End of Federal Air and Comair Agreement

Federal Airlines has announced that as of 11 February, it will no longer use the British Airways livery on its Johannesburg – Vilanculos route.

 The current ATR aircraft, dressed in British Airways livery, is part of a leasing agreement with Comair and Solenta Aviation that came into effect in October 2011. The agreement will cease in conjunction with Comair announcing the closure of its current Johannesburg – Nelspruit service.

 Federal Air remains the official Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) license holder of the Johannesburg – Vilanculos route, and will continue to own and operate the route as it has since 2006.

 There will be no effective changes made to the daily operations. Federal Air will continue to operate the ATR aircraft on the Vilanculos route, and the current timetable and operations will continue as normal.

 Federal Air flies more daily direct flights from Johannesburg to Vilanculos International Airport than any other airline.

Another Honour for Sankara

Sankara Hotel Group, the hotel operator that manages the Sankara Nairobi, has been awarded a Finalist Award at the World Luxury Award, for the branding and visual identity of the Sankara Nairobi.

The World Luxury Award is focused entirely on work done for luxury brands. Members of an international jury from 10 countries evaluate entries in 14 categories, including hotels, food and beverage, fashion and style, and cars.

It honours those responsible for creative excellence and is the only award dedicated exclusively to the global luxury sector. As a co-recipient of the award, Sankara Hotel Group worked in partnership with Glazer Brand & Design Consultants to create the identity.

The Group’s vision was to develop a brand that reflected contemporary international luxury, with authentic reference to the culture of ‘new Africa’. Visually, the Sankara symbol draws its inspiration from the facial markings of a zebra.

African Office for Preffered Hotels

Preferred Hotel Group has continued to expand globally, by opening its first sales office in Africa - the company’s 34th globally – in Cape Town, South Africa. With the newly-appointed Caroline Daniel at the helm as Director, Global Sales - Africa, the group is hoping that this office will further grow the brand’s presence on the continent. Preferred Hotel Group currently represent over 45 hotels in Africa, with 20 of those in South Africa.

Among those, the intimate Last Word Collection of Boutique Hotels, Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Lawhill Luxury Apartments, Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa and Shamwari Game Reserve. For the rest of Africa, notable members include Essque Zalu Zanzibar in Tanzania, The Russelior Hotel & Spa in Tunisia, Hotel Carlton in Madagascar, Sarova Stanley in Kenya and the Zambezi Queen, which operates on the Chobe River between Namibia and Botswana.

Travelport increases African Footprint

Travelport has signed a new 16-country distributor agreement with Dubai-based Satguru Travel & Tourism, Africa’s largest travel company outside of South Africa. The GDS provider will grow its African network from 27 to 41 countries and grow its existing GDS operations in a further two.

 The strategic partnership is in line with Travelport’s ongoing strategy to invest and grow in the fast-growing African continent, and it takes effect immediately.

 Under the agreement, Satguru will set up operations and run the National Distributor Centres for Travelport in the following countries: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan and Togo.


In the countries where Satguru is not the Travelport distributor, a subscriber agreement has been signed, which includes 11 African countries, plus Afghanistan, India, the UAE and Yemen.

Travelport will also offer customers a number of Satguru’s industry-leading e-commerce applications, as part of the deal.

Last year, flight bookings made through the GDS channel in Africa increased by 7.7% and the trend looks set to continue as economists predict that the average GDP across the continent will increase by 4.7% in 2012 and 5.7% in 2013.

Air France Launches Personalised Customer Service

Air France is now offering all its customers a new array of personalised services at its main connecting hub, Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Passengers can benefit from services that include accompaniment by an Air France agent throughout their time at the airport via the priority access route for: Departures, from arrival at the airport to the door of their plane; Flight connections; Arrivals, from the door of their plane until they exit the terminal.

A variety of “a la carte” options are also available: Transfers between the airport and Paris by chauffeured car, minibus or motorcycle; Reserving a hotel room for a few hours to get refreshed or have breakfast before going into the city; Eventually, luggage collection or delivery to an address in the Paris area.

Personalised airport assistance starts at 200 euros, plus taxes, for accompaniment of up to four passengers per agent. Flying Blue members also can earn 400 bonus miles with every purchase.

Awards for Airlink

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) hosted their annual Feather Awards for each of their airports last month, where they recognised their top service providers.

South African regional feeder airline, Airlink was recognised in the following categories: Best Airline at Bloemfontein and George, Most Improved Service Provider in Kimberley and Passenger Service Excellence in Upington.
 

Three Cities Relaunch Inn on the Square

After the recent R35 million refurbishment, the Inn on the Square now presents itself as a contemporary and colourful mid-market hotel, promising functionality and quality for both business and leisure travellers alike.

 25 kilometres from Cape Town International Airport, the Inn on The Square is conveniently located within the business hub of Cape Town with both the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the V & A Waterfront a short 10-minute walk from the hotel.

You’ll find the property beneath the landmark Clock Tower and housed in one of Cape Towns' oldest buildings on the heritage Greenmarket Square.

The hotel has 165 newly-renovated en-suite bedrooms, with a Bohemian design, and each room is fitted with a LCD flat-screen TV with selected DSTV satellite channels, individual climate control and electronic safes. The Inn on the Square also offers a laundry service, in-room dining and bar facilities, sauna, fitness centre and heated swimming pool.

There’s also a sun deck on the 8th floor with a panoramic view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Topping things off is the acclaimed Dish restaurant and the first-rate conference and meeting facilities available in the Waalburg Conference Centre - it includes high-speed Internet, a large conference room, four meeting rooms and indoor and outdoor pre-function areas.