Air Zimbabwe trying to secure French planes amid sanctions

Air Zimbabwe is reportedly struggling to register two airbus planes it bought from France because of European Union sanctions imposed on the southern African country.

Details emerging from several Air Zimbabwe sources reveal that the planes were bought through China Sonangol, a Chinese controlled oil company based in Angola.

Sonangol was reportedly roped in to circumvent the sanctions slapped on Zimbabwe in 2002.
Aviation sources said Eads, the French aircraft manufacturer was the supplier of the planes.
The sources said the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development entered into the deal with Sonangol.
Sonangol would then advance payment to Reliance Aerospace Solutions, an aviation consulting firm which would transfer the funds to Airbus.
In 2009, five deals worth US$8 billion were signed between the Zimbabwean government and Sonangol.

The deals were signed amid promises that they would help the country attract direct foreign investment into key sectors of the economy.

Air Zimbabwe seems to have been one of the beneficiaries with the purchase of the Airbus planes to replenish an ageing fleet.
With the procurement of the planes in place, several pilots and staff have been sent to various European countries for training but registration of the planes is now a stumbling block.
In July and August a team of pilots and stewards was dispatched to Toulouse in France and Madrid in Spain for training on the new aircraft.
The new aircraft will service Air Zimbabwe's long-haul routes – mainly to China and the United Kingdom.

Air Zimbabwe sources said the latest team sent to France to iron-out the deal came back empty handed.
"The first delivery was expected before September 20.
"What I see as the biggest challenge is the issue of ownership of the planes because the management of Air Zimbabwe have no idea where the money to buy the planes is coming from," said the source.
As if to collaborate the details, last week Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga told a parliamentary committee that 16 pilots had been sent for a 45-day course in preparation for delivery of new equipment.
Mavhunga, however, failed to say when the government would bring the new equipment, prompting MPs to conclude that the government, which is the majority shareholder was the one running Air Zimbabwe and not management.
Mavhunga said the airline was saddled with a $137, 7 million debt, $112, 7 million of it being internal debt.
Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche recently announced that government will soon take over Air Zimbabwe's debts.

Airline strike hits Zimbabwe hard

The national carrier has not been flying since the end of July due to a protracted wage strike by pilots.

The drop in tourist arrivals would affect the southern African country's chances of achieving a projected six percent growth this year.

In July, tourism authorities reported a 16 percent increase in tourist arrivals for the first quarter of 2011.

Zimbabwe Council for Tourism president Emmanuel Fundira said there has been a marked decline of tourists visiting the prime resort town of Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls, which is the southern African country’s drawcard for foreign tourists is losing its prime market share to Zambia due to the absence of Air Zimbabwe.

A limited number of tourists determined to view the Falls are resorting to using chartered flights or flying via South Africa but these options are expensive.

Tourists on small chartered flights with a capacity of 12 passengers fork out between US$4 000 and US$8 000 from Harare to Victoria Falls while commercial planes charge up to US$600 per passenger via Johannesburg.

Travelling by road is not an option for most tourists as it is time consuming. It would require two travelling days.

Hotels in Victoria Falls also been hit hard with low occupancy rates.

In his mid-term fiscal policy statement Finance Minister Tendai Biti who indicated that the tourism sector had registered growth during the first half of the year, bemoaned the challenges facing the national airline saying they were having a negative effect on the sector's growth.

With Air Zimbabwe grounded, it is losing close to US$8 million per month to foreign airlines, particularly South African Airways and Kenyan Airways which are servicing the routes.

Meanwhile, striking Air Zimbabwe pilots risk having their flying licenses revoked if they continue with their industrial action.

An aviation expert said pilots were subjected to regular tests to ensure that they were still capable of performing their duties.

He said in most instances pilots’ licences are valid for six months after which they have to undergo tests.

If, however, a pilot has not flown for about 90 days, they will undergo a simulator test. 

“At the moment that equipment is not available in Zimbabwe.

”Pilots operating long-haul planes will have to go to Ethiopia for testing while operators of small aircraft go to South Africa,” the expert said.

Air Zimbabwe: Hundreds stranded in China for weeks

OVER 200 Air Zimbabwe passengers have been stranded in China for the past two weeks after the airline’s pilots went on strike demanding unpaid salaries, officials said on Monday.

The pilots have vowed not to return to work until they are given US$200,000 each as full payment of arrears and salaries pending from last year.

Air Zimbabwe, which is struggling with $100 million debts, will be paying the stranded passengers’ hotel bills until it starts servicing the route.

“The situation is that we have not been flying to China for the past two weeks,” Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga said.

“We have been accommodating the passengers in hotels and those who we can re-route we are doing so. The cost varies from one hotel to another.”

The strike has affected some of the airline’s international services besides domestic and regional flights which have also been cancelled.

This is not the first time this year the pilots have downed tools.

They went on strike in January demanding to be paid their outstanding salaries and allowances.

They also embarked on another job boycott on March 22.

Air Zimbabwe pilots wants $200 000 to return to work

Air Zimbabwe pilots and management were yesterday still deadlocked over outstanding salaries and allowances. This was amid indications the strike by the pilots had impacted heavily on the airline's revenue.

The strike by the cockpit crew enters its seventh day today.

Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive Mr Innocent Mavhunga last night confirmed there was no headway over the matter because there was no money to pay the pilots.

"There is nothing yet because we still don't have the money but we are hoping that maybe by Wednesday (today) the board and the shareholder will come up with something.

Mavhunga said management, the board and the shareholder are trying their level best to solve this issue and in the meantime negotiations are continuing.

Mr Mavhunga said the strike was a major blow to the national airline, which was still trying to recover from the previous strike.

From the previous strike Air Zimbabwe lost about $5 million per month and this time around it is likely to go up.

Air Zimbabwe is currently incurring losses of about $3,5 million per month because of its bloated staff against generated income.

The national airline has already indicated it would cut its staff to around 409. Currently the airline employs over 1 300 workers. The pilots say they want $200 000 for them to return to work.

Air Zimbabwe grounded again following strike by pilots

A strike by Air Zimbabwe pilots entered its third day on Monday, crippling operations at the national flag carrier.

Pilots walked off the job on Friday after negotiations over salaries and allowances broke down. The airline’s regional manager for the UK and America, David Mwenga told SW Radio Africa he had been advised that as of Monday no agreement had been reached between the pilots, the airline board and management team. Mwenga said that “discussions between the stakeholders are ongoing with a view to get the pilots back to work.”

This is the second time in a month that pilots at the national airline have gone on strike demanding unpaid salaries and allowances for June and July.

The strike has left hundreds of passengers stranded on all its regional and international routes. Air Zimbabwe operates a daily Harare-Johannesburg route, a twice-weekly flight to London and a weekly flight to Beijing as its only international routes. All flights from the capital have been suspended due to the strike while the airline was forced to re-schedule some of its other flights.

The industrial action by the pilots is one of many to hit Air Zimbabwe in the last year alone. Two months ago, the airline was forced to cancel its flights to London and South Africa after fuel suppliers demanded up front cash payments until the carrier settled its debts. Apparently, the carrier owed US$1.6 million to fuel suppliers.

In May, 18 of its flights came to a halt for a week as the aircraft it was leasing from Zambezi Airlines was withdrawn over an unpaid US$460 000 debt. It is believed the national airline is crippled with more than US$100 million of debt, some of it accrued from a nearly month long strike between March 22 and April 20.