern Sun Hotels has acquired the Grace Hotel & Office Building in Rosebank, Johannesburg from Hyprop Investments.

The acquisition is consistent with their business philosophy, to own and operate their own hotels.

Managing Director of Southern Sun Hotels, Graham Wood said, “We are excited to add another boutique deluxe hotel to our portfolio and we intend to rebrand and re-launch the 73-room, 5-star boutique hotel in the first quarter of 2012.”

The acquisition remains conditional on Competition Commission approval. 

Airline Mini Fair Coming Soon

The Airline Mini Fair will take place on the 21^st of October from 09h00 to 15h00 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, to the east of Johannesburg, and a short drive from O.R. Tambo International Airport.

The following airlines will be participating - South African Airways, Air France-KLM, Air Botswana, Air Namibia, Arik Air, Cathay Pacific, Dragon Air, Singapore Airlines, Fly540, Emirates, Jet Express the charter airline, Zambezi Airlines, Malaysia, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa-Swiss International.

 It’s an opportunity to meet senior airline reservation and sales staff.

Further to that, CEO of the Board of Airline Representatives South Africa (BARSA), Allen Moore will talk about the Consumer Protection Act and how it impacts airlines, the travel industry, taxes, surcharges etc.

For more information, contact Michell Fourie at Aviareps -mfourie@aviareps.com.

Garmin Approves ExecuJet South Africa

ExecuJet South Africa have been appointed as approved Garmin agents, making them the most successful OEM dealer in Africa, holding most of the OEM dealerships required to support the Aviation Industry.

“The whole avionics team at ExecuJet South Africa are very pleased to have received this appointment, which will enhance ExecuJet’s overall capabilities in terms of service and avionics support within the region, increasing reliability and lowering operational costs for our customers,” said Vince Goncalves, General Manager, Maintenance South Africa.

ExecuJet is the only approved Bombardier Aerospace and Honeywell Engine & Avionics Service Centre in Africa and is also an Authorised Gulfstream Warranty Repair Facility, Authorised Hawker Beechcraft Service Centre and Dassault Approved Service Centre. 

Their on-sight avionics shop is an approved dealer and installer for Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Universal Avionics, Avidyne and S-tec products and others. This product range includes cockpit and cabin electronics, such as engine trend monitors, aircraft tracker systems, communication systems and high speed data communications amongst others.

Amsterdam RAI and KLM Join Forces

Popular exhibition centre, Amsterdam RAI has teamed up with KLM to attract large international events to Amsterdam. The joint venture involves around 25 bidding procedures for large international exhibitions and conferences a year, which they hope will strengthen the position of Amsterdam as a main port and international exhibition and conference destination.

KLM will offer the organisers flights, and in return Amsterdam RAI, in cooperation with City Wide Congresses Taskforce, will include KLM in all its tenders for exhibitions, conferences and other events. 

Air France & KLM Global Meetings will also offer organisers of exhibitions, conferences and events a free online tool, which they say is unique within the aviation industry, allowing organisers to offer visitors and exhibitors a discount of five to ten percent on most published KLM and Air France fares. 

In addition to providing organisers with free tickets, KLM will also use its own media (in-flight and across its 70-plus markets) to inform potential visitors of the exhibitions, conferences and events. Amsterdam RAI will invest in a service desk during international events for checking into or transferring flights.  

The Palazzo Montecasino Receives Top Honour

Celebrating the world’s finest hotels, The World Luxury Hotel Awards recently awarded The Palazzo Montecasino the title of ‘Best Luxury Casino Hotel’ in South Africa.

“This award recognises the commitment and dedication that the entire team demonstrate to ensuring our guests have memorable stays, and I am proud of the Palazzo team who have once again been recognised for their efforts,” said Mike Uphof, General Manager of Montecasino Hotel Operations.

Marinique Truter, Manager of the World Luxury Hotel Awards, said the awards are about honouring hotels, “…that have taken the extra step by providing their guests with outstanding experiences and as such proven to be part of the ‘very rare legendary hotel’ association.”

Situated in the heart of Fourways, in the north of Johannesburg, the Palazzo Montecasino has been honoured at the World Luxury Hotel Award for the past four years, and also received Gold Status from the Heritage Environmental Programme in 2010.