ExecuJet beefs up Lagos offering

ExecuJet Africa is introducing customs and immigration services at its fixed-based operation (FBO) facility at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria.

Officials from the Federal Airport Authorities of Nigeria and the Nigerian Customs and Immigration Authorities will now process all international business aircraft arrivals and departures at ExecuJet’s Lagos FBO.

“These new services are a direct response to customer demand,” said Ettore Poggi, Managing Director of ExecuJet Africa. “Our passengers and crew can now enjoy a more efficient and comfortable passage when arriving in or leaving Lagos.”

ExecuJet Africa has also introduced on-ramp refuelling at the Lagos FBO, with two dedicated Jet-A1 fuel tankers provided by MRS. The tankers are on-call 24/7 with back-up fuel available.

“The handlings at our Lagos FBO have increased considerably, almost doubling in the last six months,” said Peter de Waal, CEO of ExecuJet Aviation Nigeria.

ExecuJet’s Lagos FBO offers ground support equipment, a VIP lounge and 24-hour support capabilities. Passenger and crew amenities are provided by experienced staff, offering technical and maintenance assistance, flight planning, weather reports, catering, fuelling and hotel accommodation. 

 

New Hilton hotel for Lagos

Building on its successful years of partnership with Hilton Worldwide with regards the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria has announced a new hotel development in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The proposed Transcorp Hilton Lagos, a full service 350-room hotel on Glover Road, Ikoyi, will be the Hilton group's second hotel in Nigeria. The new hotel will be jointly-owned by Transnational Hotels and Tourism Services, Transcorp’s hospitality arm, and Heirs Holdings, the pan-African proprietary investment company chaired by African business leader Tony Elumelu.

“This agreement marks another milestone in our long-standing partnership with Hilton Worldwide,” said Elumelu. “The Ikoyi development, along with the extensive refurbishment and upgrade of our existing hotels in Calabar and Abuja, demonstrates Heirs Holdings’ commitment to driving growth in real estate and hospitality, a strategic sector for Nigeria’s economic development. The new Transcorp Hilton Lagos will not only present an additional world class venue for the increasing numbers of investors, businessmen and tourists to Nigeria, but will create much-needed jobs for our citizens, enabling their social and economic development.”

Full construction on the new hotel will commence early next year. The hotel will offer full conference facilities, meeting rooms, a gym and spa, and a swimming pool.

New Centara resort in Mauritius

Centara Hotels & Resorts of Thailand will open its second property in Mauritius in December.

The Centara Grand Azuri Resort & Spa Mauritius, a 5-star resort, is located directly on the beach at the new Azuri oceanfront complex on the north-east coast of the island.

The resort is part of the Azuri oceanfront complex, a 400-acre development that is home to luxury residences, a private school, retail outlets and sports and marine services.

Along with the hotel property, Centara will be managing luxury residences in the same complex, under the company’s Centara Grand Residence & Suites brand.

Accommodation is a combination of rooms, suites and thatched villas, all facing the ocean, and featuring a large and comfortable living space with a furnished balcony or terrace.

The resort enjoys a beachfront setting, with a lagoon suitable for swimming and water sports.

Leisure facilities include two swimming pools, windsurfing, snorkelling, kayaking, sailing and use of pedal boats, catamarans and glass-bottom boats.

Spa Cenvaree offers a full spa menu with therapeutic treatments including Ayurvedic applications and holistic experiences, and there is also a fully-equipped fitness centre.

Le Comptoir is the all-day restaurant with a menu of internationally inspired dishes. Lazuli is an evening venue serving Mediterranean inspired cuisine, and Black Pepper will feature barbecues, themed dinners, and light meals served al fresco in a convivial ambience.

The group’s first resort property in Mauritius, Centara Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa Mauritius, opened in December 2012.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ loyalty programme, recently introduced its iPad app and new design to support iOS 7.

“Travel is inherently mobile and the rapid advancements in technology enable us to extend the personalised experience guests receive in our hotels to their most personal devices,” said Chris Holdren, Senior Vice-President, Starwood Preferred Guest & Digital. “Following our success with the SPG app for iPhone, we built the SPG app for iPad using insights we have gained from our members.”

Today’s travellers are increasingly using mobile devices to search for and explore destinations, as well as book rooms and other travel services. Industry wide, 40% of travel searches occur on mobile devices, up from 25% in 2012. Starwood’s mobile bookings are growing at an annual rate of 1,000% – five times greater than the annual growth rate of the web channel 10 years ago.

The SPG app for iPad will launch in both English and Chinese and will be updated with additional versions and multiple languages. The app is currently available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad or at www.spg.com/mobileapps.

Kenya secures loan for airport expansion

According to Airnews.com, Kenya's airport authority has received full funding offers from three banks to build a new terminal and second runway at its main Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which was hit by a massive fire last month, the transport minister said earlier this week.

The $653 million plan to expand the airport, a regional gateway for passengers and cargo, is not new, but the authorities have come under pressure to speed up the expansion after the blaze destroyed the arrivals terminal.

The new terminal and runway will provide a further capacity of 40 million passengers, seen by government as necessary to cope with the anticipated boost to the economy the expected exploitation of oil reserves will bring.

The old arrival hall stands empty after the blaze, while giant tents act as the arrivals terminal. Even before the fire, Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport, built in the 1970s to handle 2.5 million passengers annually, was struggling to handle more than six million people a year as its regional importance grew.

 

Edelweiss reduces Kenya schedule

Edelweiss, the Swiss charter airline, has decided to withdraw its flights to Mombasa, Kenya, between 5 May and 29 September 2014.

The airline has been flying to the Kenyan coast for a number of years, regardless of season, but has now decided to scale back its operation to both Mombasa and Kilimanjaro.

According to Michael Trestl, air development manager at Edelweiss, reasons behind this decision include a lack of demand, especially for Mombasa, and operational reasons.

The airline will continue its scheduled flights to Kenya during the European winter season, 30 September to 4 May, as residents up north escape the plummeting temperatures for sunny holiday destinations.

Air Namibia's new planes

 According to AllAfrica.com, Namibia’s flag carrier will retire its old Airbus A340-300 plane and receive the first of two Airbus A330-200s at the end of the month. The second aircraft should arrive in November.

Air Namibia is leasing two brand new A330s, which are expected to reduce costs and boost revenue.

"This decision fits well with our efforts to continually strive to improve operational efficiency, as we align the services of the airline with the needs of the market, match and exceed competitor offerings, and achieve acceptable financial performance with the resources that are available to us and which we strive towards at all times," said Paulus Nakawa, Air Namibia's head of corporate communications.

The new planes are fitted with 30 Business Class seats and 214 Economy Class seats, for a total of 244 seats. The soon to be phased out A340s have 278 seats in total, comprising 32 in Business and 246 in Economy.

The airline said that while larger aircraft have a lower cost per seat, all the seats must be sold for this low-cost benefit to be realised. The current average passenger load per year on the Windhoek-Frankfurt route is 220 passengers, meaning that full value of the cost per seat is not being realised as some seats go unoccupied.

The Airbus A330-200 is said to be a more flexible aircraft for new routes, while also offering modern and mature aviation technology.
 

"The new Airbus A330-200s will break the long history of Air Namibia operating quad powered aircraft (four engines) with twin-powered aircraft on its long-haul operations between Namibia and Europe. These planes come with improved operating technologies which offer way much better savings on operating costs," Nakawa said

Proflight Zambia heads to Dar es Salaam

Proflight Zambia has announced the launch of flights from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, starting 23 October.

The new service, which will run three times a week, is the second international route for the Zambian airline - it began flying to Lilongwe in Malawi in June.

Flights will depart Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport at 08h00 on Mondays and Fridays, arriving at Dar-es-Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport  at 12h20, making it a journey of three hours and 20 minutes, given the one-hour time difference.

The return flight leaves Dar es Salaam on the same days at 13h00, arriving in Lusaka at 15h20, from where travellers can connect to Mfuwe, Livingstone and Ndola.

There will also be a Wednesday flight, for which Proflight is awaiting confirmation from regulators on timing.

Proflight Zambia is also considering services to Harare, Tete and Johannesburg, subject to regulatory approval.

It addition to the new route to Tanzania, which will be operated by the airline’s 29-seat Jetstream 41 aircraft, Proflight  will increase the frequency of its Lilongwe flights from three to four flights a week from 16 November, operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Monday, Thursday and Friday flights will leave Lusaka at 16h15, returning from Lilongwe at 18h25. Timing for the Wednesday flight has yet to be confirmed, but the airline hopes to be able to provide smooth connections from Lusaka on to the Dar es Salaam service.

With the introduction of the Tanzania route, Proflight Zambia will operate 11 scheduled routes using nine aircraft, including a Boeing 737 aircraft which was recently added to the Proflight fleet as the airline's first jet aircraft.

South Supreme launches Juba-Khartoum flights

According to eTurboNews, South Sudan’s South Supreme Airlines recently launched its first commercial flight between Juba, South Sudan, and Khartoum, Sudan.

 

The South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority was established at the end of February. It licensed SSA and granted the airline its air operator certificate before giving it designated carrier status for flights to Khartoum.

 

South Supreme is currently using an Antonov A26 to service the route, but is reportedly looking to lease B737-300 aircraft for the flights to Khartoum and other destinations in East Africa.

 

In the same report, RwandAir is said to have settled on a date for the launch of its flights to Juba – 21 September. The flight from the Rwandan capital of Kigali will be made on the airline’s new CRJ900NextGen airplane, providing both Business and Economy class options for passengers.

 

According to the Senior Manager Sales Alice Katiti, fares will start at $350 for a return flight. This route will connect South Sudan with East Africa, Johannesburg, Dubai, Brazzaville, Libreville, Lagos and Accra, with Douala and Abidjan coming on line soon, too.

 

The report also revealed that Mango, one of South Africa’s low-cost carriers, will be adding a second weekly flight from Johannesburg to Zanzibar, from 21 September.

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.

SAA and JetBlue announce codeshare agreement

JetBlue Airways and South African Airways have announced a bilateral codeshare agreement to connect the carriers' networks via New York's John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD). The agreement is pending US DOT regulatory approval and subject to receipt of foreign government operating authority.

The partnership – an expansion of an interline agreement first inked in 2010 – allows customers to purchase a single ticket combining SAA- and JetBlue-operated flights and enjoy day-of-travel conveniences such as one-stop check-in and baggage transfer.

JetBlue intends to place its B6 code on SAA-operated flights between the US and both Johannesburg, South Africa, and Dakar, Senegal, as well as on connecting flights to select destinations beyond Johannesburg, including Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

SAA offers daily direct flights between New York and Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, and a stopover daily flight between Washington and Johannesburg via Dakar's Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport.

SAA has had a similar arrangement in place with JetBlue since 2011, placing its SA code on JetBlue-operated flights from its US gateways to top destinations including Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida.

Via its Johannesburg hub, SAA links the world to most cities and destinations across southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, including South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia.

JetBlue operates one of America's youngest airline fleets, with 187 Airbus A320 and EMBRAER 190 aircraft. At JFK Airport, JetBlue operates from its acclaimed Terminal 5, while SAA operates from the adjacent Terminal 4.

At Washington Dulles, both JetBlue and SAA are co-located in Concourse B.

More Best Western hotels for West Africa

Best Western International has announced the addition of three new hotels to its West African portfolio. With eight properties open and five additional hotels in the pipeline, Best Western plans to have more than 1,300 rooms in West Africa.

The newest additions are the Best Western Plus Ajuji Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, the Best Western Starfire Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria, and the Best Western Plus Atlantic Hotel in Takoradi, Ghana.

“We see West Africa as one of the global hotbeds for hotel development and these three properties are a major step forward in our efforts to expand throughout that region,” said Best Western’s Vice-President of International Operations Suzi Yoder.

The Best Western Plus Ajuji Hotel will offer 104 rooms in the new Gudu District, with direct access to the CBD, Abuja Domestic Airport and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The Best Western Starfire Hotel, in the heart of Lagos, is adjacent to the city’s large shopping district. The property offers 40 bedrooms. Breakfast, Wi-Fi and car parking are complimentary to all guests.

The Best Western Plus Atlantic Hotel in Takoradi is a 5-star property that features 200 guest rooms, a wide selection of dining and beverage outlets and a conference and banqueting hall, which can accommodate up to 400 people.
 

Travelport launches Search Control Console

Travelport, a distribution services and e-commerce provider to the travel industry, has announced the global launch of its new Search Control Console, a tool to customise searches in real time.

The application enables agencies to centrally control over 35 rules and parameters to fine tune the relevancy of search results to their traveller’s needs, and to quickly capture business opportunities. Travelport’s Search Control Console is a web-based solution that enables agencies to configure air shopping search parameters according to individual traveller needs.

The Search Control Console removes the burden of labour-intensive ‘intelligence coding’, or the need to continually send instructions to frontline sales staff, saving both time and money. Agencies can also leverage the Travelport Search Control Console to achieve important financial objectives. Search modifiers within the application can be applied to meet airline sales targets.

The Travelport Search Control Console application is available to subscribers to the Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan systems worldwide. For more information, visit the TravelportTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/TravelportTube), or click here to view the video demonstration.