Qatar Airways announces launch dates for new routes

Qatar Airways is gearing up for yet another year of massive expansion with the announcement of launch dates for new routes in Africa, Europe and Australia.
The African expansion drive is set to continue with scheduled services starting to the Rwandan capital Kigali on March 21.
Zagreb will boost the airline’s European portfolio further with the launch of flights to the Croatian capital from May 9.
And beginning July 3, Qatar Airways adds Perth as its second route in Australia.
Ahead of the newly-announced launch dates, Qatar Airways is busy preparing for its 2012 route expansion programme which starts on February 1 with new services to the south eastern European cities of Baku and Tbilisi in Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively. Plans are also underway to begin flights to Zanzibar (Tanzania), Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Mombasa (Kenya) and Helsinki (Finland).
At the height of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the airline unveils its second Australian route, to the Western city of Perth. Since launching flights to Australia in December 2009 with direct services to Melbourne, Qatar Airways has been considering additional capacity Down Under and will soon offer Perth.
Last year, Qatar Airways’ expansion focused on Europe with the introduction of seven new routes – Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart, Venice, Sofia and Oslo, taking its European capacity to 27 destinations.
The addition of Baku, Tbilisi and Zagreb is a significant move for the airline, probing underserved markets which have limited capacity. All three routes will provide excellent connections to diverse destinations across the airline’s rapidly-growing international network.
Kigali, rich in mining and a key African business centre, becomes the latest stop on Qatar Airways’ 16-strong city African network, which last year saw two destinations added on the Continent – Entebbe and Benghazi.
Operating via Entebbe, the daily Kigali flights provide excellent connections over Qatar Airways’ Doha hub to cities across the Middle East, Europe and Far East.
Flights to Kigali and Zagreb will be operated with an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy.
Following on from a highly successful launch of scheduled flights to Melbourne, Qatar Airways is venturing further into Australia with thrice-weekly non-stop services to Perth. The route will be upgraded to a daily service from December 1.
The Perth route will be operated with the long range version of the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft featuring 259 seats, configured in two-classes – 42 seats in Business Class that convert into fully horizontal flat beds, and 217 seats in Economy Class.
Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar al-Baker said the airline was expanding on different continents as part of its aggressive growth strategy to open up new routes to key business and leisure destinations.
“We are delighted to be forging ahead with our expansion with today’s announcement of dates for three new routes on three continents,” he said.
“These are exciting times for Qatar Airways as we begin our route expansion programme in just a few days’ time by inaugurating services to two European capital cities.
“In keeping with our highly focused and tailored growth strategy to enter underserved and thriving markets all over the world, the latest additions very much match our plans to open up a host of new destinations.”
Added al-Baker: “I am extremely confident that the wave of new route announcements for 2012 will bring much excitement to our passengers and partners in the new destinations, as well as across our global network.”
Qatar Airways now flies to 110 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet of 104 aircraft. By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve over 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.

South African Airways launches flights to Kigali and Bujumbura

South African Airways launched flights to two more destinations on the African continent from Johannesburg to Kigali in Rwanda and onwards to Bujumbura in Burundi. This is in line with the airline’s Africa growth plans.

The flights will operate from Johannesburg to Kigali (Rwanda) and onwards to Bujumbura (Burundi). The return flights will operate from Bujumbura to Kigali and onwards to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International airport. Travellers and freight on the Kigali-Bujumbura-Kigali sectors will allow for growth in the Great Lakes region of Central and Eastern Africa, thereby increasing intra-regional connectivity.

“South African Airways is focused on strengthening its intra-Africa network in line with its Africa Expansion strategy. Adding even more destinations to our already extensive Africa route network gives our customers more travel options to exciting destinations that were previously difficult to reach by air,” says Theunis Potgieter, SAA General Manager Commercial.

In addition to being the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali is also its economic, cultural and tourist transit hub. Bujumbura is Burundi’s capital and largest city and is close to the country’s main port, shipping coffee as its primary export. The route between Johannesburg to Kigali and onwards to Bujumbura will be serviced three times a week by SAA’s A319 aircraft which accommodate 120 passengers in a two class (business and economy) configuration. The flight is scheduled to connect with the rest of SAA’s African and international route network.

Kenya working towards conditions needed for direct flights to US

Kenya is yet to meet all conditions needed to allow for direct flights to the United States of America.

This has prompted the Government to look at the regulatory side of the aviation industry and align it to international standards called category one.

“The government has approved the re-categorisation and restructuring of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority as the first step towards attaining category one status,” Transport minister, Amos Kimunya said.

Category one status is the threshold required and recognised by the US to allow for aircraft to fly over its airspace.

Mr Kimunya said he met with authorities from the US on Tuesday and deliberated on outstanding issues to be met by Kenya before being granted the green-light to launch direct flights.

He was speaking during the official launch of the refurbished British Airways lounge at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday.

The minister said the flights would reduce travelling time by passengers plying the two countries and the cost of horticultural produce in the US from Kenya.

Currently, the airport is limited by facilities to separate the arrivals and departure sections of the airport. The need for separation became more pronounced after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

The aviation authority has also been riddled with personnel problems due to its incapacity to retain qualified staff.

The authority has faced an exodus of flights operators, inspectors and other technical experts because it cannot meet market pay rates.

The few that are available are absorbed by other private entities who offer them a better pay.