Precision adds another brand new ATR to the fleet
PRECISION AIR TAKES DELIVERY OF ANOTHER BRAND NEW ATR42-600 Tanzania’s leading airline Precision Air has just taken delivery of the first of five brand new ATR’s, ordered a year ago as reported at the time. The ATR42-600, the most advance turboprop yet available from the French manufacturer, will be used for flights from Dar es […]
More baggage allowance for Air Seychelles passengers
AIR SEYCHELLES UPS BAGGAGE ALLOWANCES As World Travel Market 2012 winds down and the Seychelles delegation takes stock of their achievements in London this year to promote the archipelago as the Indian Ocean’s destination of choice, has Air Seychelles added a goodie for those visitors coming to the islands with the national airline, directly or […]
Mwazo’s action reversed by Industrial Court
MWAZO REELING AS INDUSTRIAL COURT REINSTATES MURIITHI NDEGWA First feedback from London is that Kenya’s tourism minister looked perplexed and stunned when news were whispered in his ear that Muriithi Ndegwa, clearly now a subject to the Minister’s personal vengeance, was restored to his rightful position as CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board by order […]
Seychelles hostages ‘freed’ in an operation, not by ransom payment
SEYCHELLES HOSTAGES IN SOMALIA WERE RESCUED, NO RANSOM PAID The Seychelles’ remarkably run of good fortunes in their fight against ocean terrorism has seemingly been crowned last week, when two hostages, taken from their fishing vessel in Seychellois waters by Somalia’s terrorists of the sea, were freed in a combined operation of coalition forces now […]
Travelport Uganda rocked by resignations
TRAVELPORT UGANDA ROCKED BY RESIGNATIONS Not all seems well at Travelport Uganda, formerly Galileo, which once was the almighty CRS in Kampala, willingly or unwillingly, before Amadeus opened shop and, withstanding all character attacks, established itself as a credible, and much more friendly alternative. After the reported resignation of Country Sales Manager Edward Brown Lwanga […]
Kempinski Kenya sets date for Olare Mara rebranding
KEMPINSKI ANNOUNCES 15 JANUARY 2013 AS REBRANDING DATE FOR OLARE MARA CAMP Information has been confirmed that Kempinski will on 15th January 2013 formally rebrand the Olare Mara Camp, ahead of the expected opening in March 2013 of the Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, and then operate it as the Olare Mara Kempinski Masai Mara. The 12 […]
Mombasa traffic jam sees travellers sleep in their cars
JUMBO JAM ADDS TO MOMBASA’S TRAFFIC WOES No sooner were memories fading over the strike a week ago, which brought the ferry services between Mombasa and the southern mainland to a standstill, did more bad news hit home. A mega jam, not ever seen before at such a massive scale, brought traffic to a halt […]
Kenya Airways issued profit warning as half year results reveal a 4.6 bln KShs loss
KENYA AIRWAYS’ LOSSES JUSTIFY COST CUTTING MEASURES The announcement yesterday of Kenya Airways’ half year financial results brought home the reality of what the company’s management has been saying for a while now, that sharply risen cost put a deep dent into the bottom line and red ink leaked into the provisional balance sheet. The […]
MCTA breaks news that tourism stakeholders take KTB saga to court
After I posted several admittedly sharpish pieces vis a vis Kenya’s increasingly untenable tourism minister, and his shenanigans, I have received several DM’s and mails, telling me to stop misleading the public or inventing my stories. I guess this MCTA piece tells who the liars here are … Enjoy reading Tourism Stakeholders seek Injunction against […]
FastJet set to launch sales, still peddles 20 USD fare without stating full ticket cost
FASTJET NEARS FORMAL TICKET SALES LAUNCH Competitors are already poking fun at the tail graphics of soon to fly FastJet, declaring it tongue in cheek as the face of the vulture, keen to pick money off the bones of unsuspecting travelers falling prey to the US Dollar 20 fare, the airline keeps peddling and dangling […]
RwandAir gets second CRJ900NG, announces new routes
RWANDAIR GETS SECOND CRJ900NG The delivery of a second brand new Bombardier CRJ900NG in Kigali yesterday has completed the current fleet renewal programme, allowing Rwanda’s national airline to look forward to the next phase, when more aircraft, more destinations and very likely a privatization programme will go underway. There is already speculation over the current […]
NEW WEST AFRICA VENTURE MAY POINT THE WAY FOR AIR UGANDA
NEW WEST AFRICA VENTURE MAY POINT THE WAY FOR AIR UGANDA The partnership between Air France and AKFED in the new Air Cote` Ivoire with a 20 and 15 percent shareholding in the company respectively, may open new doors for future cooperation even in East Africa, where AKFED is the principal shareholder of Air Uganda. […]
Seychelles fibre optic link to the world restored
SEYCHELLES BACK ON HIGH SPEED FIBRE OPTIC When a careless ship captain dropped anchor outside Dar es Salaam’s harbour on the fibre optic cable linking the Seychelles to the continental African circuit on the 12th of October, the high speed lights on the archipelago went dim. Still connected to the globe by satellite back up, […]
Express Kenya signs exclusive deal with Amadeus
EXPRESS KENYA SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DEAL WITH AMADEUS Global travel technology giant Amadeus has yesterday signed a long term deal with one of Kenya’s leading travel companies, Express Travel, for the exclusive use in their organization to provide content and facilitate transactions. Express had for the last two years running been voted as Kenya’s best travel […]
Ol Pejeta adds more value with opening of ‘Morani Restaurant’
OL PEJETA SET TO OPEN THE ‘MORANI RESTAURANT’ In what has been described by this correspondent as one of Kenya’s most complete safari experiences, all in one spot, with a range of different accommodation facilities, from Serena to Porini, Ol Pejeta is now adding yet more value for visitors. The Morani Restaurant will open this […]
Arusha finally inaugurated as Tanzania’s fifth city
ARUSHA FINALLY BECOMES A CITY The municipality of Arusha, best known as East Africa’ safari capital, was last week finally granted city status, fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the hundreds of thousands of residents, who enjoy life under the shadow of Mt. Meru. President Kikwete, last week on a tour of the Kilimanjaro region […]
KTB saga rocks Kenya’s tourism industry at eve of WTM
SACK MWAZO TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS DEMAND Kenya’s tourism industry, at the eve of the crucially important start of the World Travel Market in London, is in uproar and turmoil over the ongoing saga of the position of CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board. First sacked by hapless tourism minister Danson Mwazo, now described by many as […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, First edition November 2012
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ or […]
Tana Delta declared Africa’s latest RAMSAR Site
KENYA’S TANA RIVER DELTA BECOMES THE WORLD’S LATEST RAMSAR SITE (Map courtesy of www.ramsar.org) Those with greedy eyes on this prized area, wanting to turn it into agricultural wastelands through unsustainable farming methods, will have to think twice now that the Tana River Delta has been officially recognized as the world’s latest RAMSAR site, giving […]
Crackdown on Zanzibar radicals and militants continues
ZANZIBAR CRACKDOWN CONTINUES TO NET MORE EXTREMISTS Information from a regular tourism source on the Spice Island of Zanzibar indicates that security forces, since the last outbreak of extremist militant violence which also spread to Dar es Salaam a few weeks ago, continue to hunt for known participants and sympathizers of the banned Uamsho group, […]
Rafting for Rhinos 2012 – next weekend on the Nile
RAFTING FOR RHINOS ON NOVEMBER 10TH Next Saturday will see the ‘Rafting for Rhinos’ race take place on the upper Nile, where corporate and individual teams will compete against each others for the honours of raising the most money for the Rhino Fund Uganda, which operates the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary half way between Kampala and […]
Virgin now eyes Dar es Salaam only weeks after dropping Nairobi
VIRGIN HEADING TO DAR ES SALAAM Breaking News 6 weeks after leaving Nairobi, for a number of reasons given in public none of which at the time made much sense, are news just breaking that Virgin will be flying to Dar es Salaam from early 2013, very likely in combination with a stop at Kilimanjaro. […]
Likoni ferry services resume after temporary agreement between unions and management
FERRY WORKERS RESUME DUTY It has been confirmed from a regular source in Mombasa that the workers of the Kenya Ferry Service have resumed duty and ferry services are underway, clearing the backlog of traffic as this information us uploaded. Confirmation is still outstanding though that ALL issues between the union and management have been […]
Serena’s Kirawira makes it into Conde Nast’s Platinum Circle
SERENA BAGS MORE CONDE NAST HONOURS Serena’s Kirawira Camp in the Grumeti Sector of the Serengeti has made it into Conde Nast’s Platinum Circle into which only properties with the highest marks are added. The Platinum Circle by Conde Nast was launched to celebrate 25 years of Conde Nast Traveler and only properties have been […]
Likoni Ferry operations disrupted by renewed strike action
WORKERS DOWN TOOLS TO CRIPPLE FERRY OPERATIONS In breaking news it was learned yesterday morning that the ferries at the Likoni Channel, linking the island of Mombasa with the South Coast, had been grounded by striking workers, as the union and management had apparently failed to reach an agreement over wage increases and other benefits […]
Ferry services down again at Likoni
LIKONI FERRIES DOWN In breaking news it was learned that the ferries at the Likoni Channel, linking the island of Mombasa with the South Coast, were out of operation this morning, leaving hundreds of tourists and thousands of commuters stranded at both sides of the channel. No immediate cause of the halt of operations was […]
Ethiopian Airlines signs lease deal with ILFC for 3 more B787
ETHIOPIAN ADDS THREE MORE B787 VIA ILFC LEASE A regular source close to Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa has just confirmed that the airline has yesterday signed a deal with ILFC for the lease of three B787 Dreamliner aircraft, over and above the already 10 on firm order with Boeing directly. All three aircraft are […]
Kenya Airways releases second quarter results
KENYA AIRWAYS RELEASES SECOND QUARTER RESULTS The Pride of Africa has yesterday released the operating results for their second quarter, which ended on 30th September, showing a mixed bag of results but also underscoring the urgency of cost saving measures introduced in recent weeks by management. Capacity to the airline’s markets in Europe shrank by […]
More poachers killed as Kiprono starts his term as CEO with a bang
KIPRONO STARTS HIS KWS SERVICE WITH A BANG William Kiprono, only in office for a short while as CEO of Kenya Wildlife Service, has certainly started his reign at the helm with a bang, pun intended, when his troops on the ground engaged with poachers in a series of incidents, the latest of which cost […]
KenGen diversifies into tourism with new venture at Olkaria
POWER COMPANY SET TO INVEST IN TOURISM VENTURE AT HELLS GATE NATIONAL PARK The Kenya Electricity Generating Company, in short known as KenGen, is in the process of diversifying its portfolio with the entry into the tourism industry. Located near Hells Gate National Park, a Kenya Wildlife Service managed adventure park at the bottom of […]
