Air Zimbabwe Needs $4 Million to End Pilot Strike....

Air Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe national flag carrier, needs at least $4 million to pay pilots to end a strike that began on March 23, Newsday reported, citing acting Chief Executive Officer Innocent Mavhunga.
The airline can’t afford arrears it owes to pilots and engineers after it last year cut salaries to between $1,000 and $1,500 a month from between $3,000 and $7,000, the Harare-based newspaper cited Mavhunga as saying yesterday.
Air Zimbabwe employs 49 pilots, though of the company’s aircraft, only two Boeing 767s, two Boeing 737s and one MA60 are currently functioning, Newsday said.

Air Zimbabwe striking pilots finally decided to ends & flights will resume on Sunday .

Strike by Pilots employed by state-owned Air Zimbabwe has been call off. The strike went before a couple of weeks. The reason for strike by the pilots was that the pilots are demanding to be paid outstanding allowances, according to the Harare-based broadcaster. The airline doesn’t have enough cash to pay the pilots and hasn’t taken any action to avert or end the strike.
Now the issues of salaries seems solved according our secret journalist and outstanding are resolved by the Air Zimbabwe’s administration. And the pilots decided to ends the long week strike and flights will resume hopefully on Sunday.

Air Zimbabwe workers seize assets

Air Zimbabwe's who are payable nearly US$4, 00,000 in unpaid salaries and bonuses yesterday attached property that includes management vehicles.

Efforts to stop the attachment and subsequent auctioning of the assets failed at the High Court yesterday.

The properties, attached by the deputy sheriff last Friday, can now be auctioned anytime despite protests by Air Zimbabwe that this will paralyze its already obstructed operations.

Pilots are on strike and the airline has for the past two weeks been transferring passengers to other carriers.

Air Zimbabwe is incurring a monthly loss of US$3,5 million and all its craft on all routes - when operating - are incurring losses.

Some of the properties were attached in November last year, but had not been auctioned because of legal challenges.

Yesterday, High Court judge, Justice Andrew Mutema, dismissed with costs an urgent chamber application for stay of execution by Air Zimbabwe lawyer Mr Selby Hwacha.

Justice Mutema said the High Court had no jurisdiction on the matter.

"The door is now shut on Air Zimbabwe. The deputy sheriff has already removed things and they are going to be sold," said Caleb Mucheche of Matsikidze and Mucheche, who represented the disgruntled workers.

In his application, Hwacha said the airline's operations "will be irreparably affected if execution is allowed to proceed". He said the national airline was an important and strategic State institution.

"The attachment and or notice to remove and sell applicants' property is so manifestly unlawful that an inference of improper conduct is sustainable," Hwacha had argued.

He also challenged the impartiality of Arthur Manase, the arbitrator in the case between Airzim and its workers.

"On November 18, 2010 following a similar application, this honourable court issued as an order by consent directing that the first respondent Mr Arthur Manase, who had dealt with the matter before, be directed again to determine whether or not the date due to the second (Air Transport Union) and third (National Air Workers Union) for salary and bonus November and December 2009 had been discharged. "It is worthy of mention that the matter has had a troubled background...

"There are serious issues as to whether or not Mr Manase has acted impartially in this matter."

Kenya Airways targets region with new cargo freighter

National flag carrier Kenya Airways will deploy the new cargo freighter to serve the East African region when it arrives later this year.

The freighter, the first of its kind in the KQ fleet, will address the latent demand for air freight within the region, spreading to the Central African region and covering Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and southern Sudan.

Kenya Airways Cargo General Manager Sauda Rajab made the announcement during the annual agents’ awards ceremony in Nairobi during which the airline hosted hundreds of the cargo agents, freight forwarders and logistics companies.

"We have already sent a team to the United States to review a potential Boeing 737 cargo freighter but we are confident that we will take delivery of the aircraft by the third quarter of this year," said Rajab.

She explained that the cargo division’s announcement of the impending delivery of a specialized freighter had stirred the market as there was pent up demand for faster movement of goods within the East African and Great Lakes region.

"The freighter will take up the cargo that is not able to go into the relatively smaller Embraer E170 aircraft that currently serve the region," she noted.

To augment the expansion of its cargo capacity, Rajab said that KQ Cargo was keen to establish a online cargo booking and tracking system to be shared with other agencies and players in the cargo freighting sector.

"We are currently in discussions with the Kenya Revenue Authority to establish a Cargo Community System that will automate the manual cargo booking that is currently in use.

"It will operate in a similar manner to the passenger booking system," she said, adding that once the vendors are identified, she will provide a comprehensive update.

The Cargo Community System will be integrated into the E- Freight platform, on which KQ Cargo went live in December last year.

"This is a cog in the wheel of automating cargo freighting which is currently laden with tedious paper processing.

"A single transaction requires at least 30 forms of paper to be filled in and processed at any one time, making the booking, transport and clearing unnecessarily long," she said.

Rajab noted that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which is championing E-Freight had given KQ Cargo an automation target for December 2011.

"We are now expected to process 10 per cent of our total cargo volume through the E-Freight system by the end of this year," she said.

.

Zimbabwe Fresh Fears Over Mugabe's Health in Livingstone, Zambia

Livingstone, Zambia — President Robert Mugabe moved around in a golf cart during the Thursday summit of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) troika on peace and security, sparking fresh speculation about the 87-year-old ruler's health.
Travelling with a large entourage that included six medical people, Mugabe had difficulties disembarking from the Air Zimbabwe chartered flight at Livingstone International Airport.
With one bodyguard in front and one on the left, Mugabe walked slowly to the dais where he was again assisted to climb up for the singing of the national anthems.
During the summit at Zambezi Sun Hotel in the resort town in southern Zambia, Mugabe moved around in a golf cart.

Even disembarking from the golf cart required his optimum concentration and holding of supporting metal bars while his counterparts walked freely.

Last month, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba, in what should be a first in the former guerilla leader's presidency, announced that his boss had undergone a surgical operation to remove cataracts in his eyes in Singapore.

The announcement followed intense speculation during Mugabe's annual leave that he was suffering from prostate cancer and had visited a hospital in the Far East.

Zanu PF has chosen Zimbabwe's only ruler since independence to represent it in presidential elections expected later this year.

But analysts' doubt that he would be fit enough to see through the usually vigorous election campaign.

His major rival would be the 59-year-old Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who beat Mugabe in the first round of the 2008 presidential elections but failed to garner the majority required to claim the presidency.

Air Zimbabwe Pilots call off strike for Bob!

President Robert Mugabe together with his massive delegation and elaborate security has caused a stir at a luxury hotel in Zambia.
Zimbabwe's octogenarian leader, who was visibly not feeling well, jetted into Livingstone, Zambia, this week on a Zimbabwe plane accompanied by heavy security, ministers and plenty of aides - despite Air Zimbabwe pilots being on strike. Officials, however, said pilots were "required to temporarily call off the strike" if Mugabe wants to travel.
He was attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit.
On arrival at the Zambezi Sun Hotel, Mugabe was surrounded by more than 60 people. More than 40 of them arrived on the same plane as Mugabe while about 15 had come as an advanced delegation. Curious Zambians and tourists stared in awe.
The situation was worsened by members of the Zambian protocol and government officials, who had come to welcome the 87-year-old leader.
The veteran Zimbabwe leader, who appeared to struggle while walking, slowly made his way to a golf cart which took him to his executive suite.
Tourists, guests and SADC officials watched as Mugabe was driven to his room surrounded by bodyguards and officials on foot. It was difficult for photographers to get a good picture of Mugabe. Another cart with more bodyguards and protocol officials followed behind.
Even when he left the hotel for lunch, Mugabe used the golf cart to get to his vehicle.
South African President Jacob Zuma had less than 12 people around him and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai six.

Cameroon gets new national airline, launches its first flights!

The launch of a new national airline for Cameroon in Africa. Camair-Co has begun operations from Douala airport with a single 767-300 (with 210 seats including 30 in Business class) and a single 737-700, configured with 128 seats including 12 in Business class. According to the airline’s website, the route network comprises double-daily domestic flights to Yaoundé (morning and evening) and a mid-day flight that goes from Douala to Garoua, Garoua to Maroua, and finally from Maroua back to Douala. This flight operates three-times weekly. There is also a three-times weekly service from Douala to Garoua, Garoua to Ndjaména (in Chad), and Ndjaména back to Douala. These flights are operated by the airline’s 737.

The airline’s widebody 767 operates six-times weekly from Douala to Paris CDG via Yaoundé. The inaugural flight left Cameroon on Monday 28 March.

Experienced management team

Lufthansa Consulting has been involved in the formation of the airline and Lufthansa Technik will provide line maintenance. The CEO is Alex van Elk, COO Matthijs Boertien, CFO Roy Harrypersad, and CCO Christian Perchat. Prior to joining Camair-Co, van Elk was Managing Director of Arik Air in Nigeria, and before that was CEO of Weeze Airport in Germany. Boertien was formerly CEO of Denim Air in the Netherlands and helped launch Amsterdam Airlines. Harrypersad was previously CFO at both Caribbean Airlines and DHL Express Americas. In total, the airline currently employs 330 people.

Air France, Brussels Airlines and Swiss already serve Cameroon

Douala is already connected non-stop to three European hubs; Brussels, Paris CDG and Zurich thanks to Brussels Airlines (three flights per week), Air France (daily) and Swiss (four flights per week). All three of these carriers also operate to Yaoundé, the country’s capital.