Ethiopian Airlines launched its Dreamliners 787 and landed in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Africa's fastest growing airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, yesterday demonstrated its latest acquisition - the Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner in Harare.
The arrival of the giant 289-seater aircraft, the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft in the world, was a spectacle for both local and Ethiopian nationals who thronged the Harare International Airport, as it taxied on the runway and received the traditional water canon salute, reserved for aeroplanes making their maiden landing.
The plane's landing at the airport was its third on African soil and underlined the importance of Harare as a major hub for air travel in Southern Africa and Africa as a whole. The plane, dubbed "Africa's first", is one of 10 Dreamliners ordered by Ethiopian Airlines to service mostly African routes.
The Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 265 passengers in economy class and 24 in business class. It is Boeing's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use composite materials for most of its construction.
The 787 consumes 20 percent less fuel than the similarly-sized 767. Its distinguishing features include a four-panel windshield, noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles, and a smoother nose contour.
Mr Munodawafa urged the Civil Aviation Authority to continue to maintain high standards and woo more airlines to land in the country.
"We need to retain every plane that lands here. It is within our capacity -- it can be done," he said.
Advocate Mudenda paid tribute to Ethiopian Airlines for being one of the few airlines to continue flying into Zimbabwe at a time when other airlines were pulling out due to negative publicity the country was attracting internationally during the first decade of the new millennium. Ethiopian Airlines flights to Zimbabwe from United Kingdom are major participation which very low prices from all other airlines.
Ethiopian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Dr Koang Dung said the arrival of the Dreamliner was a reaffirmation of Ethiopia's commitment to its friendship with Zimbabwe that has seen its airline flying to Zimbabwe consistently since 1982.
"My country attaches great importance to its friendship with Zimbabwe and that is why it moved swiftly to establish air links with the country in 1982 soon after its independence," he said.

KLM will start again flying into Zimbabwe in 29 October, 2012.

Until the year 2000 Zimbabwe had multiple international airlines flying in and out of the country. But as Zimbabwe's political anarchy, one by one they withdrew their services.

Now Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) is back and starting its first flights to Zimbabwe on October 29^th to Harare, along with Lusaka, Zambia, will be added as their newest destinations.

In a statement they said: "KLM sees great growth opportunities in Africa. This year we launched service to Luanda in Angola, Lusaka in Zambia and in 2011 we began serving Kigali in Rwanda.

The airline said it would also offer 11 weekly services to Harare via Nairobi in co-operation with Kenya Airways.

Flight KL523 will be operated with an Airbus A330-200 on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing from Schiphol at 10:20 and arriving in Harare on the same day at 21:25.

The return leg of the circle trip has the same number, KL523, leaving Harare at 22:30 the same day, with an intermediate landing in Lusaka. The flight arrives in Amsterdam the following morning at 10:20.

Emirates adds dedicated cargo flights to Lusaka!

Emirates Sky Cargo, the freight division of Emirates, one of the fastest growing international airlines, underlined its commitment to Zambia’s growing economic prosperity with the touchdown of its first dedicated SkyCargo freighter flight into Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, effective from July 3^rd 2012.
Operating a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, the dedicated SkyCargo freighter flight arrives from Dubai at 16:00 hrs every Tuesday during the month of July. The airline will then evaluate whether to continue with the service on a permanent basis. From Lusaka the flight will continue to Johannesburg before returning to Dubai.
The SkyCargo airplane has the capacity to carry 103 tonnes of freight, adding to the existing weekly cargo capacity of 160 tonnes on Emirates’ scheduled five-time-a-week passenger service.
Supporting the thriving trade between Africa and the rest of the world, SkyCargo’s weekly cargo capacity into and out of the continent is already more 6,000 tonnes since the launch of the airline’s passenger service flights to Lusaka and Harare on February 1^st 2012. SkyCargo now has a total annual capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes worldwide.
The new gateway means Emirates SkyCargo can connect businesses in 21 countries across Africa to its network of more than 100 destinations, while also providing increased opportunities for key trading partners such as China and Japan.
South Africa – with a weekly capacity of more than 1,500 tonnes spread across the belly-hold of 84 passenger flights serving Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, as well as two dedicated Johannesburg freighters – is Emirates SkyCargo’s key trading point on the continent.
Dedicated freighters also operate to Eldoret and Lilongwe, Cairo, Nairobi, Entebbe, Lusaka, Johannesburg, Accra, Lagos and Tripoli. While the other points on Emirates SkyCargo’s African network – Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Accra, Cairo, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar el Salaam, Entebbe, Khartoum, Lagos, Luanda, Nairobi, Tripoli, and Tunisia – are served using either the belly-hold of wide-body passenger aircraft, or a combination of the belly-hold and freighters.
“With such a comprehensive service now in place we are in a good position to help sustain Africa’s continued economic development by facilitating international trade with its business partners and opening it up to new markets on our ever-expanding network,” said Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo.
Emirates SkyCargo is transporting parts to support the mining and infrastructure sectors in Zambia – as well as of commodities such as garments, computer parts, and pharmaceuticals – from the likes of the Far East, Australasia, the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, Europe and North America. Fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables will be among the main commodities shipped in the other direction, while trade is also expected to be generated by neighbouring countries.

South African Express launches flights to Lusaka

New four times a week flights between Durban’s King Shaka Airport and Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda Airport will begin on Thursday July 12.

The introduction of the flights is part of the efforts to intergrate the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) to grow trade and tourism opportunities.

It follows the announcement by President Jacob Zuma during the recent launch of the Dube Trade Port terminal that the King Shaka Airport would become a springboard to launch inter-regional communications, and logistic infrastructure and integration.

Launching the new route, SA Express CEO Inati Ntshanga, said they would use a 50-seater aircraft for flights to Lusaka four times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

“The aim will be to increase this frequency to six days very soon. Booking for the inaugural flight on July 12 are now open.

“We are excited to be launching this new route. SA Express has become an active participant in regional economic cooperation and integration in recent years. The objective of the new route is to enable Zambia and South Africa to grow tourism and trade opportunities,” he said.

He said that the next phase of expansion would be to apply for route rights from Durban to Harare (Zimbabwe), Gaborone (Botswana), the Malawian cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe, and the Mozambican cities of Maputo and Vilanculos.

“For Zambia and South Africa to make full use of its growth potential, it will be essential to work in a cooperative manner by promoting further regional economic integration and developing broad regional infrastructure,” Ntshanga said.

Emirates boosts flights to Zimbabwe & Zambia Route!

Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, underlined its commitment to Zimbabwe and Zambia yesterday by announcing a daily service on the Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route beginning October 1.

The linked service, which currently operates five times a week, has performed strongly since its launch on February 1 this year. To date, Emirates has carried over 43 000 passengers on the route.

In a statement, Jean Luc Grillet, senior vice-president of commercial operations for Africa, said the move was testament to the continuous upward growth in demand for flights to and from the continent.

“A daily flights to Lusaka and Harare will mean greater choice for customers, while an increased cargo capacity of 40% will facilitate more export business opportunities for both countries, forging greater trade links and increasing access to key trading partners in Asia and the Middle East,” he said.

According to Emirates, a weekly cargo capacity of 224 tonnes and access to Emirates’ network of more than 120 destinations worldwide, is already supporting a range of exports from both Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Key commodities being shipped from Lusaka and Harare include fresh flowers, fruit, vegetables and copper mining industry by-products.

Tourism is another key beneficiary, with Emirates’ Zimbabwe service supporting the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Tourism ministry targets for increased visitor arrivals to five million by 2015.
It is expected that Emirates flights to the country would support the tourism sector to contribute over $5 billion to the economy by 2015.

The Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route is serviced by an A330-200 aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering 12 luxurious first-class seats, 42 seats in business class and generous space for 183 passengers in economy class.

With a fleet of 175 aircraft and already the largest Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 operator in the world, Emirates currently flies to 123 destinations in 73 countries.

Precision Air has launched its flights to Lusaka, Zambia!

Precision Air has launched its flights to Lusaka, Zambia, becoming the third airline to enter the market this year after Emirates Airline and Royal Dutch KLM.
The airline, which touched down at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport at 13:05 hours on Friday, was characterised by pomp and splendour as it received a water salute amid cheers from senior Government officials, ambassadors and Tanzanians living in Zambia.
Minister of Transport, Communication, Works and Supply Yamfwa Mukanga, who officiated at the launch of the airline in Lusaka, said the development will enhance trade between Zambia and Tanzania as the distance has been cut to two hours from 10 hours.
Despite Zambia and Tanzania being neighbours, businessmen and women travelling to Tanzania had to fly via Nairobi or Ethiopia due to lack of a direct flight.
“Many businessmen especially car traders go to Tanzania and it takes them 10 hours to fly to that country hence delaying business transactions. Every business person knows that time is money and I’m happy that Precision Air helped reduce the distance to Tanzania,” he said.
Mr Mukanga called on the airline to ensure that it remains on the Zambian market unlike some airlines, both local and foreign, which have closed down.
“I hope Precision is not on transit but here for good. We would like to see Precision grow like Kenya and Ethiopian Airways to give customers a variety of choices,” he said.
Mr Mukanga said Zambia has a history of local airlines folding but he is happy that the airline has braved the storms in the industry, adding that Government will support the growth of the airline.
Earlier, Tanzanian High Commissioner to Zambia Grace Mujuma said the airline will strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
At the same occasion, Precision Air chief executive officer Alfonse Kioko said Zambia becomes the 16th destination and is expected to launch flights to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo next week.
Plans are also underway to launch flights to Lilongwe and Harare outes as well..

Qatar Airways now flying into maputo in southeren africa!

Mozambique (Maputo) — Qatar Airways has announced that from November it will fly into Maputo International Airport three times a week, making it the company's twentieth African destination. The service will be operated by the airlines long-haul Boeing 777 aircraft.
In a press release the company stated, "Mozambique is another example of Qatar Airways' commitment to open up access to destinations that are largely underserved by international airlines and have great market potential".
The airline has recently launched a daily scheduled service from its Doha hub to the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
Next month it will start daily flights to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and in August it will begin flying to Mombasa in Kenya. These are in addition to its current routes to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.They are also considering to start flights to zimbabwe.
According to Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, "at Qatar Airways we have a robust planning team that is always busy evaluating and researching potential markets with the underlying mission to open up new destinations that are highly underserved internationally. Whether in Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East or Americas, we have identified great opportunities where other carriers dare not venture into".
He added, "Mozambique is a great example of a market that we believe has great potential linking up with key feeder markets in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world."
Several other companies fly into Maputo, including the Portuguese airline TAP, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways and Kenya Airways.
However, not all airlines have found the route to be profitable. Over the last twelve months Comair and 1Time have dropped their flights on the Johannesburg - Maputo route due to a mixture of high airport taxes in Johannesburg and aviation authorities refusing to allocate favourable flights.