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."

FlySafair begins preparations for international debut

South Africa's FlySafair is preparing to go international with the launch of regional Central and Southern African flights, reports ch-aviation.

Parent firm Safair has applied for rights to a 5x weekly Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-Entebbe/Kampala, Uganda, return service.

Safair chief executive Elmar Conradie said the application was only the "first step in a very lengthy process". Though Conradie declined to specify exact timeframes for the launch of flights abroad, it is presumed additional foreign route authorities will be applied for in future.

Four die as cargo plane crashes into sea off Abidjan

A cargo aircraft has crashed into the sea off Ivory Coast shortly after taking off from Abidjan's international airport.

“What we can say for the time being is that this morning around 8:30 (0830 GMT), an Antonov plane crashed…with 10 on board including the crew members,” said Ivory Coast’s Security Minister Sidiki Diakite.

The French military operates a logistics base next to the airport in support of its Barkhane operation, combatting Islamist militants in West Africa’s Sahel region.