Boeing signs off on a $1.3 billion deal at Dubai Airshow

The order should see the aircraft delivered in 2018 and 2019. Two of the four planes were a firming of a commitment announced in June.

Speaking at the Dubai Airshow Tuesday, the Chief Executive of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, said the deal underlined the vitality of air traffic in North Africa.

"Ours is a fast growing region and we expect growth. There is enough demand for us and competitors," he said.

Gebremariam added his airline was also still in discussions to buy Boeing's long-range 777X, due to enter service in 2019.

The chief executive also said the airline is looking to replace its mid-size jet fleet and would potentially commit to between 10 and 20 of Boeing's New Midsize Airplane (NMA) that the U.S. manufacturer announced earlier this year.

The NMA is to be a twin-aisle plane with a capacity for 220 to 270 passengers and, if it achieves its program target, would enter service in 2025.

The Ethiopian deal is adding to Boeing's success on what is turning out to be a relatively muted airshow in terms of orders. On Sunday, Dubai's Emirates airline unveiled a provisional $15.1 billion order for 40 of Boeing's 787-10 jetliners.

Then on Monday, Boeing and Kuwait-based ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company (ALAFCO) finalized an order for 20 additional 737 MAX 8s.

That deal, valued at $2.2 billion at current list prices, was first announced as a commitment at the Paris Airshow in June.

Kenya Airways completes $2 bln debt restructuring

The airline’s top shareholder, the Kenyan government, and 11 local lenders converted the bulk of their debts into shares, helping to relieve cash flow pressure.

“This has been a $2 billion restructuring,” Mbuvi Ngunze, the former Kenya Airways CEO who has been advising on the transaction since June, told Reuters.

That figure includes full commitments to financiers and operating aircraft leasing companies, which are not normally reflected in the balance sheet, he said.

As part of its assistance to the company’s revival efforts, the government also offered contingent guarantees for $750 million of the airline’s debt for 10 years.

“We will pay less now to allow us a bit of time to reshape the business to pay a bit more on the tail end,” Ngunze said, referring to the debt restructuring.

Kenya Airways, which is part owned by Air France KLM, posted the country’s biggest ever annual corporate loss of 26 billion shillings ($251 million) in its 2016 financial year, hit by a slump in travel and high financing costs after buying new Boeing planes.

The losses pushed the company into negative equity of 45 billion shillings in its financial year to the end of March.

Ngunze said he expects that to move into positive territory next year after the restructuring.

On Wednesday the Nairobi Securities Exchange suspended trading of Kenya Airways shares for two weeks to allow the listing of additional shares created in the restructuring.

The financial restructuring diluted all existing shareholders by 95 percent.

Kenya Airways is set to brief investors on the first half of its financial year on Friday.

($1 = 103.7000 Kenyan shillings)

Eleven banks to own 38.1pc stake in @KenyaAirways

Eleven local banks are set to be the second largest shareholders of national carrier Kenya Airways after forming a special purpose vehicle to acquire shares in the airline.

As part of a bold restructuring plan, the banks will convert part of loans issued to Kenya Airways to acquire a 38.1 percent stake.

This follows a deal proposed by the airline that will see the banks convert $167.24 million (Sh17.3 billion) of the $217.2 million (Sh22.5 billion) in loans issued to the airline.

The shares will be owned by a new special purpose vehicle called KQ Lenders Company managed by Minerva Fiduciary Services from Mauritius.

The local banks in the debt conversion deal include KCB Group, Commercial Bank of Africa, Co-operative Bank and Equity.

Other banks include I&M Bank, Jamii Bora, NIC Bank, Ecobank, National Bank, Diamond Trust Bank and Chase Bank.

As part of the deal the banks will sign a new loan agreement for the outstanding loan amount of $50 million to acquire more shares in future.

“The effect of the mandatorily convertible loan agreement is the issuance of ordinary shares to the KQ Lenders Co at a future date in accordance with terms of the agreement,” Kenya Airways said in notice in the dailies.

Kenya Airways has been under huge financial strain over the years, reporting losses for five consecutive years.

The airline shrunk is full year to March loss by 60 percent to Sh10.2 billion with the debt restructuring plan expected to give it financial headroom to bounce back.

The government will also acquire an additional 19.1 percent shareholding in Kenya Airways, pushing its total shareholding to 48.9 percent as part of restructuring of government loans advanced to the airline

The treasury had issued two loans to Kenya Airways worth Sh4.2 billion and $197.2 million (Sh20.4 billion) respectively.

Both the lenders and the government have applied for an exemption from a Capital Markets Authority (CMA) requirement to make a takeover offer.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia is set to issue further details of the deal.

B747-400F joins the Astral-NAM fleet for perishable market opportunities

Network Airline Management (NAM) and Astral Aviation have signed a long-term wet lease with Air Atlanta Icelandic which add a factory-built, nose-loader B747-400F to their existing managed fleet of three MD11Fs.

This will enable NAM to develop its presence in Africa, and especially the Kenyan perishables market, adding capacity for flowers and vegetables from Nairobi to the UK.
Andy Leslie, Group Chairman, said, “We are excited to enter into this agreement with Astral Aviation and Air Atlanta Icelandic and look forward to a long and successful partnership enabling us to further expand our network.”
Sanjeev Gadhia, Astral Aviation’s founder and CEO, said, “The newly acquired B747-400F from Air Atlanta Icelandic will strengthen our position as a market-leader in perishable exports from Kenya to the UK market. Furthermore, the B747F will feed its intra-African network in Nairobi with cargo, which will be consolidated in its Liege hub originating from Europe and the US. “
The B747-400F made its inaugural flight from Stansted (STN) to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi on Tuesday, expanding NAM’s capacity to East Africa.
The group expects to handle around 33,000 tonnes of perishable exports from East Africa to Europe per year. The nose-loader B747F will also enable the group to attract out-sized oil, gas and mining equipment for West and East Africa, which is expected to increase following the high oil prices experienced during the past week.
Gadhia said, “While most foreign carriers are reducing their capacity to Africa, Astral Aviation remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ of positive growth in perishable exports to Europe and a strong south-bound demand from Europe to West and East Africa, fuelled by the growth in consumer demand for e-commerce and oil and gas equipment due to the improved fuel-prices. 
“According to IATA, African carriers had the fastest growth in year-on-year freight volumes. However, growth is set to remain in double digits for the remainder of 2017.” Ghadia said

Why over 20,000 people are tracking this Kenya Airways flight

A Kenya Airways flight – KQ 100 – was the most tracked plane on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 according to Flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service that tracks air traffic in real time from around the world.

This is after reports emerged that British Cabinet Minister Priti Patel was on board the plane en route to London after she was forced to cut short an official trip over a controversy that could see her sacked from her job

Ms. Patel was ordered back to the UK by Prime Minister Theresa May to explain talks she held with Israeli politicians, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army.

By the time of publishing, more than 22,000 users were tracking flight KQ 100 which left Nairobi at around 9.40am.

Emirates to reinstate its second daily service to Lagos

Emirates will reinstate its second daily service to Lagos and resume operations to Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, with four weekly flights from 15 December 2017.

Similar to the current daily service between Dubai and Lagos, the added frequencies to Lagos will be operated with Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. The reinstated service to Abuja will be served by a 360-seat Boeing 777-300 in a three-class configuration. 

“Nigeria is a key market for Emirates and its importance is reflected by the fact that we will add 11 weekly flights between Dubai and two major cities in Nigeria, Abuja and Lagos. This is great news for both our business and leisure customers and highlights our commitment to providing travellers in Nigeria with not only the very latest in aircraft innovations but also increased connectivity,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Africa. “We thank the Nigerian authorities for facilitating the reinstatement of our flights to Abuja and Lagos which will, in turn, greatly benefit Nigerian tourism, trade, investment and economy at large.”

By operating a double daily service to Lagos and four weekly flights to Abuja, Emirates will offer travellers in Nigeria very convenient and comfortable access to Dubai, and onwards to other destinations on the Emirates network, including more than 35 destinations in the Middle East and Far East, 18 destinations in South Asia and over 20 destinations in the Americas and Australia. Many of these destinations are served by Emirates’ iconic A380 aircraft. 

Apart from the increased passenger capacity, the new flights will provide up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight, giving businesses and traders more opportunities for increased imports such as electronic goods, construction equipment and pharmaceuticals, and exports such as fresh produce and perishables. 

The added Lagos flight EK781 will depart Dubai every day at 0355hrs and arrive in Lagos at 0905hrs. The return flight EK782 will depart Lagos at 1240hrs and arrive in Dubai at 2255hrs. The Abuja flight EK785 will depart Dubai every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 1035hrs and arrive in Abuja at 1535hrs. The return flight EK786 will depart Abuja at 1855hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0435hrs the next day. The arrival of the flight in Dubai is conveniently timed to enable a shorter transit period for customers connecting to Emirates’ early morning flights to popular destinations such as New York, Houston, London, Beirut, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Delhi and Sydney, amongst others, which are popular cities for Nigerian travellers.

Emirates and Flydubai expand partnership in Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro

Emirates and Flydubai have announced 16 additional destinations to which Emirates' passengers will be able travel on a single ticket.

The new, expanded network now includes sought-after destinations such as Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.

Travellers can book on Emirates.com, through Emirates’ Contact Centres, or via travel agents for travel commencing from 8 November 2017.

Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark said: “We are thrilled with the positive response from travellers. Nearly 14,000 sectors have been ticketed during the first week of operation, surpassing our expectations.”

"This partnership is an unprecedented opportunity for both airlines to unleash the combined power of their networks, offering travellers greater choice and flexibility when planning their trips. We want to make exploring the world as friendly and as convenient as possible.”

Flydubai chief executive officer, Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “The many benefits of Dubai’s international aviation hub have been recognised by travellers who have already shown that they are keen to explore the world together. Today’s announcement will allow them to discover another 16 destinations as well as enjoy the unique personality of each airline.”