FastJet gets international route rights from Dar
FASTJET MANAGEMENT LAMENTS ‘FALSE STARTS’ (Posted 17th June 2013) FastJet’s management, while announcing that the airline has been granted international route rights as a designated carrier between Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, Kigali and Lusaka, lamented that ‘We have spent so much time lobbying to make this happen and had so many false starts’ claiming […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Third edition June 2013
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 news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’. Read […]
Rwanda meets Ghana as RwandAir launches Accra flights
RWANDAIR LAUNCHES ACCRA AMID NEWS OF ABIDJAN COMING SOON (Posted 16th June 2013) When Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I had a dream’ speech few of today’s RwandAir managers and staff were born, and yet, it was clearly similar, albeit business focused dreams which inspired the way Rwanda’s national airline grew in recent years. ‘Once […]
Nairobi commuters get WIFI in public service vehicles
NAIROBI COMMUTERS GET WIFI IN THEIR MATATUS (Posted 15th June 2013) Kenya’s leading mobile company, Safaricom, has yesterday launched another innovation, when they introduced WIFI for commuters in their ‘matatus’, a widely used form of transport by Kenyans not owning cars or not wanting to sit in the notorious traffic jams wasting their own petrol. […]
Air Uganda sets date for Mogadishu flights
AIR UGANDA SETS DATE FOR LAUNCH OF MOGADISHU FLIGHTS (Posted 15th June 2013) Air Uganda, the Pearl of Africa’s quasi national airline, has just announced the launch date for their latest destination, Mogadishu in Somalia. Starting on 08th of July, U7 will fly initially three times a week nonstop between Entebbe and Mogadishu, offering government […]
Kenya Airways announces 7.9 billion KShs loss, says recovery well underway
KENYA AIRWAYS PRESENTS FULL YEAR RESULTS (Posted 14th June 2013) Kenya Airways’ Board of Directors and top management yesterday morning presented their annual results to shareholders, invited guests and media representatives at the InterContinental Hotel in Nairobi. Seen in isolation the balance sheet presented would indeed make grim reading, showing a loss of some Kenya […]
Golden Mile project in Beau Vallon Bay area on course
BEAU VALLON’S ‘GOLDEN MILE’ TAKES FURTHER SHAPE (Posted 14th June 2013) Plans to transform a key seafront section of Beau Vallon Bay, one of Mahe’s prized beach resort areas, into what has initially been called ‘The Golden Mile’ have made further progress according to a regular source from Mahe, following another stakeholder meeting during the […]
Uganda’s tourism stakeholders ‘disappointed’ by budget proposals
Uganda’s who is who in the tourism and hospitality industry have left little doubt what they thought of the budget proposals made yesterday, when Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka presented the 2013/14 budget estimates to parliament. Understandably concerned to remain anonymous, several regular sources let fly over what they unanimously termed ‘a lot of hogwash and […]
Ethiopia ratifies new Nile Treaty
ETHIOPIA IGNORES WAR THREATS FROM EGYPT TO RATIFY NILE TREATY (Posted 14th June 2013) The longstanding row over the use of the Nile waters, for which the dictates of the 1929 and 1959 treaties between Britain and Egypt were shoved down the throats of the Nile basin countries on independence, resulted last year in the […]
Kenya Tourism Federation loses UNWTO affiliate status
KTF LOSES UNWTO AFFILIATE STATUS (Posted 14th June 2013) Kenya’s tourism association apex body, the Kenya Tourism Federation, has lost their status as an UNWTO affiliate body, reportedly as a result of a back log of dues accrued over the past two years. KTF is the tourism industry’s primary focal point for government, bringing together […]
Uganda brings back VAT on hotel accommodation
BUDGET RESTORES VAT ON HOTEL ACCOMMODATION (Posted 14th June 2013) The budget announcement yesterday afternoon, made by Uganda’s Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka, that the VAT exemption for hotel accommodation will be withdrawn, has sent shockwaves down the spines of the hospitality industry. VAT in Uganda presently stands at 18 percent and if the proposal is […]
More lip service today for Uganda’s tourism sector?
Taken from today’s New Vision ahead of the reading of the annual budget later this Thursday, 13th June. What will it bring for Tourism? Expectations are high by stakeholders but reality speaks a different language, always has when it comes to our sector. Watch this space tomorrow to learn if there is any windfall or […]
Umubano Hotel in Kigali set for 10 Million US Dollar overhaul
UMUBANO HOTEL’S LIBYAN OWNERS COMMIT 10 MILLION DOLLARS TO REFURBISHMENT (Posted 13th June 2013) Agreement has at last been reached between the Rwandan government and the Libyan co-owners of the Umubano Hotel, in which the two parties hold a 60 / 40 share distribution. When it was acquired by Gadaffi Libya, it was first managed […]
Kenya Airways’ full year results expected on Friday
KENYA AIRWAYS PREPARES TO ANNOUNCE FULL YEAR RESULTS ON FRIDAY (Posted 13th June 2013) Friday this week will be D-Day for Kenya Airways as the company prepares to release the annual results for the financial year 2012/13, which closed on 31st March. Considering that the half year results were written already in red ink, the […]
Qatar Airways and Fly 540 sign interline deal
QATAR AIRWAYS SIGNS DEAL WITH FLY 540 TO EXTEND REACH ACROSS KENYA (Posted 13th June 2013) Information was received from Fly 540’s media agency, confirming that the airline has signed a deal with Qatar Airways to extend the reach of the Qatar national airline to a range of domestic and regional destinations currently served by […]
Kenya Airways takes lead in Africa with IATA’s IEnvA Certification
KENYA AIRWAYS AMONG THE WORLD’S FIRST SIX AIRLINES TO GET IEnvA CERTIFIED (Posted 13th June 2013) Kenya Airways was during the just concluded IATA annual general meeting in Cape Town / South Africa awarded the coveted IEnvA Certificate by IATA, among the first six airlines worldwide to have met the exacting standards required to pass […]
Mombasa airport renovation ready in time for new tourist season
MOMBASA AIRPORT OVERHAUL ENDS IN TIME FOR HIGH SEASON (Posted 12th June 2013) Work at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa, ongoing for several years to upgrade arrival and departure lounges and other facilities, is according to the airport manager Yatich Kangugo on course to be completed in time for the next tourist high season. […]
Second railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi to start in 2013/14 FY
WORK ON SECOND MOMBASA TO NAIROBI RAILWAY LINE TO START NEXT YEAR (Posted 12th June 2013) Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, aka minister for Transport and Infrastructure Michael Kamau gave the clearest indication yet that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government is fully committed to have a second, standard gauge railway built to connect the port of Mombasa with […]
Save Kisite Marine Park campaign succeeds as ‘fake titles’ now due for cancellation
KENYA SET TO CANCEL DISPUTED TITLES FOR KISITE ISLAND (Posted 12th June 2013) The titles, allegedly fake anyway, for islands inside the Kisite Marine National Park, can now be cancelled by the Kenyan government following the expire of a formal notice period published last month by the land commission. Claimed by Switzerland based ‘owners’ as […]
FastJet Chairman of the Board pushed out in boardroom coup
FASTJET TURMOIL COSTS LENIGAS HIS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD POSITION (Posted 11th June 2013) Word from the UK has it that things on the FastJet board moved fast and furious, following a devastating report by auditors KPMG over a 56 million US Dollars loss, which called the survival of the airline into doubt just a […]
Grenade suspect shot dead in Nairobi
SUSPECT IN GRENADE ATTACK SHOT DEAD IN NAIROBI (Posted 11th June 2013) The intense manhunt underway in Nairobi and Mombasa, for suspected Al Shabab terrorists thought responsible for the dual grenade attacks in Mombasa and Nairobi on Sunday evening, has now led to a first result. Reports just breaking from Nairobi speak of one suspect […]
Precision Air ups flights to Songwe / Mbeya
PRECISION AIR ADDS MORE FLIGHTS TO SONGWE (Posted 11th June 2013) Unperturbed by news yesterday over financial issues has Precision Air just announced that they will up their present daily flights from Dar es Salaam to Songwe airport to 10 frequencies per week, using, depending on load either their ATR 42 or ATR 72 aircraft […]
Jetlink’s future hangs in balance as FastJet reportedly ended cooperation talks
JETLINK’S FUTURE IN BALANCE AFTER FASTJET DUMPS JV IDEA (Posted 11th June 2013) Talks between Fastjet and Kenya’s Jetlink, initiated at the height of the legal troubles by FastJet with partners Fly 540, were according to a source in Nairobi ended without an agreement being reached, following the end of the legal battle between 540 […]
Air Seychelles’ Board meets trainees at Etihad’s aviation academy in Abu Dhabi
AIR SEYCHELLES BOARD MEETS TRAINEES AT ETIHAD AVIATION ACADEMY (Posted 11th June 2013) The Board of Directors of Air Seychelles has during a recent visit to the Etihad headquarters in Abu Dhabi taken the time to meet 14 Seychellois students, who are now attached to the Etihad aviation academy. Seven engineers, two cadet pilots and […]
Uganda Guide apps now available for Android via Pearl Guide
PEARL GUIDE PUBLISHES NEW UGANDA APPS The Pearl Guide Uganda, publishers of the new Uganda Guide App, on Friday 7th June officially released the much anticipated Android Version of the Uganda Guide App. This means that smartphone users with Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and many more may now also access and […]
Financial troubles at Precision Air ‘rooted in past’
PRECISION AIR’S FINANCIAL TROUBLES GO INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN (Posted 10th June 2013) Troubling financial details are emerging from Dar es Salaam over the financial status of Precision Air, Tanzania’s only publicly quoted airline company on the Dar Stock Exchange, with major shareholders being Michael Shirima, who founded the company in 1993/4 and Kenya Airways, […]
Dual grenade attacks in Mombasa and Nairobi rattle Kenyans
MOMBASA GRENADE ATTACK ON OPEN AIR CHURCH SERVICE RATTLES KENYA (Posted 10th June 2013) A grenade thrown last evening at around 7 p.m. into a crowd of Christian worshippers at an open air prayer meeting in Mombasa injured at least a dozen people, while in Nairobi, an hour and a half later, at least 4 […]
Mombasa airport source says Qatar Airways set for flights by end August
IS QATAR AIRWAYS FINALLY HEADING TO MOMBASA? (Posted 10th June 2013) Word from regular sources in the aviation industry has it that Qatar Airways, after delaying the start of scheduled flights to Mombasa last year over what appears to have been traffic right issues, may now finally commence a daily service, using Airbus A320 equipment, […]
CNN ranks La Digue’s Grande Anse as best in the world
GRANDE ANSE ON LA DIGUE RATED WORLD’S BEST BEACH BY CNN (Posted 09th June 2013) The Seychelles beaches have in past years and in fact decades regularly been making it into the top league of the world’s most highly ranged beaches, in the league tables of travel magazines from around the globe and in TV […]
KWS suspends over 30 senior staff over allegations of complicity in poaching
HAVE THE GAMEKEEPERS TURNED POACHERS? (Posted 09th June 2013) News broke yesterday evening that the Kenya Wildlife Service has suspended at least 32 senior personnel, now suspected to have participated in poaching or aided poaching gangs through various means across Kenya. KWS Executive Director William Kiprono confirmed the development when presiding over the annual Mt. […]
