International destinations for Proflight Zambia

South Africa Proflight Zambia has unveiled plans to add three further international destinations to its schedule by mid-2014.

Following the successful launch of its first international service, from Lusaka to Lilongwe in June, Proflight Zambia is now planning to fly from Ndola to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with connections between Ndola and Lusaka.

The airline is also considering services to Harare, Dar es Salaam, Tete and Johannesburg, subject to regulatory approval.

With the introduction of the Malawi route, Proflight Zambia currently operates 10 scheduled routes using nine aircraft, including a 105-seat Boeing 737, which was recently added to the Proflight fleet as the airline's first jet aircraft.

Proflight is keen to introduce flights to Johannesburg from Lusaka and is examining the option of flying into South Africa’s smaller Lanseria airport, for which costs are lower than that of the city’s main O.R. Tambo International airport.

Lanseria is on the Sandton/Pretoria side of Johannesburg, closer to Lusaka in terms of flying time, as well as central Johannesburg, Pretoria and Sandton. Lanseria is also served by Kulula and Mango Airlines, which fly to Cape Town and Durban from Lanseria.

The airline has appealed for input from travellers to help it identify how best the new services can be structured. Suggestions, recommendations or opinions that would help the airline with its market research and decisions on this route can be sent to enews@proflight-zambia.com.

Temporary suspension of KQ flights

“Regarding the fire at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) we would like to inform all our customers and stakeholders that all our incoming and outgoing passengers are safe,” says Dr Titus Naikuni, Group Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airways.

“There will be certain disruptions on our operations and as soon as we get clarity on the extent of the damage we will advise everyone on what we intend to do.

“Flights coming into JKIA have been diverted to Mombasa. Transiting passengers have been taken to hotels. Other flights from Nairobi have been temporarily suspended.”

JKIA closed until further notice

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, has been closed due to a fire in the International Arrivals terminal building, which broke out early this morning.

‘We confirm reports of a fire at JKIA affecting part of the International Arrivals building and Unit 1 departures. The KAA Fire and Rescue Team is on the ground, being assisted by G4S and the Nairobi Fire Brigade. Passengers have been evacuated to safety,” the Kenya Airport Authority said in a statement.

The fire spread quickly, engulfing a large section of the building in smoke and flames. All flights to the Kenyan airport are being diverted and no flights are departing for the time being.

Aircraft parked near the terminal have been towed a safe distance away and other equipment – high loaders, movable stairs, and vehicles – have also been moved away from the apron area just outside Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

Incoming flights are being diverted to Mombasa, Eldoret, Entebbe, Kilimanjaro International, and Dar es Salaam.

There has been no speculation as to the cause of the fire, but an investigation will no doubt follow in due course.

If you’re due to fly into JKIA, please contact your regional airline office for more updates.

 

 

Emirates upgrades Cape Town-Dubai aircraft

Emirates will reintroduce the B777-300ER to its Cape Town route from 1 September. The upgrade of the aircraft type adds about 90 more seats to the non-stop route daily.

Emirates also serves the route with the Airbus 340-300 and offers twice daily international flights to and from Cape Town throughout the year.

Flight EK 773 will depart Cape Town at 13h30 and arrive in Dubai the next morning at 01h15. The return flight, EK 772, will depart Dubai at 03h50, landing in Cape Town at 11h40. 

The B777-300ER will feature 354 seats in a three-class configuration – eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business, both with lie-flat seats, and 304 in Economy. Emirates signature First Class private suites also feature on the aircraft, along with its ‘ice’ in-flight entertainment system in all classes.

The airline offers decent baggage allowances – 30 kilograms in Economy, 40 in Business and 50 in First Class. Emirates Skywards Platinum, Gold or Silver members are entitled to additional allowances.

BA cancels London-Tunis flights

British Airways is suspending its five times a week service from London Gatwick to Tunis from the winter season, which starts on 27 October.

“The flights don't make a profitable contribution to our business,” said a BA spokesman. “We are always reviewing our route network to ensure it is in line with the needs of our customers.”

Customers booked to fly with British Airways after 25 October will be offered a full refund.

Protea’s enhanced Prokard Rewards Programme

The Protea Hospitality Group has launched a newly enhanced Prokard rewards programme that presents far greater value to Prokard Rewards Programme members.

Protea Hospitality Group Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue, Danny Bryer, says the new Prokard value propositions have been created because of the evolving needs of the approximately 100,000 loyalty card holders.

Prokard Rands can now be used to pay for any services or extras you choose to your hotel bill during their stay. All Prokards now feature a mag-stripe allowing you to simply swipe your Prokard at check-out to cash in your Prokard Rands against your total hotel bill. 

The Prokard Bronze Card is a new entry-level card offered complimentary to guests who stay at Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels. Procard Silver and Gold memberships can be purchased from R495 per year.

Silver and Gold Prokard members are entitled to numerous privileges that include complimentary early check-in, complimentary late check-out, complimentary room upgrades and discounts of up to 10% off the Best Available Rate (BAR), up to 5% off special offers advertised on proteahotels.com and up to 20% off accommodation when travelling in Africa.

Prokard Gold members also enjoy discounts of up to 50% on the food portion of their restaurant bill in participating hotel restaurants.

Bryer says the Prokard portal on the new website has been streamlined and simplified, making it easier for members to see at a glance how many Prokard Rands they have accrued and how they can redeem them on future accommodation and other hotel services.

“The changes we have made to the Prokard Rewards Programme can be distilled into one concept, which is to provide travellers with more tangible benefits where it actually counts whilst maintaining guaranteed redemption on member rewards,” he says.

See more at: Protea Hotels

Air Seychelles and airberlin expand codeshare

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has expanded its codeshare network with airberlin, Europe’s seventh largest carrier, to cover Praslin and two new destinations in Europe: Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Air Seychelles will place its HM code on six airberlin flights per week between Berlin and Stockholm, and seven weekly airberlin flights between Berlin and Copenhagen. airberlin will place its AB code on eight Air Seychelles flights per week between Mahé and Praslin.

Cramer Ball, Air Seychelles’ Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our codeshare partnership with airberlin has been a commercial success, contributing to the bottom line and to a record surge in arrivals from Germany. With the addition of Stockholm and Copenhagen, we will bolster our position in Scandinavia, one of the fastest growing source markets to Seychelles, and we are confident we will be able to leverage our presence to drive more high-income traffic to our archipelago.”

Joel Morgan, Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, and chairman of Air Seychelles’ Board, said: "I’m thrilled to see the partnership between Air Seychelles and airberlin flourishing. With this expansion, both airlines will benefit: guests throughout airberlin’s global network can now enjoy seamless travel on one ticket to the exquisite island of Praslin, while Air Seychelles will extend its reach into Europe, smartly targeting an economically vibrant geographical region whose residents are discovering Seychelles at an accelerating pace. Arrivals from the region are up 29% this year.”

The new codeshare flights can be booked online at airseychelles.com, through the airline’s Call Centre on +248 4 38 10 13 (local rates apply), the airline’s sales offices, or a travel agency.

Ethiopian to fly to Enugu, Nigeria

Ethiopian Airlines has announced a new service to Enugu, Nigeria, becoming the first international carrier to fly to the city.

Ethiopian will operate four times a week to Enugu, its 76th destination, starting on 24 August. Now, passengers from Enugu will have direct flight connections to many destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South America and Europe.

"Our flight to Enugu is another exciting step towards enhancing our commitment to the needs of our travelling publics. Nigeria has always been, and continues to be, one of our important destinations in West Africa. We are continually improving our products and services to meet our customers’ expectations. We thank the people and the government of Nigeria for their continued support in making this new service to Enugu possible," said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian.

Passengers from three Nigerian gateways – Lagos, Abuja and Enugu – can now fly to destinations throughout the Ethiopian network, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, London, Toronto, Beijing, Beirut, Dubai, Mumbai, and Nairobi.