Festival Kreol ‘Ante Portas’
FESTIVAL KREOL JUST THREE WEEKS AWAY The 27th edition of the Seychelles best known cultural feast, the Festival Kreol is now just 3 weeks away before it kicks off on the 26th of October. Other Creole islands like Mauritius, Rodrigues and La Reunion will be joined by newcomer Mexico, for the first time ever represented […]
Kikwete fails to convince Canadian media on Serengeti Highway plans
KIKWETE AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN SERENGETI HIGHWAY PLANS While in Canada for an official state visit did President Kikwete find himself in a tight spot, when challenged by the media over the hugely controversial Serengeti highway plans, his government had floated in 2010. The road would cut the migration route of the wildebeest towards […]
Lupita Island Lodge ownership challenged by Tanzanian government
INVESTORS RATTLED OVER CHALLENGE TO THEIR OWNERSHIP The Tanzanian government has challenged the ownership of the Lupita Island Resort which according to information available on the internet is owned and managed by Tanzania by Firelight, a top of the scale safari and lodge operation founded in 1989 by Tom Lithgow and his wife Belinda. Lupita […]
Boeing delivers second B787 to Ethiopian Airlines
ETHIOPIAN TAKES DELIVERY OF THEIR SECOND B787 DREAMLINER Only days after having to make an unscheduled engine change on the airline’s first B787 Dreamliner, did number two of 10 on order arrive in Addis Ababa yesterday, a regular source close to the airline in Addis Ababa confirmed. Three more B787’s are due to be delivered […]
William Kibet Kiprono appointed as new KWS CEO
NEW KWS CHIEF EXECUTIVE APPOINTED IN RECORD TIME News are just breaking from Nairobi that Mr. William Kibet Kiprono has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Kenya Wildlife Service. This follows only two days after the board had appointed Peter Leitoro, Director in charge of Security at KWS, as Acting Executive Director. […]
Likoni Ferry services halted by accident
LIKONI FERRY SERVICES HALTED AFTER ACCIDENT News breaking from Mombasa speak of a heavy truck loaded with oil products having crashed into the ocean at the Likoni ferry crossing about an hour ago, causing the suspension of already fragile operations following the go slow of the staff. The brewing dispute which also spread into the […]
High Court judge in Nairobi summons KCAA and NEMA officials
KCAA AND NEMA EARN HIGH COURT’S WRATH FOR IGNORING SUITS A judge of the High Court in Nairobi yesterday issued summons, a step short of an arrest warrant, against the top managers of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and NEMA, for persistently failing to respond to cases brought against them by residents, who were threatened […]
B787 Dreamliner power plants under scrutiny as Ethiopian already forced to change engine
B787 DREAMLINERS NOW SUBJECT TO SPECULATION OVER ENGINES As if the years of late delivery of the world’s most modern passenger aircraft were not enough, leaving airline expansion and modernization plans around the world in tatters and costing Boeing a fortune in compensation and reputation, it now seems that the durability and reliability of the […]
Kenya Railways likely to ditch RVR on passenger transport when contract ends in June 2013
KENYA RAILWAY SET TO DITCH RVR FOR PASSENGER SERVICES The woes for struggling Rift Valley Railways just seem to grow, now that Kenya Railways appears set to discontinue the passenger concession given to them and due to expire in June 2013. While RVR has a concession from the Kenya and Uganda governments to run their […]
Precision Air holds first AGM after IPO of last year
PRECISION AIR HOLDS FIRST AGM AFTER IPO OF LAST NOVEMBER Tanzania’s premier airline, Precision Air, held their first post IPO Annual General Meeting. The carrier’s management revealed a sharply improved financial performance, aided by stronger demand, the introduction of new domestic and regional routes and their ability to handle their own flights instead of having […]
Emirates adds two more A380, one more B777-300 in new delivery record
EMIRATES ADDS 25TH A380 – CONTINUES EXPANSION DRIVE Dubai’s award winning national airline established a new record of sorts on Wednesday, when not one but two Airbus A380 were delivered in Dubai in addition to yet another B777-300. A regular source at the Kampala office of the airline sounded ‘over the moon’ when phoning in […]
Likoni ferry staff union issues formal strike threat
LIKONI FERRY USERS BRACE FOR STRIKE ACTION As suggested several days ago through a number of tweets, the union representing the workers of the Kenya Ferry Services has indeed now issued a formal strike notice to the management of the company over an ongoing dispute on wages and benefits. Slow go is already expected to […]
Nairobi airport railway plans to connect JKIA to the city reach tender stage
WORKONNAIROBI’S AIRPORT RAIL LINK TO START IN 2013 Perennial traffic jams have turned the once swift journey to and from Nairobi’s international airport into a nightmare, often compelling departing passengers to leave hours before their flights only to be sure to beat the jam and avoid missing their flights, while arriving passengers are stuck in […]
Tour firm seeks exoneration from guilty verdict against former staff
TOUR COMPANY APPEALS TO BE REMOVED FROM GUILTY VERDICT Information from Nairobi indicates that Maniago Safaris has filed an appeal against being named in the guilty verdict, under which three former Kenyan tourism officals were sentenced to several years in jail and given hefty fines on top of the custodial sentence. Former company executive Duncan […]
Bombardier delivers first ‘improved interior’ Q400NextGen to Ethiopian Airlines
BOMBARDIER NOW OFFERS THE Q400 IN DUAL CLASS CONFIGURATION Information received from Canadian based manufacturers Bombardier and a source in Addis Ababa tell a story of change for flying turboprop aircraft and the inflight experience they offer. Very likely as a result of the negative comments received by passengers, who in increasing numbers found themselves […]
Air Tanzania tries again to take to the air – The Never Ending Story
ATCL ANNOUNCES OCTOBER 10 TO RESUME OPERATIONS Aviation observers in Tanzania are watching with keen interest how, or rather if, Air Tanzania will be able to make good of their latest announcement that they intend to resume operations by October 10th. After the usual noise, when introducing an ageing B737-500 leased from a Dubai aviation […]
KWS Board appoints Leitoro as Acting CEO
LEITORO APPOINTED AS ACTING CEO OF KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICES The Board of Trustees of KWS has yesterday announced that Mr. Peter Leitoro, who held the position as Director for Security at KWS for the past 7 years, has been appointed to act as Chief Executive of the organization until a new substantive Executive Director will […]
Rwanda and Seychelles to draft MoU on tourism cooperation
RWANDA AND SEYCHELLES SET TO COOPERATE IN TOURISM The Land of a Thousand Hills and the Creole Island Paradise of Seychelles have agreed to start work on an extensive Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries, linking the respective tourism and culture sectors in an effort to promote twin centre holidays. The Seychelles already have […]
Kenya Airways’ Annual General Meeting looks to the future
KENYA AIRWAYS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING LOOKS AT THE FUTURE The Pride of Africa’s Annual General Meeting last week, inspite of attempts by a few disgruntled individuals attempting to protest outside the venue, went ahead smoothly and dealt with the business set out on the agenda. The airline’s CEO and Group Managing Director Dr. Titus Naikuni, […]
Seychelles bags ‘World Routes’ top tourism honour
SEYCHELLES GETS HONOURED BY ‘ROUTES’ IN ABU DHABI The annual World Routes meeting in Abu Dhabi, the most important global event to bring airlines, airports and related service providers together, ended yesterday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates with a big bang for the Seychelles, which got recognized for their tremendous efforts in […]
Turkish Airlines announces plans to fly to Mombasa from December
TURKISH GRABS OPPORTUNITY WITH MOMBASA FLIGHTS It was learned from a reliable source overnight that Turkish Airlines, a member of Star Alliance, the global industry leader in airline alliances, will be commencing a triangular flight from Istanbul to Kilimanjaro and Mombasa effective 04th December this year. The new destinations are due to be served 5 […]
Magical Kenya Travel Expo a great success again
MAGICAL KENYA EXHIBITION EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS The Kenya Tourist Board, aka Magical Kenya, held its annual tourism exhibition last weekend, and inspite of a challenging economic environment visitor numbers exceeded those of past years, with crowds mobbing the stands in particular on Saturday. KTB’s #TembeaKenya campaign, aimed to raise interest levels in domestic travel, is in […]
Swahili Fashion Week commences with Nairobi event on October 06th
SWAHILI FASHION WEEK COMES TO NAIROBI Fans of East Africa and admirers of Swahili culture, art and craft can look forward to the annual Swahili Fashion Week kicking off this coming weekend in Nairobi / Kenya, where the first of several ‘roadshows’ will unfold, presenting designers and their creations. 15 selected East African designers will […]
LONRHO set to partner with Sir Stelios to bring EasyHotels to Kenya
LONRHO PLANS RETURN TO KENYA’S HOTEL SCENE WITH EASY HOTEL BRAND The emerging partnership between Lonrho and Sir Stelios, already evident in the aviation sector with the joint venture called ‘FastJet’, appears set to intensify when plans became known during the just ended Africa Hotel Investment Conference at the Nairobi InterContinental Hotel, that the two […]
NEMA puts thumbs down on golf courses in national parks
NEMA SAYS NO TO GOLF IN PARKS In what has been described as a courageous move, opposing powerful business interests and almost outright defying the powers that be in Uganda, the National Environmental Management Authority has shown teeth when turning the thumbs down on applications to build a golf course inside any of Uganda’s national […]
Drop in South coast occupancy shows worrying trend
KENYASOUTHCOAST BED OCCUPANCY DROPS Information received by a regular source from the Kenyan coast makes stark reading, as the occupancy statistics attached to it made for an average of only 43 percent in September. Variances though were significant, ranging from 15 to 75 percent occupancy, but worrying overall as by and large the figures were […]
Seychelles Tourism Minister Alain St. Ange meets owners of small hotels
GET ACTIVE UNDER THE SHTA FRAMEWORK ST. ANGE TELLS OWNERS OF SMALL HOTELS Alain St. Ange, Minister for Tourism and Culture of the Seychelles, has last week met with a delegation of small hotel and business owners along the ‘Golden Mile’ of Beau Vallon Bay to discuss a range of issue with them they had […]
Congo’s wildlife rangers remain targets of militias
CONGO RANGERS REMAIN TARGESTS AS KINSHASA REGIME GOES AWOL Since the stark news emerged from the lowland forest around Ituri, that militias had vented their anger and frustration on the ICCN headquarters in Epulu with a large scale attack, killing at least 6 staff or family members back in June, little seems to have changed […]
RwandAir announces major schedule changes
RWANDAIR ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE CHANGES In a press release overnight has RwandAir announced daily flights between Kigali and Dubai, effective from the onset of the airline’s ‘winter schedule’ and up by one from the previous 6 flights per week. At the same time will Johannesburg be served daily, flights to Lagos be increased from the present […]
RwandAir – A regional success story set to fly higher still
RWANDAIR’S GROWTH SECRET REVEALED When on October 22ndRwandAir’s and in fact Africa’s first CRJ900 touches down in Kigali, undoubtedly first having performed the traditional low level fly-past, invited guests are likely to hear a range of announcements about the airline’s plans for new destinations and more frequencies. The sale of the carrier’s owned CRJ200 aircraft […]
