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. […]
Qatar Airways adds third daily Paris flight as peak summer season approaches
QATAR AIRWAYS ADDS THIRD DAILY FLIGHT TO PARIS (Posted 08th June 2013) Qatar Airways, presently flying double daily to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi and daily to Kilimanjaro, Entebbe and Kigali, has just revved up their daily frequencies between Doha and Paris, ahead of the upcoming summer travel season. The city of the Eiffel Tower […]
Africa Travel Association welcomes Brussels Airlines to their membership
AFRICA TRAVEL ASSOCIATION WELCOMES BRUSSELS AIRLINES AS CORPORATE MEMBER (Posted 08th June 2013) Just days from launching their commercial flights to Washington DC, initially served five times a week from Brussels with an Airbus A330-200, has Brussels Airlines joined the Africa Travel Association as a corporate member. Washington is after New York SN’s second directly […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second 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 […]
Precision Air announces review of 5 year strategic plan
PRECISION AIR ANNOUNCES REVIEW AND FINETUNING OF STRATEGIC 5 YEAR PLAN (Posted 07th June 2013) Precision Air today announced a review of their 5 year strategic plan as part of their intended expansion into new markets. After three months on the job, did Ms. Sauda Rajab, CEO of Precision Air, make details available earlier in […]
MCTA’s statement on the outcome of their elections at the AGM 2013
Mohammed Hersi Re-elected Unopposed to Head a New Look MCTA Team Mohammed Hersi was elected as the Chairman of MCTA unopposed yesterday, albeit in absentia. Mr. Hersi is also the Regional General Manager of Sarova Hotels Coast Region. To those who know him, and those who meet him, he comes across as a hard worker […]
Seychelles tourism private sector to benefit from AFD funding
SEYCHELLES TOURISM PRIVATE SECTOR GAINS ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE FINANCE (Posted 07th June 2013) Development loans for the Seychelles’ hospitality and tourism sector will become substantially more affordable for stakeholders wishing to renovate, upgrade or expand their properties, after the government and the French Development Agency AFD, short for ‘Agence Francaise de Developpment’ has made a […]
RDB’s Rica Rwigamba speaks out on Kwita Izina, the Festival of the Gorillas
Rwanda celebrates Mountain Gorillas through naming ceremony Kigali – Rwanda will celebrate the birth of baby gorillas through “Kwita Izina”, the annual naming ceremony in Kinigi, Musanze on the 22 June 2013 This was announced today by Rica Rwigamba, head of Tourism and Conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This year’s theme is “Celebrating […]
Kenya Airways moving towards next aircraft order for B737NG models
KENYA AIRWAYS MOVING TOWARDS NEXT NEWAIRCRAFT ORDER (Posted 07th June 2013) A usually well informed source close to Kenya Airways has given the clearest indication yet that The Pride of Africa is set to soon place an order for more B 737-700/800NG aircraft, as their older B737-300 models are progressively leaving the passenger fleet to […]
MCTA re-elects Mohammed Hersi as Chairman for a second term of office
MOMBASA AND COAST TOURIST ASSOCIATION RE-ELECTS MOHAMMED HERSI UNOPPOSED (Posted 07th June 2013) News just in from Mombasa confirm that Mohammed Hersi, Regional General Manager Coast for Sarova Hotels in charge of the Whitesands Resort and Spa and the Taita Hills and Salt Lick lodges, was last evening re-elected unopposed as Chairman of the Mombasa […]
Smile Communications brings 4G LTE to Uganda
4G LTE ARRIVES IN UGANDA (Posted 07th June 2013) Smile Communications yesterday evening launched Uganda’s fastest broadband network, offering a state of the art 4G LTE connection in and around Kampala. According to company sources, a rollout into key towns across the country is expected just as soon as a strong foothold has been established […]
Protea Hotels announce late 2013 opening of their first property in Rwanda
PROTEA SIGNS FIRST PROPERTY IN RWANDA (Posted 06th June 2013) Protea Hotels have announced that they will later this year open a 25 bedroom hotel in a suburb of Kigali, their first ever in Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills. Included in the rooms will be up to 8 two bedroom units with the […]
Emirates names Zurich as future A380 destination as they launch their ‘Summer Sales’
EMIRATES LAUNCHES SUMMER FARES AND NAMES ZURICH AS NEXT A380 DESTINATION (Posted 06th June 2013) Emirates, Dubai’s award winning airline, has just named Zurich as their next Airbus A380 destination, making the prospect of travelling to Switzerland’s banking city even more attractive. The service will start in January 2014, still a while away, even though […]
World Environment Day in Uganda overshadowed by Mabira saga
MABIRA CONTROVERSY OVERSHADOWS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY IN UGANDA (Posted 06th June 2013) Uganda’s Member of Parliament for the Environment, as he is often referred to, Hon. Ken Lukyamuzi, held a press briefing yesterday announcing that he will not attend the World Environment Day celebrations in Kampala to manifest his opposition against the ongoing uncertainty of […]
FastJet fires back at auditors after KPMG rang the alarm bells following poor results
FASTJET TAKES AIM AT AUDITORS KPMG It took just a few hours until FastJet’s mouthpieces took aim at their own auditors, global market giant KPMG, which in their report for the period of 18 months ending 31st December 2012 painted a bleak pictures about the financial status of the UK based company. As published in […]
