Uhuru Kenyatta plays safe after his victory,

- Uhuru Kenyatta has released a fresh condition that will provide a platform for talks between himself and NASA leader Raila Odinga 
- During his acceptance speech at the Bomas of Kenya, Uhuru said he would only engage with Raila after all the constitutional processes which could take place after the victory were addressed 
- The President elect seemed wary of a possibility of NASA moving to court yet again as provided by the constitution - He therefore said he would engage with NASA after all processes were done President elect Uhuru Kenyatta has outlined the one condition which must be fulfilled for him to engage with NASA leader Raila Odinga in talks over the country’s political future. Read  

Ethiopian gets Africa's first Boeing 787-9

The carrier’s newest Dreamliner touched down in Addis Ababa following a non-stop 8,354 mile (13,444 km) delivery flight from Boeing's Everett, facility. Ethiopian becomes the first carrier in Africa to operate the 787-9 and extends a tradition of setting aviation milestones. Ethiopian became Africa's first carrier to fly the 787-8 in 2012, and similarly introduced the 777-200LR (Longer Range), 777-300ER (Extended Range) and 777 Freighter.
"We are proud to celebrate yet another first with the introduction of the cutting-edge 787-9 into our young and fast growing fleet," said CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, "Today, the 787 is the core of our fleet with 20 aircraft in service. Our investment in the latest technology airplanes is part of our Vision 2025 strategy and our commitment to our esteemed customers to offer complete on-board comfort. We will continue to invest in the most advanced aircraft to give our customers the best possible travel experience.""Ethiopian Airlines conducted its 32nd Humanitarian Delivery Flight as part of the 787-9 delivery. In conjunction with the non-profit Seattle Alliance Outreach, Ethiopian transported goods donated by medical organizations in the U.S. to Black Lion Hospital and St. Paul Hospital in Ethiopia. 
"We are very happy to continue our longstanding partnership with Boeing to deliver medical equipment and supplies to public hospitals in Ethiopia, which benefit the society at-large," said GebreMariam. "This is our 32nd humanitarian flight over the course of the last few years. No airline has provided such sustained support to the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the African continent. It is a testament to our commitment to serve the community as a responsible corporate organization."  

RwandAir to operate direct flights from Brussels to Kigali by the end of October

RwandAir will continue to offer three weekly flights from/to Brussels on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; however flights from Brussels to Kigali will no longer be operated via London Gatwick which will eliminate the requirement for non-Schengen citizens to hold a UK transit visa and to disembark for rescreening at London Gatwick Airport.

The new schedule was made possible pursuant to negotiations with Gatwick Airport for an earlier slot out of London, enabling our aircraft to return to Brussels ahead of the jet ban.

“We are confident that the new schedule will improve the experience of our esteemed clients boarding from Brussels, while maintaining our schedule from London with only one stop in Brussels,” said Chance Ndagano, Ag. CEO of RwandAir. 

Passengers embarking from London-Gatwick Airport will stay onboard the aircraft at Zaventem Airport in Brussels and will not need a Schengen transit visa.

RwandAir’s state of the art Airbus A330 fleet, configured in a triple class cabin with inflight connectivity will continue to operate the Brussels – Gatwick route and conveniently connect across Africa via Kigali with the following timings.

EgyptAir receive its eighth B737-800 NG

EgyptAir receives eight B737-800 on Saturday, as part of a deal for nine Boeing aircraft that the airline has purchased to join its fleet.

It is the fleet’s 68th aircraft and No. 28 of this type.

Safwat Musallam, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company said the airline is to receive the ninth aircraft at the end of 2017.

Air Arabia's Egyptian unit disposes of $3.3mn of equity

Air Arabia disposed of 590,000 shares to an unspecified party/parties a filing with the Egyptian Stock Exchange (ESX) on October 11, reports ch-aviation.

The transaction was valued at EGP59 million Egyptian pounds (USD3.347 million).

It is recalled that in November last year, Travco Group, one of Egypt's largest travel and hospitality groups, disposed of its 51% stake in Air Arabia Egypt as part of a larger bid to divest itself of non-core assets.

Airbus A330neo takes to the skies

Airbus' A330neo has made its maiden departing from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France last week. The no. 1 A330neo was put through its paces during a four hour and 13 minute airborne evaluation.

Performing the maiden flight was an A330-900. When entering airline service by mid-2018, this aircraft version will become the lowest seat-mile-cost jetliner in the 300-passenger widebody category, continuing the success of Airbus’ A330-300 variant (the best-selling midsize widebody ever).

It will be joined by the smaller A330-800 – the longest-range 250-seater, and the follow-on to today’s A330-200 (which has the largest operator base, composed of nearly 100 carriers). Airworthiness certification of the A330-800 is planned for 2019. 

Both A330-800 and A330-900 are powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest Trent 7000 turbofan powerplants, and incorporate high-span wings featuring 3D-optimised aerodynamics, new onboard systems, a connected cockpit, and the “Airspace by Airbus” cabin interior.

Fastjet set for Mozambican and South African market entries

South Africa-based ACMI/charter specialist, Solenta Aviation Group, has increased its stake in fastjet plc ahead of the low-cost airline's push into the South African and Mozambican markets, reports ch-aviation.

fastjet has said that in order to support its growth initiatives, it had held an accelerated book build and a subscription which raised gross cash proceeds of not less than USD44 million. Aside from existing major shareholders such as easyGroup Holdings, support came from Solenta Aviation Group which increased its stake in the firm from 28% to 29.9%.

It is recalled that as part of the original buy-in deal between fastjet and Solenta announced this year, fastjet will be able to deploy Solenta aircraft on any one of Solenta's AOCs on the African continent under the fastjet brand in exchange for a cost contribution/revenue share, depending on use.

As such, fastjet has confirmed it will enter the Mozambican market through Solenta Aviation Mozambique (Maputo) which, as recently reported, was granted scheduled domestic passenger route authorities covering Maputo to each of Beira, Tete, Nampula, and Lichinga. Operations are expected to commence later this month. 

In tandem to the Mozambican market, fastjet will also make its South African market debut under a branding agreement with Federal Air (7V, Durban Virginia).

"Its established network comprising 10 tourism and business destinations provides a viable South African market brand entry for fastjet and a platform from which to grow through adding more destinations within this country," fastjet said.

Entry into the Mozambican and South African markets will be undertaken by a trio of ATR72-600s - - which will be secured on ten-year contracts. The firm said it had signed a letter of intent with ACIA, a member of the ACIA Aero Capital group, for the aircraft which are due to be deployed over the next six months in South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, and possibly Zimbabwe. 

"With the expansion into the new markets, these aircraft will assist fastjet in equipping itself with the appropriate aircraft capacity," it said. "The 70 seater ATR planes, which are turboprops, accommodate shorter runways and deliver better fuel efficiency and per seat passenger costs, on sub 1-hour route flights."