TAP Expands African Network

According to breakingnewstravel, Portuguese airline TAP is expanding its African operations with the launch of two new routes.
 From October, TAP will introduce flights to Tangier in Morocco and Boa Vista in Cape Verde. TAP will begin offering twice weekly flights to the island of Boa Vista and five flights per week to Tangier, which will join Casablanca and Marrakech as the Moroccan destinations that TAP flies to.
With the opening of this route, and with the planned increase in capacity to Casablanca, the total number of seats TAP will offer each week between Portugal and Morocco will increase by 50%.

Ethiopian Flies to Seoul

On 18 June, Ethiopian Airlines will commence scheduled four weekly flights to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul is the fourth largest metropolitan economy in the world, after Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles. The city is also known for a number of modern landmarks including Lotte World, the world’s largest indoor theme park, and Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. With this new flight, Seoul will be connected to dozens of cities in Africa via Ethiopian’s main hub in Addis Ababa, with connections to and from major African cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Accra and Dar-es-Salaam. Seoul will be Ethiopian’s 73rd international destination. The inclusion of Seoul is part of Ethiopian’s Vision 2025 of connecting Africa with the major world economic and financial hubs.

SAA and Etihad Sign MOU

South African Airways and Etihad Airways have signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the two airlines to introduce a comprehensive range of codeshare and interline air services, as well as explore synergy and efficiency opportunities.
 The new collaboration will see SAA codeshare on 12 Etihad flights to Abu Dhabi and beyond; Etihad will have access to 10 cities in South Africa and the African continent; the airlines will explore joint procurement, training and maintenance opportunities; there will be provision for reciprocal ‘earn and burn’ with frequent flyer programmes.

Ethiopian to Resume Dreamliner Flights

According to news24, Ethiopian Airlines will be the world's first carrier to resume flights with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, since regulators ordered all 50 planes out of the skies in mid-January, after batteries on two of them overheated. A senior Ethiopian Airlines source told Reuters, "we're flying to Nairobi, Kenya on the normal flight schedule." Another source, who also declined to be named, confirmed the plan to resume flights on Saturday by the airline, the first African carrier to purchase Dreamliner planes. Ethiopian Airlines ordered 10, has received four, and started flying them in August. US regulators approved a new battery design on Friday, clearing the way for installation. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which grounded the planes, is expected to issue an Airworthiness Directive on Thursday (25 April). This applies to US airlines, but other nations are expected to follow suit immediately. Ethiopian Airlines previously said its fleet did not suffer any of the technical glitches experienced by other Dreamliner jets, though it withdrew the planes from service to undergo special inspection requirements mandated by the FAA.

New Qantas Offering

Qantas has taken the next steps towards establishing its new gateway to Europe and the UK, enabling customers to book flights through the global hub of Dubai for travel from 31 March, 2013. The revised Qantas routes, Sydney-Dubai-London and Melbourne-Dubai-London, come as the ACCC considers the proposed Qantas-Emirates partnership, which remains subject to regulatory approval.
The schedule changes do not involve co-ordination between the airlines and do not require ACCC approval. Qantas will start initial work with Emirates on its proposed partnership, following discussions with the ACCC and withdrawal of the airline’s request for interim authorisation.
The ACCC is considering the airlines’ substantive application for authorisation. Qantas has also made a series of other adjustments to its international flight schedule, focused on giving customers more choice and flexibility. Qantas services to Frankfurt will continue until October 2013 and flights to Singapore will be timed so that they connect better with onward flights within Asia.
 The new schedule will be available shortly on qantas.com and via travel agents. Qantas will contact passengers with existing bookings to Europe or the UK after 31 March 2013 affected by these changes, to offer them alternative flights. Customers with bookings prior to this date are not impacted by the change.

Air France Extends Seasonal CT Flight

Air France will resume flights to Cape Town, with three flights per week between 25 October and 12 May, 2013. This offers passengers an additional six weeks to the previous year’s schedule. Passengers can fly direct from Cape Town to Paris Charles de Gaulle in Air France's 309-seater Boeing 777-200, which features 35 of the airline's new full sleep Business Class seats, which are more than two metres long and 61cm wide, 24 seats in the Premium Economy cabin and 250 seats in Economy. Flights from Cape Town will depart at 19h35, arriving in Paris at 05h55. Services will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Air France-KLM offers passengers 24 weekly flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.

Arik Adds New Route

Arik Air has begun scheduled commercial services between Lagos, Nigeria and Douala, Cameroon, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Outbound flights depart Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 11h10 (local time) and arrive in Douala at 12h40 (local time), whilst inbound flights leave Douala at 13h25 (local time) and arrive in Lagos at 14:55 (local time). The route is served with a Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft with a two-class cabin, made up of 12 Business Class seats and 112 Economy Class seats. Business Class passengers enjoy a 44-inch seat pitch, cradle-style seat, while Economy Class passengers have a seat pitch of 34 inches. The new Lagos-Douala route is Arik Air’s second foray into Central Africa, coming after the inauguration of the Lagos-Luanda (Angola) route in December last year.

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.