KQ to fly to Zimbabwe

According to eturbonews.co, Kenya Airways will be launching flights to Livingstone, Zambia, in June, and then routing on to Harare, Zimbabwe. The available schedule pegs the operations between 2 June until initially 25 October, but if successful might extend further beyond that date. The aircraft that will service the route will be an Embraer 190E.

Kingfisher Loses Flying Rights

According to travelmole.com, Indian Carrier Kingfisher Airlines has lost all its international and domestic flying rights, which the government has handed to its competitors. A Civil Aviation Ministry official said all traffic rights had been withdrawn from the beleaguered carrier, including its right to fly to eight countries, of which the UK is one. Up to 126 slots for international flights have been withdrawn, he said, making approximately 25,000 seats a week available to other Indian carriers. Kingfisher, whose licence to fly expired at the end of 2012, used to operate to the UAE, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as to the UK. The airline has since submitted a revival plan to the aviation regulator in an attempt to resume limited operations, but this was rejected by the authorities.

Lufthansa Takes Delivery of A320 with Sharklets

 Lufthansa pilots have picked up the airline’s first Airbus A320 equipped with 2.4 metre-high extended wingtips in Hamburg Finkenwerder. Known as ‘sharklets’, the blended wingtips are designed to cut fuel consumption by one to four percent, depending on the route length, and the equivalent amount of CO2 emissions. They also enable aircraft to climb faster, which has a positive effect on reducing noise emissions. Sharklets were born from lessons taught by nature - large birds such as the crane or condor curl their wingtip feathers upwards in order to save energy when flying. Sharklets similarly reduce lift-induced drag and improve the aerodynamics at the wingtips. Airbus expects the resultant fuel saving to reduce CO2 emissions by around a yearly 1,000 tonnes per aircraft, which is equivalent to the volume of emissions generated by about 200 cars put to average use. A total of 22 brand new A320 jets, and all fitted with this Airbus blended-wing innovation, are scheduled for delivery to Lufthansa by early 2015, as replacements for older aircraft. Since the fuel-saving comes into effect principally at cruising height, Lufthansa traffic managers will deploy the A320’s equipped with sharklets mainly on longer European routes.

Air Botswana Unveils New lounge

 According to Mmegi.bw, Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone has finally opened a lounge after years of operating without one. The Pula Lounge was unveiled to the media last week and offers services such as free Wi-Fi, refreshments and television. The lounge will be available to Air Botswana's Teemane Club members, an exclusive Air Botswana programme that offers a range of privileges and personalised services to frequent flyers. Members of the club will have to earn a certain number of points to gain access to the lounge. "We will start offering the lounge services to our clients who are on the Gold Card and have earned 500 points, which is the equivalent of around 30,000 miles of flying with Air Botswana," said commercial manager Robert Mpabanga. The lounge is exclusive to Air Botswana passengers, as it aims to encourage people to use the country's airline.

RwandAir to Add New Destinations

 According to eturbonews.com, RwandAir plans to introduce Accra, Ghana to its network by June, which would make it the airline's 15th destination. The move to add another West African gateway to Lagos, Libreville, and Brazzaville shows that Rwanda’s national airline is serious about its expansion plans. RwandAir’s CEO John Mirenge is also on record as saying that more destinations, including Juba, Zanzibar, and either Lusaka or Harare, will be launched later this year. The ambitious growth plans will be further aided when in April this year the airline’s two B737-500 will be returned to the lessors GECAS at the end of the lease agreement and be substituted by two more recently built B737-700ERs, acquired from Germany’s TUIfly. The change will extend the operational range, as the two older Boeings faced limitations on the longer routes, such as Dubai, Johannesburg and Lagos, while the much younger B737-700s can fly these routes with full passenger and cargo load.

Protea Hotel Acquires Manor Hotel Again

According to News24, the newly-renovated Manor Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa is returning to the Protea Hotels Group on 1 April. Protea Hotels CEO Arthur Gillis said the Protea Hotel Manor is a property with much potential and he looks forward to seeing its market segment grow in the months ahead. "We have put an immensely talented management team into the hotel, led by GM Victoria McLachlan,” said Gillis. “With their professional execution on the ground, the strength of the Protea Hotels brand and the full backing of the Protea Hotels team, we're expecting great things.". The hotel is situated close to the Hatfield Gautrain station, the central business district of Pretoria and the Loftus Versveld rugby stadium, and is an ideal location for executive and leisure travellers visiting the capital. The hotel has comfortable conferencing facilities comprising eight rooms that can accommodate a maximum of 300 delegates seated cinema style, as well as a restaurant, bar, bistro, nail bar, swimming pool and lounge.

Peermont Launches Corporate Loyalty Programme

Peermont has launched Crown Key, the group’s new loyalty programme, “aimed at giving corporate and government guests better value and an experience above and beyond the hotels group’s star ratings.” Peermont did its research into competitor programmes, and the hotel group decided that the new Peermont Crown Key Rewards Programme would be easy to understand and offer members “real benefits” at all of the group’s 16 hotels in South Africa and Botswana from the day they join.

 Crown Key members will enjoy automatic room upgrades where available, a free welcome beverage and mineral water in the room, complimentary movie and show tickets, free Internet access at all hotels, as well as discounts on green fees and spa treatments. Corporate and government travellers can now earn valuable loyalty points and redeem them for a free stay. Members who stay 10 nights get one free. For every R10 or P10 spent, a member earns one Crown Key Point. Incidental expenses like room service, laundry or phone use earn points as well. Guests at 4 and 5-star hotels enjoy more benefits, including unlimited free Internet, newspaper deliveries on the house, airport pick-up and free laundry on one item.

Crown Key members also have access to more than 228 lifestyle discounts and offers through www.peermontrewards.com. The Crown Key programme is free to join, and there are no tiers to membership, so corporate and government guests get a better business experience upon joining, at hotels of all star grades, as long as they stay at regular qualifying rates – such as the Best Available Rate (BAR), corporate contract or government rate. There are also no limits or blackout periods for redemptions . Points are redeemable on any available rate or package. And when members do cash in points on a free night at a Peermont hotel, they can earn points on that night too – a “double-dip” bonus. Points status can be checked online at www.crownkey.co.za.

KQ Suspends Malawi Flights

 According to allafrica.com, Kenya Airways has suspended all flights to and from Malawi in the wake of a crippling strike by public sector workers in the southern African country. Kenya Airways operates 10 flights a week to and from Malawi's capital, Lilongwe and the suspension is expected to affect the business community in the two countries, as well as other connected southern African countries. A terse statement from Kenya Airways said the suspension will be in place until the situation in the country normalises. Other affected airlines include South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. Currently, the main airports in Malawi, Kamuzu International Airport and Chileka International Airport have been shut following the strike. The ongoing strike, one of the most serious, has paralysed operations in major economic and social installations in the country.

Carlson Rezidor Plans Big Expansion

The international hotel group held its annual business conference in Chicago recently, and at the event announced that it plans to open 77 new hotels in 2013. Those plans are part of the group’s ‘Ambition 2015’ growth strategy. Carlson Rezidor’s global portfolio currently stands at 1,305 hotels, both in operation and under development. This year’s openings are set to add 13,000 rooms to the group’s operational inventory. Carlson Rezidor’s growth in 2013 will mainly be driven by three brands: Park Inn by Radisson (23 openings in 2013), Radisson Blu (20) and Country Inns & Suites (20). This follows a similar pattern to 2012, when the Radisson Blu and Park Inn brands both added 21 hotels, and Country Inns & Suites added 16. The midscale Country Inns & Suites brand, which is mainly found in the US and India, will also embark on a major revamp this year, encompassing the brand’s identity, hotel architecture and interiors. Asia Pacific is a key region for Carlson Rezidor’s development. The company increased its regional portfolio by 17% last year, and now operates 13,400 rooms in Asia Pacific. And with almost 13,900 more rooms in the pipeline, Carlson Rezidor’s total Asian hotel inventory is set to more than double in the coming years.

Comair to Take on SAA

South Africa's remaining independent domestic airline Comair has announced the launch of a High Court legal action, challenging the South African government’s R5bn guarantee granted to national carrier South African Airways. In a media briefing in Johannesburg, Comair CEO Erik Venter said that the current and previous bailouts received by SAA, which now allegedly amount to over R11bn over eight ‘turnaround plans’, do not comply with either the Domestic Aviation Transport Policy or the law (the South African constitution, the SAA Act, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and the Public Finances Management Act). Venter said they had “no other recourse”, thus they are resorting to "legal action to achieve compliance and have not done so lightly." Comair's actions are in response to SAA's latest turnaround strategy, which is laid out over the next 20 years and was discussed in parliament last week. The objective of the challenge, according to Venter, is to "attain a level playing field in the domestic aviation market to ensure that all airlines face the same risks and the same requirements to operate on sound commercial principles.” Venter also said that the action taken by Comair was "an action to ensure that government will provide funding to SAA only after consultation with all affected stakeholders (as per the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act), and that any funding is in accordance with government’s Domestic Aviation Transport Policy. Comair has a responsibility to its employees, customers and shareholders to secure a level playing field in which to conduct its business.”

Mango to Fly Johannesburg-Zanzibar Route

According to Independent Online, low-cost South African airline Mango will start its weekly flights between Johannesburg and Zanzibar next month, marking its first route outside of South Africa. The flights will be a charter operation for tour operator StayAfrica and are not part of Mango’s own route network yet. Bookings for the flights and accommodation will have to be made through StayAfrica until the year-long charter contract ends. Thereafter Mango intends to fly the route on its own behalf, offering accommodation through SAA Holidays. Mango started flying to Zanzibar for StayAfrica when the sudden suspension of 1time’s flights left many holidaymakers who had booked to stay on the island over the Christmas and New Year period stranded.

New PE-East London Flights

 According to News24, Tourism Update has reported that business travellers now have another option when flying from Port Elizabeth to East London in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The new route will be operated by Blu Crane Air and the initiative is the brainchild of local doctor, Marcus van Heerden. He thinks the airline will be a simple and more cost-effective way for companies to send representatives between cities. The service launched on 23 February and will fly daily on weekdays from Port Elizabeth International to East London Airport in the morning, returning in the evening after close of business. “The route will be operated by a six-seater twin-engine aircraft,” said Van Heerden. “Customers will be checked into the flight on arrival at the Blu Crane offices in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, where they will be welcomed with coffee and a muffin before being chauffeured to the airport in an air-conditioned vehicle and driven right to the door of the aircraft.”. From there clients will board the plane with their hand luggage, avoiding queues at the airport. There are plans to expand the service to twice a day. Pricing will start at R2,625 return the same day. If the ticket is broken and a passenger needs to return on a different day, the price is R1,840 one way. Tickets can be booked on www.blucraneair.com.

KLM Introduces Daily Uganda Flights

According to eturbonews.com, KLM in Kampala has announced a move to begin daily flights on the Entebbe–Amsterdam route, effective 5 April of this year. KLM will be the first European airline to fly daily to Entebbe, via Kigali. This comes shortly after British Airways announced the withdrawal of their flights to Dar es Salaam, a destination that KLM flies to daily via Kilimanjaro, while the Dutch national airline also flies double daily, in conjunction with Kenya Airways under a partnership codeshare arrangement, to Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. The announcement is a warning shot for Emirates and Qatar who have daily flights to Entebbe, and also SkyTeam’s competitors, such as oneWorld, represented by British Airways, and Star Alliance, represented by Brussels Airlines, which from the summer schedule onwards will fly four times a week between Brussels and Entebbe, also via Kigali.