Qantas Announces Upgrade

The Qantas Group has announced that it will upgrade its entire fleet of Airbus A330s and order new Boeing 737-800s to drive its strategy in the international and domestic markets. Beginning in late 2014, the group will reconfigure the interior of 10 Airbus A330-300s and 20 A330-200s with a new flat seat in Business Class, refreshed Economy cabin and a new inflight entertainment offering. The A330-300s will be operated by Qantas International on its network between Australia and Asia, while the A330-200s will be operated by Qantas Domestic on routes between the east coast and Perth – enabling the final retirement of the group’s Boeing 767s. Qantas will also purchase five additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft for Qantas Domestic (for delivery during 2014) and extend the leases on two existing B737-800s this year. The A330 reconfiguration program and the additional B737-800 orders do not affect the group’s planned capital expenditure of $1.6 billion in 2012/13 and $1.5 billion in 2013/14.

KQ and Etihad Enter into Codeshare

 Kenya Airways has announced the expansion of its global network through a new codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways. KQ will also launch a new three times a week service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi, effective June. Under the new codeshare agreement, Kenya Airways will initially place its KQ code on Etihad Airways’ existing daily service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi, and onwards to 32 destinations on Etihad’s global network.
 In return, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Kenya Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi, and onwards to 27 destinations across the Kenya Airways network in Africa. The connections will provide passengers with connections over Nairobi to destinations in East, West and Southern Africa.
The agreement with Etihad Airways brings the number of strategic codeshares that Kenya Airways has signed with other international carriers to 18.
In turn, the codeshare with the national carrier of Kenya brings to 42 the number of codeshare partners for Etihad Airways, providing the airline with a combined network of more than 349 destinations, more than any other Middle East airline.
The agreement paves the way for greater collaboration between the two airlines on joint procurement of services for ground handling, line and heavy maintenance, training and cargo operations.
The airlines are working on the integration of their respective frequent flyer programmes, Etihad Guest and Kenya Airway’s Flying Blue, to provide travellers with enhanced premium service benefits, enabling them to earn and redeem miles on each other’s flights. The new codeshare services between Etihad Airways and Kenya Airways go on sale on 15 March, for travel from 1 April onwards.

BA Boasting New First Class

 British Airways is rolling out its new flagship First Class cabin, across its long-haul fleet. The same cabin will also grace its 12 A380s, the first of which will be delivered in July this year.
 The suites in the new cabin are wider, and the seat, which folds down into a 6ft 6” bed at the turn of an i-drive-like dial, is more comfortable, with a sprung diaphragm replacing the earlier foam mattress. Customers have their own double windows, with an electronic blind, similar to those on private jets.
There’s also a personal wardrobe, with space to hang a jacket or suit, and a shoe compartment. As well as the main table, a side table has been incorporated into the arm of the suite for people who want to continue working while they eat.
The main table can also be folded in half to become a writing desk, complete with leather trim. Although the suite doesn’t quite double as a private cinema, at 15-inches the in-flight entertainment screen is almost twice the size of its predecessor. As well as an array of in-flight movies, music and entertainment, it also allows customers to view content from personal MP3 players on the main screen.
The trademark First pyjamas remain a staple offering and while changing, an onboard turndown service converts the seat into a bed complete with an Egyptian-cotton mattress, duvet and pillow. Practical perks include three items of luggage weighing up to 32kgs each, a dedicated check-in area and access to the fast-track security channels. There’s also the network of over 60 dedicated British Airways lounges and 90 partner lounges worldwide.
 The crown jewels are the Galleries Lounges in Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Here the Concorde Room provides a fully-serviced Concorde Bar and restaurant, concierge desk and boardroom. This exclusive facility is mirrored at New York’s JFK airport. There’s also the larger Galleries First Lounge, with its Gold Bar, Wine Gallery and work and entertainment zones.
Two large Elemis Travel Spas, with six treatment rooms each and a slightly smaller four-room version in the satellite terminal, enable customers to de-stress before a flight. For customers arriving at Terminal 5, there’s the Galleries Arrivals lounge, also offering an Elimis Travel Spa as well as 94 shower rooms, cabanas with infinity bathrooms and a valet service.

SAA to Implement New Strategy

According to News24, South African Airways has briefed the country’s members of parliament at the public enterprises portfolio committee about presenting a turnaround plan at the end of next month, which might involve cutting some flight routes. SAA board acting chairperson Dudu Myeni said that this would be the ninth plan developed by the airline in 13 years, after discovering that there were eight strategies that were developed but never implemented. SAA's new board is 'hard at work' finalising a new plan, which will be presented to the government on either 28 March or 2 April. Myeni described the 20-year plan as "cutting-edge", and vowed it would be more successful than its predecessors, because "it will be developed and owned by our own people". Responding to questions about why the latest plan would be more credible than previous ones, SAA Acting CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said the latest "holistic" strategy aimed to achieve "sustainable" business and will take the best elements of the previous ones. SAA is also set to take "a very hard look" at the routes it flies. Bezuidenhout also called for changes to SAA's fleet. According to its 2011/12 annual report, the carrier operates 53 aircraft. "If we have the wrong tools for the job, we're not going to make it,” he said. “Our long-haul fleet will not be profitable unless we adapt and change our fleet."

Onomo International to Build New Hotel

 According to businesscameroon.com, the president of Onomo International Phillippe Colleu has announced the construction of a new hotel in the seaside resort town of Kribi, which is located in the south of Cameroon. The African international hotel chain has purchased ten thousand square metres of land in Kribi for the new hotel, which will have over 120 rooms. Following Onomo Dakar Airport and Onomo Libreville in January 2012, along with Onomo Abidjan Airport hotel, there are two Onomo hotels are under construction in Lomé (Togo) and Bamako (Mali), and a dozen other projects are under study in Nigeria, Chad, Guinea, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. The Onomo concept is based on accessible, durable, and modern hotel business in principal destinations

FastJet Told to Pay Up

 According to eturbonews.com, Tanzanian authorities, led by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, have issued FastJet’s local management with an ‘either/or’ option, to pay their debts, including debt incurred by Fly540 Tanzania, or deal with the consequences. TCAA are vigorously pursuing payment within the stipulated timeframe, failing which TCAA may pull the plug on the airline’s operations, or ground one or all of their aircraft, to ensure that no further debts accrue and that the carrier pay outstanding dues from current and past operations. FastJet launched operations between Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro, with onward flights to Mwanza, in December last year, but it is currently locked in a battle with Fly540 over the payment of the debt cited.

Ethiopian Expands African Network

 According to eturbonews.com, Ethiopian Airlines has announced further expansion, with new flights to Blantyre, Malawi, and Ndola, Zambia, starting 31 March. Blantyre, the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi, will be Ethiopian’s 44th destination in Africa, with a new schedule of three flights per week. Ndola will be Ethiopian's 45th African and 72nd international destination, but its second destination in Zambia next to Lusaka. “Ethiopian, as a flagship carrier of Africa, is pleased to add Blantyre and Ndola to its wide route network, and to offer passengers to and from these cities the best possible connectivity through its Addis Ababa hub,” said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. Passengers travelling to and from Blantyre and Ndola will enjoy connections to destinations on Ethiopian Airlines' route network, such as Washington, DC, Toronto, London, Hong Kong and Dubai, among others.