Ivory Coast Property for Carlson Rezidor

Carlson Rezidor has announced the opening of its first hotel in the Ivory Coast. The Radisson Blu Hotel Abidjan Airport will feature 252 rooms and is scheduled to welcome guests in Q3, 2014. The hotel will also feature a Business Class lounge, an air crew lounge, retail stores, bar, all-day dining restaurant, private dining area, outdoor terrace, outdoor swimming pool, business centre, seven conference and meeting rooms, and a ballroom.

Rezidor has a presence in 20 countries across the African continent – with 46 hotels – and this year has already seen new additions, in the form of the brand-new Radisson Blu Hotel Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia and the Radisson Blu Conakry in Guinea. A new Hotel Missoni resort deal for Mauritius has also been signed. Recent additional business expansion in Africa has also seen Carlson Rezidor and Wali Hotels & Resorts announcing their close co-operation in the Gabonese hotel market. Carlson Rezidor took over the management of the Okoume Palace Hotel in Libreville in March of this year and is currently operating as an unbranded property, while it undergoes an extensive, US $50-million renovation. In September 2013, the hotel will open as a dual-branded property, featuring a 330-room Radisson Blu and a 140-room Park Inn by Radisson. According to a recent study published by Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, including projects completed and under development, Carlson Rezidor has the largest pipeline of hotels in sub-Saharan Africa.

Avis appoints new CEO

Following the resignation of Wayne Duvenage from his position as Chief Executive of Avis Rent a Car South Africa, Avis management has decided not to replace Duvenage, but to rather have the position absorbed by Keith Rankin, Chief Executive of Avis Rent a Car Southern Africa. Rankin, who was also instrumental in appointing Duvenage in 2006 to run the South African business, joined Avis back in 1998 and has held various positions within the group, before being appointed into the position of Chief Executive: Avis Rent a Car Southern Africa in 2004.

Velvet Sky Liquidated

The Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, liquidated Velvet Sky Airline after Judge Philip Nkosi rejected an adjournment, as he did not believe it was in the interests of the creditors. During earlier hearings, the court heard that Velvet Sky owed almost R100m to its creditors.

The low-cost airline was placed under provisional liquidation in May. At the time, presiding Judge Shyam Gyanda dismissed a second application by Umzamo Transport Services, for a business rescue plan to be implemented. On 7 March, Umzamo claimed that Velvet Sky owed it more than R3.9m and major fuel companies had stopped supplying fuel because of non-payments. Velvet Sky executive officer Dhevan Pillay said daily expenses could be met if foreign investors provided funds, and if costs were cut. In February, BP SA launched an application for provisional liquidation.

IATA Clarifies Air Zimbabwe Situation

Contrary to media reports, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has confirmed that Air Zimbabwe has not had its membership revoked and that it remains a member at the present time. However, in order to retain IATA membership, Air Zimbabwe, like all other IATA member airlines, must submit to and pass a biennial IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).

IOSA compliance is mandatory for IATA membership. Air Zimbabwe has a period of 90 days in which to renew its IOSA certification, after which, it will cease to be an IATA member. "Safety is a key component in ensuring Zimbabwe can benefit from all that safe skies can bring. IOSA certification has improved the hull loss rate significantly and is an important element for building safe, sustainable aviation in Africa. As always IATA is ready to assist Air Zimbabwe wherever possible in renewing its IOSA certification and continuing to benefit from the financial and other services IATA members participate in," said Mike Higgins, IATA Regional Vice-President for Africa. 

New Website for Air Mauritius

The website has been entirely revamped and the plan is to rejuvenate the airline's image and boost sales, while providing a high-quality window to promote Mauritius.

 The website is very user-friendly, and navigation is intuitive between the various sections showing online services such as Internet check-in, manage your Kestrelflyer account, real time flight schedules, as well as contents on special offers, useful travel information, ground and in-flight services, baggage, etc., while retaining a special section for booking tickets, which users can access from any page.

Airlink Commences Maun Flight

 Airlink has commenced its daily scheduled Johannesburg – Maun flights. The addition of this route brings Airlink’s route network to 29 destinations, of which 14 are over-border destinations.

Airlink will initially operate the daily Maun service using one of its 10 Embraer ERJ 135 37seat regional jets. It does however plan to increase capacity in line with market demand, such capacity being provided by one of its eight Avro RJ85 83seat regional quad jets. Airlink was established in 1992 and has been operating in the region for just on 20 years.

Air Mauritius Changes

Air Mauritius has embarked on seven-step plan to recovery and long-term sustainability. The first step of the new business model, network optimisation, has already been implemented for the current financial year.

 The overall effect is a three percent increase in capacity, with a rebalancing of growth on short and medium-haul flights – mainly around the Indian Ocean rim, as well as emerging markets.

From 29 October Air Mauritius will operate ten weekly flights out of Johannesburg, and additional supplementary capacity during peak holiday season.

 There will also be increased frequencies direct from Cape Town to Mauritius and that route will be boosted by the addition of wide-bodied aircraft, and three flights direct to Mauritius, return, per week. Also from 29 October, Air Mauritius will offer connection to all destinations, beyond Mauritius, including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, London, Paris, India, China, Reunion, Kenya and Madagascar. The following destinations have been retained and will be reinforced: Paris, London, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Perth, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Antananarivo, St Denis, St Pierre and Rodrigues.

New Offering from Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific Airways has taken delivery of a new Boeing 777-300ER – the airline’s 25^th. It’s the first aircraft to feature its Premium Economy Class product and new long-haul Economy Class seats.

The new Premium Economy experience features a quieter, more spacious cabin than the traditional Economy Class, with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft. 

The seat pitch is 38 inches – six inches more than Economy Class – and the seat itself is wider and has a bigger recline. It has a large meal table, cocktail table, footrest, a 10.6-inch personal TV, an in-seat power outlet, a multi-port connector for personal devices and extra personal stowage space. 

Passengers will also benefit from priority check-in at dedicated counters and priority boarding before Economy Class passengers, and an increase in baggage allowance from 20kg to 25kg, or two pieces of baggage from 23kg to 25kg each. The new long-haul Economy Class seat features a cradle mechanism to enhance the level of comfort in the recline position, the latest in high-resolution touch-screen personal TVs, a USB outlet and an iPod/iPhone outlet that allows passengers to connect their own mobile devices to view content through the personal TV. 

Africa Arm for GBTA

The Global Business Travel Association — the voice of the global business travel industry — has announced the formation of GBTA Africa. The launch of GBTA in the region is supported by the Institute of Travel & Meetings Southern Africa (ITMSA), an affiliate of ITM in the UK, who will power the global association’s development across the region. With this new edition, GBTA expands its global reach and now spans five continents. Talking about the development, Michael W. McCormick, COO and Executive Director of GBTA said, “With a strong, local, buyer-led partner and Africa predicted to boom in 2020, the creation of GBTA Africa makes perfect sense.

The successful development of our networks and activity in the energy and resources sector in other parts of the world, also means we are well placed to bring value to travel professionals in the region.” In addition to an event for the energy and resources sector, GBTA will create a joint conference with ITMSA in September 2012 for the African region, and plans to introduce education and training programmes from the GBTA Academy are already under way. ITMSA’s Chairman, Linda Basson, said, “GBTA can offer African travel professionals so much in terms of development and resources.” Under terms of the agreement, all 119 ITMSA members will also gain direct membership of GBTA Africa and the organisation intends to significantly increase membership across the continent.

Emirates Land 777-300ER in Durban

Emirates are now flying the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Durban. The new 354-seat aircraft introduces Emirates’ First Class cabin on the Durban route and boosts passenger capacity by close to 30%. Emirates, which previously operated the smaller capacity Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the Durban route, currently serves 22 passenger and cargo destinations across the African continent, after the addition of Zambia and Zimbabwe in February this year.

 The Boeing 777 offers eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 304 generously-sized Economy Class seats. All classes of the aircraft are equipped with Emirates’ ‘ice’ on-demand entertainment system with more than 1,200 channels. Customers can also look forward to gourmet food in all cabins. EK 776 departs Durban at 18h40, arriving in Dubai at 05h20 the next day. EK 775 departs Dubai at 10h25, arriving at King Shaka International Airport in Durban at 17h10.

City Lodge Gains East African Foothold

The City Lodge Hotels group has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Fairview Hotel Limited to acquire a 50% stake in that company, which owns and operates two hotels in the Upper Hill area of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. The two hotels are the 120-room Fairview Hotel, an established hotel in Nairobi, and the adjacent 84-room Country Lodge. The company is owned by the Szlapak and Abbema families and is a third generation family business.
The transaction is effective from 1 June 2012, but remains subject to regulatory approvals in Kenya and the South African Reserve Bank’s approval. City Lodge has also formed a joint venture to explore further expansion opportunities in East Africa together with Mark Abbema and Daniel Szlapak, who will be joint CEOs of this operation.

The initial focus will be on identifying potential sites for development in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. While the Fairview Hotel will retain its name, Country Lodge will be rebranded to Town Lodge, in line with City Lodge’s intention to increase the penetration of its brand names in other parts of Africa. City Lodge’s entrance into the Kenyan market is its second expansion outside of South Africa, following its announcement earlier this year that it was developing a 106-room Town Lodge in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. This hotel is on track for completion in December.

 Currently, the group has 52 hotels in South Africa offering 6,440 rooms across the Courtyard, City Lodge, Town Lodge and Road Lodge brands. Its hotel under development in Gaborone and its stakes in the two Nairobi hotels will take its portfolio to 55 hotels with 6,750 rooms under management.

Refurb for The Cullinan

 Southern Sun The Cullinan hotel is undergoing a refurbishment, which started in February, with phase two ending in October. The project will see a redecoration of all areas within the hotel. Spacious guest bedrooms with striking views of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, the Atlantic Ocean and Table Bay Harbour are receiving a makeover. 124 rooms have been completed with the rest to be finished by the end of August.

The “new” reinvented bedrooms will sport new bedroom bulkheads, wallpaper, paint, carpets, dressing table mirrors, curtains, pelmets and pedestal lamps. The refurbishment includes new wall and floor tiling, new vanity mirrors, down lighting and new toilet accessories in 278 bathrooms. Located within walking distance of the V&A Waterfront, the Cape Town International Convention Centre(CICC) and the City Bowl, this hotel is the perfect base from which to explore the Mother City.

1time Withdraws From Lanseria

South African budget operator 1time Airline has announced that it has withdrawn all of its flights to and from Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg. 1time Airline CEO, Blacky Komani said that the retraction of the Lanseria routes was motivated by a decision to optimise its overall operations. “We have taken the decision to consolidate all our local and regional flights from O.R. Tambo International Airport and concentrate on our African projects that are currently underway. Pending seasonal demand, and commercial viability of the airport, we may look at reviewing our Lanseria services in the future.”

SA First for Mango

 In a first for South Africa, Wireless G, together with budget airline Mango and cellphone giant Vodacom, have launched Wi-Fi in the sky. By using G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi, Mango passengers can now surf the web when travelling between South Africa’s major centres. G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi allows for full Internet connectivity on board Mango’s aircraft, including sending and receiving emails, web browsing, and the use of all social networks. An air-to-land SMS service will also be available, managed through a web service.

The service is compatible with most Wi-Fi enabled devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops. There are three different packages on offer. One-Way Access is priced at R50 per single sector flight with a One Day pass available at R90, irrespective of the number of flights completed during a 20-hour period. A per-minute option, billed through G-Connect online account, offers land and air convergence at R1 per minute. All three packages offer unlimited data use during the allotted time. Data-heavy services like YouTube and peer-to-peer downloads will, however, be disallowed. The roll-out of the G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi service should see 80% of Mango’s fleet online by the end of June 2012.

SAA Increase Frequency to Mumbai

South African Airways has introduced additional flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai, following increased demand on this route. Effective 16 June, the airline will be offering five flights per week between the two cities, which is one flight per week more than currently on offer. The additional flight is subject to government approval. In addition, SAA will be introducing a bigger aircraft on selected days in order to accommodate the additional demand. The airline is currently using the A330-200, one of its newest aircraft, with 36 Business and 186 Economy Class seats. The airline hopes to add even further flights on this route in the near future, as travel between South Africa and India has recently shown noticeable growth.

Air Botswana Launches New Route

Air Botswana has launched a new daily service between Maun and Cape Town. Demand for the route has grown over the years and will provide the tourist market with an opportunity to combine the sea and Okavango Delta holiday experience. It is also timed to coincide with the peak of the tourism season, which will see increased levels of travel to most African holiday destinations. The addition of the route comes at a time when Air Botswana is looking to expand its route network into other southern African destinations. Currently, the airline flies regionally to South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The new route will be serviced by a BAE 146 jet.