fastJet in talks over Zambia-based operation

fastjet has started discussions with the Zambian government over creating a new operation based in Lusaka.
The low cost airline said a fastjet operation in Zambia would benefit trade and tourism links as well as improve the Zambian aviation industry. It would be a Zambian registered company in which fastjet plc would have a substantial stake, with the business marketed as part of the pan-African fastjet network.
The application for an Air Services Licence and Air Operator Certificate is likely to take up to six months.
Before then, astjet is start flights to Zambian capital Lusaka from De es Salaam in Tanzania in February though other key routes that could be served by a new carrier include Ndola and Livingstone, it said.
“Ndola on the DRC border and in the centre of the copper belt is a key hub which is currently poorly served.” Regional international routes are all provided by non-Zambian airlines.

Nigeria's Med-View takes delivery of B737-800; now eyes B767s, B777s

Med-View Airline (VL, Kano) has taken delivery of an B737-800 to be used in launching flights from Kano to Jeddah shortly. Speaking to the Nigerian press at Lagos shortly after the jet's arrival, Managing Director Alhaji Muneer Bankole said: "The airline will be using a Boeing 737-800 to kick-start the operation, while a B767-300(ER), which has a 14-hour flight endurance, and a B777 aircraft are on the shopping list for the long-haul operations," he said. As published recently by ch-aviation, Med-View has been awarded traffic rights to service Accra, Dakar, Singapore Changi, Libreville, Jeddah and Dubai Int'l.
Chi aviation

Azman Air, ferries its two B737-300s to Kano ahead of demo flights

Azman Air (Kano) has ferried its two  B737-300s to Kano ahead of demonstration flights to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Marking the occasion, CEO Alhaji Sani Yunusa, said: "Though not as easy as expected, when we fully commence operation Azman Air will be flying Kano to Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt Omagwa routes and we hope in the nearest future to go into international flights God willing." Several NCAA functionaries accompanied the flight from the United Kingdom.

Nigeria's IRS, Chanchangi Airlines to resume operations shortly

IRS Airlines (IS, Abuja) is hoping to resume operations in either late January or early February once its aircraft, a Fokker 100, is returned into service. Along with Chanchangi Airlines, the airline was grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in late October 2013. In the wake of the Associated Aviation (SCD, Lagos) crash in September, the NCAA ordered all scheduled airline operators whose fleet size consisted of only one operational aircraft to immediately suspend flight operations. For its part, Chanchangi had pledged to restart flights to Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos on either January 13 or 14. Its fleet consists of three B737s: two B737-300s and one B737-500. At the time of its grounding, two of the airline's aircraft had been in for necessary maintenance
chi aviation

Nigeria's Dana Air to acquire two Egyptian B737-500s

 Suspended Dana Air has acquired two Boeing 737-500 planes as it seeks to phase out its old McDonnell Douglas aircraft that became infamous in 2012 following a plane crash that killed 163 people, sources at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, disclosed on Tuesday.
Sources said the planes were bought in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, and NCAA officials have travelled to inspect them before they are allowed into the country.
Sources said the two planes are not brand new but not as old as the MD-83 aircraft, the only aircraft in the fleet of Dana.
All Dana planes are more than 20 years old and old planes need more money to maintain.
Nigerians have accused some airlines often of cutting corners as they struggle with overwhelming financial challenges.
The newest acquisition will bring Dana fleet to about five planes.
Samuel Ogbogoro, Communication Manager at Dana Air, did not return text messages sent to his phone.
Dana Air was suspended on 6 October last year following an air return caused by a mechanical problem on one of its aircraft.
The incident happened only three days after an Associated Airlines plane crashed in Lagos and killed 16 people.
Sources at NCAA said Dana was given a list of items to comply with before it is allowed back into the skies.
The airline was said to have completed most of it and may return to the skies next week.
Training of staff is currently ongoing and a quality assurance manager is also needed before the suspension can be lifted, sources said.

PM News

Nigeria's Med-View Airline outlines its planned new int'l routes

Med-View Airline (VL, Kano) Managing Director, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, has unveiled plans to start international operations in the first quarter of this year. The domestic carrier was granted international traffic rights in August last year. Nigerian paper, the Nation, quotes Mr Bankole as stating that the routes had been chosen in line with an extensive study the airline had recently carried out. ”Our international operations will begin in the first quarter of 2014 and we are going to fly on routes such as Abuja - Dubai Int'l, Lagos - Dubai, Kano - Jeddah, Abuja - Jeddah, Lagos - Accra, Lagos - Dakar, Enugu - Singapore Changi, Lagos - Libreville, and Nigeria - Israel,” he said. Founded in 2007, Med-View currently operates three B737-400s and one B737-500.

Culled: from Ch-Aviation

The Coming of Nigerian Aerotropolis

While speaking during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating alleged FCT land swap last week, Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, disclosed that the plan of the Federal Government to build aerotropolis in some airports would create 10 million new jobs in the first two years of its take off.
The minister, who said that the project was part of the Aviation Roadmap, added that it had the capacity of generating N100billion for the country annually.
“The development of airport cities is a 21st century phenomenon that is gaining ground all over the world. It is no longer fashionable to have an international airport without the support facilities and amenities such as shopping arcades, hotels, packaging industries, residential estates, modern airline offices and recreational facilities.
“The proposed aerotropolis will definitely boost the Nigerian economy and generate the much-needed employment for our teeming youth,’’ the minister had said.
According to her, the aerotropolis project which is expected to create 150,000 new jobs would be financed by the private sector with the government being minimally involved. Expatiating on this, she said the Federal Government would have 20 per cent equity holding in the project through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). She added that the value chains would span the agricultural, health, manufacturing, culture and tourism sectors of the economy.
She said, “What the government is actually looking for is contractor-financed investors who can finance the projects while the government provides the enabling environment. We are looking for investors that can have joint ventures with our local, indigenous companies where together, they can contractor-finance the various projects.”
An aerotropolis is a business planning model that brings clusters of  travel related businesses like tourism, hospitality, shopping , fashion and others together within an airport environment to create a new urban form that is highly competitive, attractive, and sustainable.
The concept of aerotropolis is a response to the needs of air travellers. These are high networth individuals who are also high spenders who would stop at nothing until they get what they want. With this, there developed clusters of shopping areas in airports. But the inadequacy of the outlets to satisfy the yearnings of these swish citizens paved the way for shopping malls to sprout at airports.
Today, airport terminals are moving away from their original forms as many of them are dotted with luxurious shopping malls. Gone are the days of airport terminals parading just magazine shops, fast food outlets, and duty free shops. Many of the leading airports now have brand name boutiques and specialty retail outlets. Some even have upscale restaurants along with entertainment and cultural attractions.
At the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, passengers can pick choice artworks at any of the Dutch Master’s Art galleries within the airport. Travellers going through the Hong Kong International Airport have access to more than 30 high-end designer clothing shops, while those travelling through Las Vegas McCarran can visit a museum at the airport. Passengers at Singapore Changi can take time to visit cinemas, saunas, and a tropical butterfly fores. Worth’s Grand Hyatt Hotel located at Dallas Airport serves as a fly-in virtual corporate headquarters for many U.S. businesses. Detroit Metro Airport also has Westin Hotel, located just off its main terminal.
The direction taken by Frankfurt Airport and Stockholm Arlanda Airport in providing non-aeronautical services is different from the conventional ones. While Frankfurt Airport hosts the world’s largest airport clinic which serves over 36,000 patients annually, Stockholm Arlanda runs a chapel which conducts an average of 500 wedding ceremonies yearly.
Princess Oduah, during a mid-term presentation earlier in the year when activities of various ministries were x-rayed, had said that four aerotropolis would be developed in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano.
According to her, “The Abuja and Lagos aerotropolis will have a mix of agro processing, manufacturing, construction, Information Technology, shopping, and conference and hospitality. This reflects the diverse economy in the regions as well as a high level of aviation traffic which give these two cities the potential to be the conference capital of West, East and Central Africa.
“The Kano aerotropolis will primarily focus on perishable goods and agro processing and storage, taking into account its proximity to the food baskets.
“The Port Harcourt aerotropolis will focus mainly on manufacturing and oil service reflecting the economy of the region. The fact that a lot of the International Oil Companies, IOC are also located in the region provides an opportunity for conference and hotel facilities.”
Mr Yakubu Dati, General Manager (Corporate Communication), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAAN), who corroborated the position of Princess Oduah on the need for airports to incorporate non-aeronautical activities into their services, said, “Aviation is key to a flourishing global business of growing and selling fruits, vegetables and flowers. Without the aircraft and air travel, this global business in perishable agricultural produce worth N250 billion (2010 figures) to African countries that participate, would not exist.”
He added, “The aerotropolis is more of a commercial and social development concept, in which the airport area serves as a hub, or magnet around which other business and social development revolve.”
According to him, for a metropolis to revolve around an airport, the airport must be offering something of immense benefit to the metropolis. “Imagine informal markets that developed around railway depots where farmers who travelled from long distances in the hinterland could easily sell off their farm produce hardly alighting, right on the train rail. That soon attracted traders and consumers and developed into a sprawling market. The attraction was far cheaper prices and good bargains—as both traders and consumers could buy directly from farmers.
“The same way the airport could serve as a hub for a whole lot of things –from transit for goods and services - air cargo to what we already are used to - passenger traffic. The key however is a conscious and planned effort to develop the airport terminal to provide adequate facilities that would allow for the easy and affordable inflow and outflow of goods and services around it.
“The Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah is passionate about the aerotropolis concept because it would work in Nigeria and would create fresh areas of wealth and contribute its own quota to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.”
He said the aerotropolis plan would transform cities where they are located as the airports would no longer just be terminals but places where economic activities would thrive. He added that they could include conference centres, hotels, restaurants and business premises.
“The aerotropolis project will bring about the development of new 5-star hotels, new housing estates and luxury houses targeted primarily at  pilots and air support staff and other aviation professionals; auto and technical repair shops, new medical facilities nearby, cinemas, entertainment, casinos, hair salons, discount shops, duty-free shops, even schools and recreation centres.”
Culled from Tribune