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.

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.
 

KQ to start direct flights to Abuja

According to News24, Kenya Airways will soon begin direct flights to Abuja, Nigeria, in a bid to further tourism and trade.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the recent review of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between the two countries was an important milestone that will allow Kenya Airways to fly directly to Abuja. Speaking during a meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan at State House, Abuja, Kenyatta said that the Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation on tourism under consideration by the two countries will also offer other avenues for exchanges in this sector.

“We want to see Nigerians stopping in Kenya for business and tourism, not just transiting through Nairobi," he said.

He encouraged Nigerian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities available in Kenya to conduct business, and called for closer interaction between business communities from both countries, through the respective chambers of commerce and relevant trade and investment institutions, to facilitate and expedite trade and investments.

Radisson Blu to open in Nigeria

The Rezidor Hotel Group is opening the Radisson Blu Hotel Port Harcourt Olympia in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2016.

The property is located in the southern part of the city, in the less congested old Government Reserve Area, directly opposite the Port Harcourt Club 1928 golf course.

Besides 206 guest rooms with services such as free high-speed Internet access, the hotel will offer an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant and bar, and the largest conference facilities in the Niger Delta, with 2,100m² of conference and meeting space. Additionally, there will be a gym, spa, outdoor swimming pool, business centre and rooftop bar and terrace.

www.rezidor.com

Aero Launches Douala Flight

According to ngrguardiannews, Nigeria’s Aero Contractors launched its inaugural flight from Lagos to Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, this week.
Flight Operations and Accountable Manager Ressel Leefoon said that Aero Contractors intends to increase its flights operations to Cameroon.
He further noted that subsequent flights on this route would be operated by Boeing 737 aircraft, as the number of passenger’s increases.

New Radisson Blu in Nigeria

According to breakingnewstravel, the Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the construction of the Radisson Blu Hotel Port Harcourt Olympia in Nigeria.
The property is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2016. This would bring Rezidor’s Nigerian portfolio to 1,100 rooms in operation and under development.
Rezidor already has the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Lagos VI; the up and coming Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja and the Park Inn by Radissons in Lagos (Apapa), Ikeja (Abeoukuta) and Abuja. Nigeria is a key development market for Rezidor – the group is the first international operator to apply its international standards to the three major financial hubs of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
 The hotel site is located in the southern part of the city in the less congested old Government Reserve Area directly opposite the Port Harcourt Club 1928 Golf course, with spectacular views over the course. Besides 206 rooms, with Radisson Blu signature services such as free high-speed Internet, the hotel will offer an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant and bar, and the largest conference facilities in the Niger Delta, with 2,100 square metres of conference and meeting space. Additionally, there will be a gym, spa, outdoor swimming pool, business centre and rooftop bar and terrace.

Delta Celebrates Time in Nigeria

Delta Air Lines will celebrate its fifth anniversary of service between Nigeria and the United States next month. Delta commenced scheduled services between Lagos and Atlanta in December 2007 and currently carries on average 3,000 passengers a week between Nigeria and the United States.
 This year, Delta has strengthened its commitment and business ties to the market with the introduction of flat-bed seats on its daily non-stop service between Lagos and Atlanta in September. Delta also introduced a dedicated Protocol Service at Lagos airport for BusinessElite customers, who receive a personal escort for its business customers through check-in, customs and immigration, lounge pick up and luggage assistance.
 In other Delta news, a second wave of recruits has joined Delta’s Business Internship Programme in Africa. The Delta-funded initiative, designed in conjunction with local business schools, was launched in 2011 in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya, and earlier this year in Liberia.
 The one-year programme offers African students valuable work experience and training in a number of key business areas such as sales, marketing and administration. Interns are fully integrated into the Delta sales force in each country, becoming a team member with specific projects and responsibilities. The end of the one-year programme culminates in a visit to the United States to meet with senior executives and learn more about how an international organisation such as Delta operates.

EAN Launches Wings In-Flight

 Lagos-based Evergreen Apple Nigeria, EAN, has launched the first and only dedicated executive in-flight catering service at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos. EAN Catering Limited, a subsidiary of EAN, already manages Wings restaurant on the penthouse floor of its FBO at Lagos.
 The new product will be operated under the same brand and called Wings In-Flight. The service has been developed in response to the increased business jet activity at the airport and the growing demand from the private jet community for good quality in-flight catering.
 In just two months the business has already developed a growing international customer base, with 14 different private jets already ordering regularly, and others beginning to make requests. Clients include leading aviation names such as Vistajet, Avjet Corporation, Hangar 8 and Elit’Avia. Until the launch, the majority of private jet catering had to be sourced from local business hotels.

Air France Summer Schedule

In terms of Air France’s summer schedule, from 25 March to 28 October, the airline has plans to launch a new route to Port Gentil in Gabon and will be resuming service to Abuja, Nigeria, previously operated by KLM.

Air France will continue to increase capacity to Abidjan, Lomé, Malabo and N'Djamena. To these last two destinations, the daily flights operated by Airbus A319 Dedicate will be replaced by three weekly flights by Airbus A330.

On the medium-haul network, 14 new international destinations will be offered from Toulouse, including Tunis, Casablanca and Marrakech. Air France is also changing capacity to Mauritius by replacing the B747 with the B777-300. The airline is suspending services to Mahé on a code-share basis with Air Seychelles, as Air Seychelles has suspended operations to Paris-CDG.