Iran plane crashes into mountain killing all passengers on board

An Iranian passenger plane has crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains with more than 50 people on board, the head of the country’s emergency services told local media on Sunday.

“This plane has crashed in the Semirom area and all emergency forces are on alert. The plane had 50 to 60 passengers,” Pir Hossein Koolivand told the Fars news agency.

The plane was reportedly travelling from Tehran to the small town of Yasuj in Isfahan province.

Semirom lies in the mountainous southwestern region of Iran, around 480 kilometres (300 miles) south of the capital.

“An ATR aircraft of Aseman Airlines with 60 passengers and about six crew disappeared from radar this morning,” Aladin Borujerdi, head of parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

“Observation by people (in the area) indicates a crash,” he said, adding that he was still awaiting confirmation.
Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the national emergency services, told the semi-official ISNA news agency that a helicopter had been sent to the area.

Kenya Airways becomes first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and USA

Kenya Airways starts ticket sales for its non-stop daily flight to New York Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways today marks a milestone with the launch of a non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York.

The national carrier starts selling today tickets for the inaugural flight which is scheduled for October 28th this year.

The airline already serves Africa, Europe, Middle-East, Indian sub-continent and Asia. The opening of the US destination completes an essential piece for Kenya Airways’ network, cementing its position as one of the leading African carriers. 

“This is an exciting moment for us. It fits within our strategy to attract corporate and high-end tourism traffic from the world to Kenya and Africa. We are honored to contribute to the economic growth of Kenya and East Africa,” said Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Sebastian Mikosz.

RJ - second most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa

Royal Jordanian ranked second in terms of punctuality among Middle East and African airlines with 80.67% on-time performance rate last year, according to OAG's 2018 Punctuality League study, released earlier this year.

The Punctuality League report is based on 57 million flight records; it uses full-year data from 2017 to rank the world’s airlines and airports best on-time performance (OTP).

OTP characterizes flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival/ departure times.

RJ’s President/CEO Stefan Pichler commented: “Let me congratulate our operations team for this outstanding performance. Punctuality is a must for any world-class airline.”

The airlines and airports that qualified for inclusion in the Punctuality League have flight status data for at least 80% of all scheduled flights operated by the airline or for the airport.

Five regional categories rank the best airlines, mainline and LCC, which are operating in groupings of IATA-defined global regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa (where RJ ranked second), Latin America and North America.

In each category, airlines must be ranked among the Top 250 operators globally in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) and must have operated a minimum of 18,000 scheduled flights in 2017 to qualify for inclusion.

According to oag.com, OAG is the leading global provider of digital flight information. It provides accurate, timely and actionable information and applications across the travel sector to the world. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has global operations in the US, Singapore, Japan and China.

Kenya Airways becomes first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and USA

Kenya Airways starts ticket sales for its non-stop daily flight to New York Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways today marks a milestone with the launch of a non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York.

The national carrier starts selling today tickets for the inaugural flight which is scheduled for October 28th this year.

The airline already serves Africa, Europe, Middle-East, Indian sub-continent and Asia. The opening of the US destination completes an essential piece for Kenya Airways’ network, cementing its position as one of the leading African carriers. 

“This is an exciting moment for us. It fits within our strategy to attract corporate and high-end tourism traffic from the world to Kenya and Africa. We are honored to contribute to the economic growth of Kenya and East Africa,” said Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Sebastian Mikosz.

Ethiopian to debut flight to Geneva

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, is pleased to announce that it will launch direct thrice weekly service to Geneva, Switzerland on June 3, 2018.

Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “Geneva hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world, making it a global hub for diplomacy. It’s a perfect complement to Addis our main hub and Africa’s diplomatic capital with the headquarters of the African Union and the UN-ECA (Economic Commission for Africa). 

Government officials and staff from regional and international organizations in Geneva and across our extensive African network will be able to enjoy seamless and convenient connectivity enabling to carry out their mission with ease and conveniences.”

The route will be operated with a Boeing 787-800, one of the most technologically advanced aircraft in the carrier’s fleet family, featuring up-to-date amenities with redefined travel experiences.

Africa World Airlines to add B767s for intercontinental routes

Africa World Airlines co-chairman Togbe Afede XIV has confirmed the Ghanaian carrier will introduce widebody aircraft to service intercontinental routes, reports ch-aviation.

Afede said three B767s would be added to enable the launch of flights to Europe, the United States, and South America.

"Subsequently we look forward to receiving three Boeing 767 that will enable us to connect Africa to London, New York, São Paulo Guarulhos, and Istanbul Atatürk ," he said.

Mauritanian carrier becomes the first in Africa to fly the newest version of the best-selling 737

Mauritania Airlines International today became the first operator in Africa of the new Boeing737-800.

"We are proud to be the first carrier in Africa to operate the 737 MAX," said Mohamed Radhi Bennahi, chief executive officer of Mauritania Airlines International. "The introduction of the 737 MAX into the growing Mauritanian fleet will help to profitably grow our network as we introduce new routes to Europe and the Middle East." 

According to Boeing, the 737 MAX delivers the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market by incorporating the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, the Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays, and other improvements. The efficiency gains have helped make the MAX the fastest selling airplane in Boeing history with more than 4,000 orders to date from 92 customers worldwide. 

"We are delighted that Mauritania Airlines International becomes the first operator of the MAX in Africa and I would like to thank everyone at the airline for their partnership and continued faith in the 737 program," said Marty Bentrott, senior vice president sales for Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Russia & Central Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 737 MAX will be a great addition to its fleet providing greater efficiency, range and passenger comfort to its operations."

Mauritania Airlines International serves more than 10 destinations across Africa and Europe from its base at Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport in Mauritania's capital city of Nouakchott.