Ethiopian Airlines Receives AFRAA Award for Best Financial Performance

Addis Ababa- Ethiopian Airlines has earned another accolade from The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) for being consistently profitable over the years and recording the best financial results in 2010.

Ethiopian was honored with the prestigious award at the 43rd AFRAA Annual General Assembly held in Marrakesh, Morocco on November 21, 2011.

Mr. Yissehak Zewoldi, Vice President Alliances and Corporate Strategic Planning received the award at the event. Upon receiving the award Mr. Yissehak said, “It is indeed an honor for Ethiopian Airlines to receive such an award especially from fellow African carriers. This is a testimony in recognition of the persistent effort exerted by the airline to move the African Aviation to new heights.”

Ethiopian has received three prestigious awards in a row in 2011 for its outstanding service and achievements in the aviation industry.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the addition of new flight services to Milan, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 62 international destinations spanning four continents.

Recently, Ethiopian received the 2011 “AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR” Award for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and the 2009 “Airline of the Year” award from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). In August 2008, Ethiopian won “the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award” of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry. Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.

African aviation industry must improve safety - IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for a renewed focus on aviation safety to help Africa reap the benefits of aviation connectivity, as it expressed concern over the continent’s accident rate.

In 2005 Africa recorded nearly 10 hull losses per million flights with Western built jets. By 2008 that had been reduced to two. “That was still 2.5 times worse than the global average, but it was a significant step forward. In 2009, the rate jumped back to 9.94 and in 2010 it was 7.41. Two hull losses so far in 2011 put the rate at 4.33 against a global average of 0.37. The trend is once again in the right direction. And there have been no hull losses this year with IATA carriers. But aviation must be safe for all airlines and in all regions. And that means we have much work to do in Africa,” said IATA CEO and Director-General Tony TylerTyler, who was addressing airline CEOs, government leaders, policy makers and industry stakeholders at the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) AGM in Marrakech, Morocco.

“It is time again to muster the political will that we found in 2005 to improve safety. I have high expectations for the African Safety Summit’s two ambitious goals for 2015: to reduce Africa’s accident rate to the global average and to remove African carriers from the European list of banned airlines. IATA does not believe that banning carriers improves safety. Implementing global standards and best practices—as we do with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)—delivers results. None-the-less, the list of banned airlines is a political reality that is not going to disappear. And improving safety is incumbent on all in this industry. So we need to work together,” said Tyler.

In May the European Commission announced that airlines from 15 African countries were banned from flying to the European Union (EU) due to safety concerns.

Runway excursions are the biggest safety challenge for Africa, IATA said. Working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a revised Runway Excursion Risk Reduction Toolkit was produced this year. “For the toolkit to improve safety, it needs to be used - by airlines, air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airports,” said Tyler.

Tyler praised Nigerian Director General of Civil Aviation, Dr. Harold Demuren, who will complete his tenure in February 2012, for achievements in Nigeria. In 2005 it had the worst safety record on the continent with four of the eight hull losses in that year. Since 2007 Nigeria has had no hull losses. “Dr. Demuren’s leadership proved that world-class safety is possible in Africa. His work and many innovations should be an inspiration. Included among these, IOSA was made a requirement for long-haul operations from Nigeria. I urge other African governments to follow his example,” said Tyler.

IATA also called for a strong partnership to drive innovative solutions to the other challenges facing aviation in the region: security, environmental sustainability and infrastructure.

With COP-17 opening next week in Durban South Africa, Tyler repeated aviation’s commitment to environmental sustainability, through its targets of fuel efficiency improvements of 1.5% per year to 2020, carbon neutral growth from 2020, and a cut in net emissions of 50% by 2050 compared to 2005. He also noted the great opportunities for sustainable biofuels. “With the potential to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint by up to 80%, sustainable biofuels are an innovation that is a potential game changer. The challenge is commercialization. There is huge potential for Africa to develop local biofuels industries that could spread economic opportunities even in the most remote corner of the continent,” he said. Mozambique is already producing raw biofuel, which is being processed abroad and used by Lufthansa.

Regarding infrastructure, Tyler said the development of cost-effective infrastructure is crucial to the future health of African aviation. But infrastructure development fees are being imposed on airlines with little prior notification or consultation. The combined annual cost to airlines of three introduced since 2008 in Mali, Senegal and the DR Congo is over US$100 million, more than the African industry made in 2010. “Airlines and infrastructure providers share a common future. But we must safeguard and be guided by ICAO principles of non-discrimination, consultation, transparency, cost-relatedness and without pre-financing,” said Tyler.

African carriers posted a US$100 million profit in 2010. IATA expects the continent’s carriers to break even in 2011 and fall into losses of US$100 million in 2012. This is in line with a global trend of declining profitability in the face of global economic weakness.

“We must work together to ensure that every government in the continent understands aviation as an engine for sustainable development and a key pillar of economic strategy. Africa will benefit greatly by harnessing the power of a successful aviation industry. To ensure that aviation delivers on its potential, we must work together - industry and government - to ensure that aviation is safe secure, environmentally sustainable and well supported with efficient infrastructure,” said Tyler.

Ethiopian plane crash report still pending

An official report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash off Beirut that claimed 90 lives is due to appear later this year, nearly 22 months after the disaster took place.

Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said Wednesday a final report on the circumstances of the crash, minutes after taking off from Rafik Hariri International Airport in January 2010, would soon be released.

“We have all the information. And we’re quite sure it’s accurate,” Aridi said during a news conference at the airport, adding that his ministry would receive the joint investigation committee’s final draft on Aug. 10.

After that, he explained, the committee would have a period of 60 days to issue a final report.

“We cannot unilaterally announce the content as we are only a part of the investigation committee,” Aridi said, warning that “if any [further] delay happens … we will present the results.”

The joint investigation committee, managed by Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, is composed of Lebanese and Ethiopian representatives, along with individuals representing Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer.

But well-informed sources told The Daily Star that Aridi had been informed by a member of the investigation committee that the final report would not be finalized before “at least one month, if not more.”

The plane crashed into the Mediterranean less than four minutes after takeoff, after performing two maneuvers ordered by Beirut’s Air Traffic Control team. All 90 people aboard were killed.

Data contained in flight recorders retrieved from the crash site show how the aircraft turned slightly immediately after leaving runway 21, before being instructed to bank reasonably hard to its left.

It was during this move that the plane got into trouble, plunging 8,000 feet (2,432 meters) before disappearing from radar screens.

A statement aiming at presenting the different stages of the investigation’s advancement since Feb. 10 – when the last report was issued – was released during the conference.

The report said the investigation committee had recently received three reports on the analysis of the trim tab part of the plane’s rear, in an operation conducted in cooperation with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, and were expecting the final report to be release Aug. 10.

The NTBS also analyzed black spots found near the hot air exits of the auxiliary power unit, and discovered the spots weren’t caused by fire or hot temperature but oil.

The report also stated that the French Bureau of Investigations and Analysis for Civil Aviation’s Safety, working in cooperation with Boeing, were unable to recover a damaged segment on one of the retrieved five cockpit voice recorders.

During a news conference in February, Aridi had already said he knew the causes of the crash, but was waiting for an agreement between the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing to be finalized before releasing the ministry’s final report.

At the time, he said a full analysis into the causes behind flight ET409’s crash would be available before the end of July.

The minister said he wanted “to assure people that our commitment [to finding out exactly what happened] will not be abandoned.”

“We call on the Lebanese to be patient and to avoid drawing conclusions,” he added.

Air Zimbabwe sinks deeper

The crisis at Air Zimbabwe is set to worsen on Wednesday with threats by Zambezi Airlines to withdraw its aircraft leased to the beleaguered parastatal unless it paid $460 000 owed to the Zambian firm, NewsDay can reveal.

Sources told NewsDay on Tuesday night that Zambezi Airlines was likely to withdraw the aircraft it is leasing to Air Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

“Zambezi Airlines have given us up to Wednesday (today) to pay the $460 000 instalment which we were supposed to have paid on June 15. They had threatened to withdraw their aircraft on Monday but they have since given us up to Wednesday (today) to sort ourselves out,” said the source who requested anonymity.

Contacted for comment on Tuesday, Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive Innocent Mavhunga only said the airline had numerous problems which they were trying to address and that he was presently in meetings and as such could not comment.

The national airline is leasing an aircraft from Zambezi Airlines to service regional routes after its fleet of Boeing 737s was condemned by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe early this year.

Air Zimbabwe is reeling under a heavy debt and last week, local suppliers of A1 Jet reportedly stopped supplying them with fuel, because the airline had failed to service its $1,6 million debt.

The airline had to cancel flights because of that. Pilots are also reportedly threatening to down tools over a salary dispute while the National Social Security Authority plans to attach Air Zimbabwe properties over unremitted workers’ pension contributions.

Air Zimbabwe is reportedly saddled with a $100 million debt.

On This Day in Aviation History: May 5th

2008 – Philippine Airlines’ regional carrier PAL Express began operations with 8 daily flights between Manila and Malay with Bombardier Dash-8-400 turboprops.
2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507, a Boeing 737-800 (5Y-KYA) scheduled to fly to Nairobi, Kenya, crashes just after takeoff from Douala, Cameroon. All 114 occupants are killed after the pilot departs without clearance and then does not realize the aircraft is banking hard to the right in time for correction due to improper auto-pilot inputs. The aircraft strikes a forested swamp a few miles to the south of the airport, where a reporter would find one year later that aircraft wreckage and human remains are still present.
2007 – Eos Airlines begins flights from London Stansted to Newark Liberty International Airport with their 48-seat, all-business class Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
2006 – Siberia Airlines renames itself to S7 Airlines and repaints its to a bright green, which is partly so the aircraft can be spotted among the tundra of Russia in the event of a crash.
2004 – Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines merge, forming the creative name of Air France-KLM. The newly combined Paris-based carrier creates a combined total of flights to 225 destination worldwide.
1998 – A Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737-200 (FAP-351) operating on lease to Occidental Petroleum crashes in a thunderstorm while on a non-directional beacon (NDB) approach, killing 75 of the 88 aboard.
1993 – Jet Airways begins commercial operations with four Boeing 737-300 airliners.
1990 – A Douglas DC-6 (N84BL) operated by Aerial Transit Company crashes after takeoff from Guatemala City, Guatemala, killing all 3 on the aircraft and an additional 24 on the ground. The cargo flight, destined for Miami, develops engine trouble and strikes the ground while trying to make its way back to the airport.
1983 – Eastern Airlines Flight 855, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar (N334EA), avoids disaster after experiencing trouble on all three of its engines on a flight from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas. In a move that would later be pivotal to their survival, the crew shuts down the #2 engine after it receives a low oil pressure warning light while descending through 15,000ft. The crew decides to return to their Miami base on the remaining two engines, which should not be a problem until the same light illuminates for engines #1 and #3, both of which soon flame out five minutes apart. Since the #2 tail engine is the only one intentionally shut down as a precaution, it still has enough oil to restart as the aircraft glides toward the ocean through 4,000ft, preparing the ditch. Miraculously, the Tristar is able to make a one-engine landing at Miami, saving the lives of all 172 people aboard. The cause is attributed to mechanics who failed to apply all the O-ring seals on the master chip detector assemblies, leading to the loss of lubrication on the engines.
1972 – Alitalia Flight 112, a flight from Rome to Palermo, Italy, crashes into Mount Longa while approaching at night. The Douglas DC-8-43 (I-DIWB “Antonio Pigafetta”) had strayed from the published approach pattern, killing all 115 onboard.
1972 – Western Airlines Flight 407 is hijacked by a 21-year-old Michael Lynn Hansen, who had sneaked on a .38 caliber pistol in a hallowed book, just after departure from Salt Lake City, Utah. Demanding to go to North Vietnam, the Boeing 737-200 first stops at its scheduled destination of Los Angeles for fuel. Hansen then changes his mind and says he’d rather go to Cuba, and a stop is made in Tampa for more gas before successfully continuing on to Havana. He would be extradited back to the United States in 1975.
1972 – Eastern Airlines Flight 175 is hijacked by a man named Richard Hahneman after departing Allentown, PA, demanding $303,000 and 6 parachutes. After receiving the ransom after landing in Washington-Dulles, Hahneman insists on flying to New Orleans for fuel before heading to Honduras, where he would successfully parachute out. He is caught by Honduran soldiers a few days later.
1968 – The twin-engine Grumman Gulfstream II becomes the first executive jet to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The 3,500-mile trip to London departs from Teterboro, New Jersey.
1965 – Iberia Flight 401 crashes on its second approach to runway 30 at Tenerife, Spain. The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation (EC-AIN), attempting landing in weather below minimums, strikes construction equipment while initiating its second go-around. Of the 49 onboard, 30 perish.
1961 – Alan Shepard, aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft, becomes the first American and the second human to enter space. The 15-minute flight sent him 116 miles above the Earth.
1958 – A Royal Air Force Miles Marathon T.2 (XA253) crashes after landing at Topcliffe RAF Station in the UK after the crew accidentally retracts the landing gear instead of raising the flaps.
1930 – Amy Johnson begins her 19-day journey from England to Australia in a de Havilland D.H.60 Moth, becoming the first woman to do so.