More BA Flights to Africa

British Airways is increasing its West African schedule, adding a fourth weekly flight to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The announcement comes just nine months after the airline started operating on the routes and will add 33% more capacity between Freetown, Monrovia and London. The flight will arrive at London Heathrow Terminal 5 at 16h00 on a Friday evening, allowing same-day connections to Washington and saving the need for an overnight transit and visa.
 The new service starts on 31 October using Boeing 767 aircraft in a three-cabin configuration - World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World. The flight is currently on sale. BA will increase its schedule to Marrakech from daily to 10 flights a week and a third weekly service to Agadir, also in October.
In East and Southern Africa, it has upped the Nairobi frequencies to eight a week. In South Africa earlier this year, BA confirmed three additional frequencies to Johannesburg on top of the existing double-daily schedule.

Free Shuttle to Birchwood

Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre in Boksburg, Johannesburg, has opened its Birchwood Airport Office opposite the shuttle pick-up point at O.R. Tambo International Airport.
 The office provides a safe waiting area for guests of the hotel and a complimentary shuttle service direct to its main reception. Birchwood offers 665 rooms and just over 50 conference rooms.
The free shuttle also runs to East Rand Mall shopping centre. On-site facilities include a gym, spa, The Local Grill steakhouse restaurant, and Tazza caffe and wine bar. Conference facilities can host from four to 1,500 guests for plenary sessions, board meetings, products launches, training sessions or exhibitions.

New Club Floor at D’oreale Grande

The 5-star D’oreale Grande hotel at Emperors Palace, a few minutes’ drive from O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, has launched its Club Floor and Business Centre Lounge.
 The fifth floor has been converted into accommodation ideally suited to the business traveller. It offers plush VIP rooms and a host of personal and concierge services, including early check-in and late check-out, 24-hour refreshments in rooms, selected complimentary food and beverage offerings, shoe polishing services, complimentary pressing/laundry and casino play vouchers on arrival.
Club Floor guests will be able to conduct business in the private Business Centre Lounge, whilst enjoying complimentary refreshments, work stations equipped with PCs and Apple products, a meeting room, free Wi-Fi, local and international newspapers and access to a Club Floor Services Manager willing to assist with secretarial services.

Virgin Suspends Flights to Accra

Virgin Atlantic has announced it will be suspending its operations between London Heathrow and Accra, Ghana, from 22 September.
 The last flight from Accra to London will depart on 23 September. Exceptionally high fuel costs in Ghana, a challenging wider economic environment and an inability to operate morning arrivals from Accra due to scarcity of slots at Heathrow, have all contributed to the decision to withdraw the service.
 “These are still challenging times for the airline industry and we have to deploy our aircraft to routes with the right level of demand to be financially viable,” says Edmond Rose, Director of Airline Planning for Virgin Atlantic. Passengers can continue to book for travel prior to those days throughout the coming months.

Johannesburg Popular Tourist Destination

According to the third annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, Johannesburg is expected to be the most popular destination in Africa, with a projected 2.54 million international visitors expected during 2013.
Despite a marginal 5.5% increase in international visitors from 2012, Johannesburg’s substantial 53.6% growth from 2009 to 2013 has propelled it into the Index’s top 20 fastest growing cities globally. Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa in terms of international visitor spending, with $2.7 billion estimated to be injected into the city during 2013.
Thirteen African cities were ranked within 132 cities that were included in the Index – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo, and Tunis.

Brussels Airlines Joins ATA

According to traveldailynews, Star Alliance member Brussels Airlines has joined the Africa Travel Association as a corporate member.
 The airline currently offers flights to 19 African destinations and will add more weekly flights to several existing destinations, including Dakar, Senegal, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Yaounde, Cameroon, Cotonou, Benin, Freetown, Sierra Leone and Conakry, Guinea during 2013.
Brussels Airlines will link its Africa network with the US Capital thanks to the new service to Washington launched this spring.

Qatar Enhances North African Capacity

According to breakingnewstravel, Qatar Airways has announced an increase in capacity between Qatar and North Africa with its flights to Tripoli, Libya, and Casablanca, Morocco going non-stop.
Scheduled services to the Libyan capital Tripoli will be de-linked from the Egyptian city of Alexandria, offering additional seats to both cities. On the same day Casablanca will have direct non-stop services from the airline’s Doha hub.
Currently the route is served via the Tunisian capital of Tunis. With the de-linking and re-introduction of non-stop flights, Qatar Airways is giving passengers travelling to the four North African cities more choice and flexibility when planning their travels.
 Passengers from the Asia Pacific, South Asia and Middle East can now take advantage of a seamless one-stop connection to Tripoli and Casablanca via Doha.