Iberia Airline will begins Flights to Accra from Madrid in July

Accra-Ghana: Madrid-based Airline, Iberia, is set to begin scheduled flights to Accra from Madrid from July this year.

The airline will however start its operations in partnership with British Airways which merged with Iberia in 2010.

Ghana's commercial manager for British Airways James Wooldridge told Joy Business they will offer seamless travelling experience to their passengers.

He added that Iberia hopes to capitalize on the structures of British Airways to reduce their cost of operations

About 40 airlines could be operating from the Kotoka International Airport by the close of this year as four international airlines are due to start operations. They include: China Eastern Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air Canada and Royal Jordanian Airlines

United continues international network shifts and drops flights to Accra in Ghana

United is moving international capacity around its largest hubs in what appears to be an effort to maximize its network now that a crucial passenger service system cutover is complete. The IT system cutover allows United and Continental, whose merger is now complete, to fully utilize the combined networks and properly cross-fleet to operate optimal-sized aircraft in United's markets. One of the more prominent changes is the elimination of flights to Accra from United's Washington Dulles hub, which was the carrier's first point in Africa when the route was launched in 2010. Other changes include the seasonal elimination of flights from Washington to Moscow and from Newark to Rome.

The changes will support an overall revised capacity forecast for United this year. The carrier has refined its 2012 capacity guidance from an overall decrease of 0.5% to 1.5%, compared with a previous estimate of between growth of 0.5% and a drop of 0.5%. United's international capacity is now projected to grow this year by 0.3% to 1.3%, but some of that will be driven by new long-haul flights from Washington Dulles to Doha beginning in May, followed by Dulles to Manchester and Dublin.

United has just introduced flights from its Newark hub, which was a legacy Continental stronghold, to Buenos Aires. The new service is in essence a route transfer from United's Washington Dulles hub. Flights to Buenos Aires from Continental's legacy Houston hub, which is the carrier's gateway from Latin America, are remaining intact.

US DoT data show for 2011 United's load factor on the Washington-Buenos Aires pairing was roughly 70.5%, while the Houston flights recorded loads of 79%. The New York market is much larger than the Washington, DC metro market, so United saw an opportunity to increase passenger flows by moving the flights to Newark. It has a broader international footprint from Newark, which allows a wider breadth of passengers from Europe to connect to the Buenos Aires flights.

Feed to and from Latin America is becoming increasingly important to United and all US carriers operating to and from the region, since its performance has remained consistent while traffic to other regions has suffered due to economic uncertainty. IATA's figures show traffic growth to Latin America of 7.6% in January and 13.3% in February, though the association did warn February traffic levels where somewhat inflated due to the Brazilian carnival holiday occurring a month earlier in 2012.

United has said that Latin America was its best performing entity during the fourth quarter and full year 2011. United earlier reported that passenger unit revenue grew in Latin America by 11.7% year-over-year for 4Q2011 and 17.6% for the full year.

Emirates proposes more Heathrow flights

Emirates bosses are hopeful that a radical plan involving steep landing descents will allow the airline to operate more flights in and out of London's Heathrow airport, reports the Financial Times.

The Gulf carrier says it can cut noise levels on its A380 fleet by flying the big airliners into Heathrow on steeper descents and landing them part way down the tarmac to reduce the volume for nearby homes.

Aircraft are currently banned from take-off and landing at Heathrow between midnight and 6am, but Emirates hope to reduce the curfew to between 1am and 4am.

"If you can demonstrate the noise profile is much quieter, why not look at that as a means of growing capacity," Emirates president Tim Clark told the Financial Times.

He insists the plan - which would allow the jumbos to land 1km along the 4km runway - is safe, although admits it needs further development.

The British government has committed to maintaining the Heathrow curfew until 2014 while the Transport Department will later this year start to consider future operating hours.

Air France-KLM March Traffic, Capacity Rise - Update

Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM reported Tuesday increases in passenger traffic, capacity and load factor for the month of March and its first quarter. The company saw favorable comparisons in March, absent events such as the Japanese tsunami and the political crisis in Ivory Coast that hit last year's traffic.

Passenger traffic for the month grew 6.8 percent 18.34 billion revenue pax-kilometers or RPKs from 17.17 billion RPKs in the previous year. The company said it has restated passenger data to include the passenger business of Martinair.

Capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers or ASKs, improved 1.8 percent to 22.22 billion ASKs. Unit revenue per available seat kilometer ex-currency improved in a context of a sharp rise in the fuel price, the company stated.

Load factor for the month increased 3.8 points to 82.5 percent from 78.7 percent a year ago. The number of passengers carried stood at 6.37 million, up 6.3 percent from last year.

The European network traffic, including France, improved 7.2 percent and capacity was up 2.7 percent. Load factor increased 3 points and stood at 71.9 percent.

On the Americas network, capacity increased 2.5 percent and traffic rose 9.7 percent. Load factor increased 5.8 points to 88.2 percent.

Meanwhile, cargo traffic for the month declined 3.4 percent to 995 revenue tonne-km and load factor dropped 2 points to 69.2 percent. Capacity edged down 0.6 percent to 1,438 available tonne-km.

For the first quarter, passenger traffic grew 5.5 percent to 51.73 billion RPKs and capacity increased 1.6 percent to 63.39 billion ASKs. The number of passengers grew 5.6 percent to 17.46 million and load factor improved 3.1 points to 81.6 percent.

In Paris, Air France-KLM shares are currently trading at 3.92 euros, down 0.08 percent.

Kenya Airways to start direct flights to New Delhi

Kenya Airways has announced its commencement of flights to New Delhi the Indian Capital city, starting May 15, 2012. The much anticipated service marks Kenya Airways' 57th global destination and second in India. The launch of this new route highlights KQ's efforts to provide seamless travel and accessibility to travellers from Africa to Indian subcontinent and vice versa.

Kenya Airways flights to New Delhi will be four times a week on a Boeing 767-300. The new route highlights Kenya Airways ambitious growth plans to expand its network as part of its 10-year growth strategy. "New Delhi is the second city after Mumbai that we will be flying to India, we intend to open four more destinations in the subcontinent as part of our 10-year expansion strategy," said Dr Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

Kenya Airways remains the fastest growing airline in the continent and is pursuing a network expansion strategy that targets to link all African countries with the world, making it the airline of choice for travellers in the continent. India has been aggressively promoting trade with Africa as it seeks to gain access to the continent's emerging markets.

The new route to Delhi seeks to expand and promote the bilateral and commercial relations between India and the African region. Kenya Airways, a Sky Team Member, operates 3 flights a week from Muscat to Nairobi and offers excellent Holiday Safari packages to Kenya.

Ethiopian Airlines announces flights to Seychelles

Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Airlines announced the launch of nonstop flights to Seychelles from Addis Ababa beginning 01 April 2012.

The Airlines is pleased to begin services to Seychelles, which is famous for its beauty and the home of two UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites, according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian.

The CEO underscored that the Airlines is among the leading transporters and has fulfilled the necessary safety requirements.

Ethiopian Airlines used to fly to the Seychelles 32 years ago, which was disrupted due to capacity and other reasons.
In a harsh time where many airlines companies are closing due to the rising fuel cost, Ethiopian Airlines has managed to fly to more destinations with its established cost effective system to fulfil its aim of becoming a globally leading one by 2025.

Culture and Tourism Minister of the Seychelles, Alain St. Ange for his part said Ethiopian Airlines flight to his country will ensure mutual benefits.

According to ERTA, Ethiopian Airlines has introduced complete travel packages to the Seychelles, which include airfare, multiple-night stays at a variety of properties and unforgettable activity offerings.

Seychelles would be the 41st African destination and the 66th globally for Ethiopian Airlines.

Discover the World of 7th Wonders in Zimbabwe

The Africa Travel Association (ATA) announced that registration is now open for the 37th Annual World Congress, to be held from May 18-22, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, one of the world's top natural wonders and adventure capitals.
ATA's hallmark event on the African continent will be hosted by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) under the auspices of Honorable Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Walter Mzembi. The theme of this year's event is "Africa Tourism: Partnering for the Future."

Among the expected 300 participants are tourism ministers and industry experts representing tourism boards, tour operators and their product development executives, front-line agents, ground operator companies, airlines, and hotels. Participants from the travel trade media and the corporate, non profit and academic sectors are also expected to attend, along with African Diaspora representatives and ATA's Young Professionals Program participants.
Zimbabwe is home to a diverse range of tourist attractions, including its own seven wonders: (1) people and culture; (2) history and heritage; (3) Great Zimbabwe (grand medieval palace); (4) Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya); (5) wildlife and nature; (6) Eastern Highlands; and (7) Lake Kariba. Delegates will sample some of these wonders during the Host Country Day and by participating in pre and post congress tours.
The ATA International Board of Directors meeting will be held on Friday, May 18. Saturday, May 19 begins with sessions focusing on Destination Zimbabwe, followed by an opening ceremony with cultural entertainment. The next few days include ample networking, learning and professional development panels and workshops, addressing industry topics, such as community-based travel, agro-tourism, academic travel, faith-based tourism, e-tourism, marketing, branding, private sector investment, women and tourism, sustainable tourism, and African culinary products. Delegates will also participate in roundtables for tourism ministers, a media marketplace, networking events, host country day(s), and gala dinners. Zimbabwe will also organize a marketplace, featuring art, sculpture and daily excursions in Victoria Falls.
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