africanflyer

According to posted schedules, Ethiopian will serve Lubumbashi, DRC as of the end of October. Flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays as part of a triangle route that includes Harare, Zimbabwe.

ET871 ADD - HRE: 940 - 1255
ET871/870 HRE - FBM: 1340 - 1510
ET870 FBM - ADD: 1555 - 2050

Kenya Airways will operate three of its six weekly flights to Guangzhou nonstop from Nairobi beginning at the end of October. The remaining flights will operate via Bangkok.

According to reports by FlightGlobal, Arik Air is in negotiations to purchase two A345s that were slated for India-based Kingfisher Airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines will return to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso with 3x per week service beginning October 26. Flights will be operated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

ET907 ADD - OUA: 930 - 1420
ET946 OUA - ADD: 930 - 2015

Afriqiyah Airways will begin 3x per week service between Tripoli, Libya and Dubai, UAE on September 23 using A319 aircraft.

8U650 TIP - DXB: 900 - 1615 Wednesdays and Sundays
8U651 DXB - TIP: 1715 - 2115

8U650 TIP - DXB: 500 - 1215 Tuesdays and Fridays
8U651 DXB - TIP: 1315 - 1715

A 49% stake in Air Malawi was sold to South Africa’s Comair, which was chosen as a strategic partner by the government of Malawi.

Air Seychelles is reportedly grounding two B762s on lease from XL Leisure Group following the latter’s suspension of services following its entry into administration today. Air Seychelles leased the aircraft from XL in a deal that includes maintenance, without which, the airline cannot operate the leased aircraft.

Afriqiyah this week took delivery of the first of three A319s it has on order.

EgyptAir has been revealed as the airline which ordered two B773ERs from Boeing. It is scheduled to receive the first of four total aircraft in January 2010.

Air Arabia will launch service between Sharjah, UAE and Nairobi, Kenya on October 26. Flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using A320 aircraft.

G9 SHJ - NBO: 940 - 1350
G9 NBO - SHJ: 1435 - 2040

Virgin is reportedly in discussion to sell its 49% stake in Virgin Nigeria. The deal is also likely to see Virgin, chaired by Sir Richard Branson, remove its branding from the airline once it finds a buyer.

Etihad will reportedly begin new service to Nigeria linking its hub in Abu Dhabi with Lagos and Abuja as a triangle route operated 4x per week. While no schedules have been posted, the airline announced that it intends to launch this service next year.

Air Mauritius will stop service to Syndey, Australia effective September 1 as it reduces growth and capacity owing to high fuel prices and softening demand. The airline will continue to serve Melbourne, which will see nonstop service. The airline will however operate services to Sydney for the winter peak period of December through January.

Air Mauritius will also switch its service to Switzerland from its current destination, Geneva, to Zurich effective January 18, 2009.

Lufthansa has applied and received permission from the US Department of Transportation for Ethiopian Airlines to place its code (to code share) on LH flights between Europe and the United States. The approval, which is initially based on service between Frankfurt and the cities of San Fransisco and Los Angeles per the application, allows for Ethiopian to place its code effective August 1.

V Australia has reportedly applied for 5x per week service between Sydney, Australia to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Air Seychelles has signed an agreement with ILFC for the lease of a B763, which will join two existing aircraft of the same type and a B762. The new aircraft will be delivered in the fall of 2008.

Arik Air has increased its order for B737s to 17 from its last order of ten. The airline also has five B773s and seven B789s on order.

Ethiopian Airlines has leased and taken delivery of two B752s from Babcock & Brown on 5-year terms. Both aircraft were previously leased to now defunct ATA Airlines.

EgyptAir formally joined Star Alliance on Friday, becoming the 21st member of the group.

Arik Air has been reportedly granted four slots at London Heathrow, with service expected to start in November. The airline is also working on securing additional slots that would allow it to serve Heathrow daily.

Ethiopian Airlines and newly formed West African airline “Asky” have reportedly signed an MoU to form a strategic partnership which will see Asky operating out of a new hub in Lome, Togo. Ethiopian will hold a stake of up to 20% in the new airline which is expected to take flight before the end of 2008, operating up to 8 leased aircraft on local, regional and long haul routes.

Emirates has deferred plans to serve Durban from Dubai. No new launch date has been announced.

Sudan’s aviation authorities grounded Sudan Airways on Monday citing administrative failures such as not updating operations manuals. The airline did however get a last minute reprieve on the condition that it will be subjected to another audit in two weeks.

Virgin Nigeria will inaugurate service to Libreville, Gabon from its base in Lagos, Nigeria on June 23. Flights will operate on Mondays and Fridays using B733s.

VK823 LOS - LBR: 900 - 1230
VK822 LBR - LOS: 1320 - 1640

Ethiopian Cargo will reportedly move its freighter service from Brussels to Liège (also in Belgium) effective June 16.