http://www.airlinerworld.com 13News Review • Africa/Middle East
Air Namibia has lost its government subsidy
this year due to a lack of funds, reports
local news outlet New Era. “The Ministry
of Works and Transport would like to inform
Air Namibia that due to a very limited
ceiling (fund allocation) for July received
from [the] treasury, the ministry is unable to
pay for your government subsidy allocation,”
Works and Transport Permanent Secretary
Willem Goeiemann wrote in a letter to Air
Namibia Acting Manager Mandi Samson.
An airline spokesman told New Era the loss
of the subsidy could “potentially affect the
operations of the airline”. Minister of Works
and Transport, Alpheus !Naruseb said earlier
this year he wanted the carrier to be self-
supporting in the future.Fly540 and Fly SAX have both outlined
plans to launch domestic flights to Isiolo.
The flights will be the central Kenyan
airport’s first scheduled services. Business
Daily Africa reports the airport is waiting
on final clearance from the Kenya Civil
Aviation Authority. The Kenyan Government
is spending $16.4m on building the new
airport as part of its Vision 2030 strategy
which aims to make Isiolo a major tourist
centre. Swiss airline intelligence provider
ch-aviation reports the airport was due
to open at the end of June, but this has
been delayed because of additional work
required to improve the site’s drainage.Air Côte d’Ivoire has taken delivery of
its maiden new-build jet, Airbus A320-
214 TU-TSV (c/n 7742). The aircraft
was handed over to the airline at the
manufacturer’s Toulouse facility on July- The carrier operates two second-hand
A320s and five A319s. (Photo Airbus)
Dar es Salaam-based carrier Precision
Air will begin three times weekly flights
to Kahama in north west Tanzania on
September 5. “This will go a long way
toward the creation of better connectivity
throughout the republic, the growth of our
hub at Dar es Salaam, and the economy of
our country,” said the airline’s Corporate
Affairs Manager Hillary Mremi. “It is our
hope that this flight will be the basis of
opening up Kahama to the world.” It is
believed the services will be flown using
an ATR 42-500.Russia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and
Trade, Georgy Kalamanov, has revealed
discussions are taking place with several
African states regarding the proposed
lease of Sukhoi Superjet 100s. “Active
negotiations on the delivery of SSJ100s
are being carried out with many African
countries. First of all with Nigeria, Ghana,
and Namibia,” Kalamanov told Russian
news outlet Sputnik. This follows news
the manufacturer will supply five examples
to Zambia – four for a new regional start-
up and a VIP-configured jet for use by the
country’s president.in brief
Qatar Eyes American Investment
QATAR AIRWAYS has notified American
Airlines it is interested in acquiring up
to a 10% stake in the Dallas/Fort Worth-
based carrier in a deal worth around
$808m.
“The proposed investment by Qatar
Airways was not solicited by American
Airlines and would in no way change the
company’s board composition, govern-
ance, management or strategic direc-
tion,” the US carrier said in a statement.
The oneworld carrier has long accused
the Middle East three – Emirates, Etihad
and Qatar – of receiving government
subsidies, a charge all three airlines
deny.
The statement added: “It also does not
alter American Airlines’ conviction on the
need to enforce the Open Skies agree-
ments with the United Arab Emirates
and the nation of Qatar and ensure fair
competition with Gulf carriers, including
Qatar Airways. American Airlines contin-ues to believe that the President and his
administration will stand up to foreign
governments to end massive carrier
subsidies that threaten the US aviation
industry and that threaten US jobs.”
Despite this resistance Qatar Airways
CEO Akbar Al Baker told journalists at
the airline’s Dublin route launch that he
intended pushing on with the acquisition
of shares in American.
“Qatar Airways believes in American
Airlines’ fundamentals and intends to
build a passive position in the company
with no involvement in management,
operations or governance,” the Doha-
based carrier said. “Qatar Airways plans
to make an initial investment of up to
4.75%. Qatar Airways will not exceed
4.75% without prior consent of the
American Airlines board.”
In other news, Qatar Airways has axed
four Airbus A350-900s orders due to
delays in delivering the aircraft.The cancellation was included in the
manufacturer’s latest backlog data. “We
confirm that Qatar Airways has can-
celled four of their contractual A
delivery slots,” an Airbus spokesman
told Reuters, adding the decision was
related to “known supply chain issues”.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker
complained about the speed of
deliveries earlier this year and that
the slow rate put the airline eight
destinations behind schedule.
Qatar was the launch operator of the
A350 and currently has 19 aircraft in
service, including four examples leased
from LATAM Airways to cover the
delays. Later this year it will become
the first customer to fly the larger
-1000 variant, of which it has 37 exam-
ples on order.
Reuters also quoted al Baker as saying
the airline had placed an order for two
Boeing 747-8 freighters. (Photo Airbus)Niger Airlines Outlines Fleet Plans
NIAMEY-BASED Niger Airlines plans to
withdraw its two Fokker 50s by the end
of the year, replacing them with second-
hand ATR 72-500s. The airline, founded
in 2014, uses the turboprops on domes-
tic flights between Niamey, Zinder and
Agadez.
CEO Abdoul Aziz Larabou told African
Aerospace the arrival of the ATR 72s
will enable the carrier to expand its
network with international services to
Accra (Ghana), Bamako (Mali), Cotonou
(Benin), Dakar (Senegal), Lomé (Togo),
N’Djamena (Chad), and Ouagadougou
in Burkina Faso. Larabou added that
should the ATR 72-500s prove suited to
the carrier’s operations they could be
upgraded to newer -600 variants.
Niger Airlines plans to acquire a pair of
Airbus A320s for new routes to Libreville
in Gabon, Pointe Noire in the Republic
of Congo, and the Cameroonian cities of
Douala and Yaoundé.
“We are working with our financepartners and shareholders to buy the
two Airbus aircraft, which we should get
by 2019,” Larabou said.
The carrier also aspires to fly further
afield and is studying the introduction
of a pair of A330s for flights to Brussels,
Paris and Dubai.
Larabou confirmed the carrier was
engaged in talks with Tunisair and
Turkish Airlines about possible partner-
ships; however, these are dependent on
the fleet renewal being successful.Qeshm Air Arrives in Brussels
Iranian carrier Qeshm Air has launched new directs flights between Tehran/Imam Khomeini
and Brussels. The maiden flight touched down in the Belgian capital on June 27 and marked
the airline’s first scheduled service to Europe. The weekly rotation is operated using an Airbus
A319. JACK GORCZYNSKI