Airliner World – April 2018

South African Alters London Service

SOUTH AFRICAN Airways (SAA) will

introduce its Airbus A330-300 fleet

on flights to London from March 25.

As part of the changes, the carrier is

reducing the frequency of flights from

Johannesburg to Heathrow to a single

daily rotation.

“We have decided to focus on those

areas of our business that will enhance

our efficiencies, bring more value to

our customers and produce improved

overall performance of the airline,” said

SAA CEO, Vuyani Jarana. “Network

optimisation is one such area that can

contribute towards containing our

costs and we introduced some initia-

tives that must yield dividends to return

the business to commercial

sustainability in the shortest

time possible.”

The remodelling of the international

network follows a similar change to its

domestic and regional offering at the

end of last year.

Jarana said the A330-300 will provide

customers with a “significantly

improved onboard Business and

Economy product, with state-of-the-

art technology, increased comfort and

capacity”. (Photo Airbus)

Air Sénégal

Signs

A330neo

Deal

NATIONAL CARRIER Air Sénégal

has signed a firm order for two

Airbus A330neos. The fledgling

airline originally signed a

memorandum of understanding

(MOU) for the aircraft in November

at the Dubai Airshow.

The firm agreement was signed in

Dakar by Philippe Bohn, CEO Air

Sénégal, and Fouad Attar, Head

of Commercial Aircraft Airbus

Africa Middle East, during French

President Emmanuel Macron’s

state visit to the African nation.

“These A330neo aircraft will

contribute to developing our

medium- and long-haul network,”

remarked Bohn. “It is important

for us to begin our commercial

activities with aircraft that are

both reliable and economical,

while offering our passengers

unrivalled comfort.

"This order demonstrates our

ambitions for this new airline.”

Attar added: “We are pleased

to count Air Sénégal as a new

customer. These A330neos

will enable Air Sénégal to benefit

from unbeatable economics and

to offer its passengers an

outstanding level of comfort and

travel experience in its market.”

CemAir Resumes Flying

SOUTH AFRICAN carrier CemAir

introduced an interim schedule on

February 21 after being given the

green light to resume flying. Twelve of

the airline’s fleet had been grounded

since February 2 after the South

African CAA (SACAA) suspended their

airworthiness certificates.

“The decision to withdraw CoA

privileges follows the discovery during

an audit by SACAA inspectors that

some of the aircraft that were serviced

at CemAir’s Aircraft Maintenance

Organisation (AMO) were released

back to service or cleared as airworthy

by unqualified personnel,” the

regulator said in a statement.

The withdrawal forced Air Botswana

to suspend its direct Gaborone-Cape

Town service – flown with capacity

leased from CemAir.

Prior to services resuming, Miles van

der Molen, CEO of CemAir, said: “The

situation has lasted far longer than

expected, not due to the discovery of

further issues but rather because of

the SACAA’s undertaking to perform a

full review of all aspects of CemAir’s

aircraft maintenance division, which

in an organisation of our scale is a

substantial undertaking. The safety

and well-being of our customers,

our people and our aircraft is our

top priority.”

CemAir had chartered aircraft for a

handful of services during the ground-

ing. For unserved routes it rebooked

customers on alternative flights where

possible or refunded them.

FLAG CARRIER Oman Air has taken
delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8,
A4O-MA (c/n 43294). The jet, the first
of 30 examples the airline has on order,
was handed over on January 31.
“At Oman Air, offering the best possible
on-board experience is key to our suc-

cess and the 737 MAX has already

earned a reputation for its exceptional

performance, efficiency and guest

experience,” said Abdulaziz Al Raisi,

Acting CEO, Oman Air. “The aircraft

will be a perfect complement to our

737 family as we continue to expand

our operations and play an increasingly

active role in promoting Oman for

business as well as a unique tourism

destination, which is growing rapidly in

popularity with every passing year.”

Oman Air’s MAX 8 will seat 162

passengers in a two-class layout.

Business Class will consist of 12 newly

designed seats featuring a 17in Thales

Gen V, touchscreen AVANTE monitor.

Economy Class features 150 seats with

a similar 10.2in monitor.

Oman Air’s 30 aircraft order includes

ten leased jets. (Photo Boeing)

Oman Air Joins MAX Club

10 AIRLINER WORLD APRIL 2018

News Review • Africa/Middle East