FASTJET TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS ANGOLA FLY540 OPERATION TO CONCENTRATE ON LAUNCHES IN KENYA, ZAMBIA AND SOUTH AFRICA
(Posted 29th April 2014)
Confirmation was just received about some significant changes made by Fastjet in regard of the legacy Fly540 operations in Angola and Ghana. From details at hand it seems that operations in Angola will be suspended for the time being, pending a re-evaluation of the market and preparations for the launch of the Fastjet low cost model as opposed to the traditional model of operation Fly540 had in place in Angola. The two aircraft owned by the group, ATR turboprops have therefore been taken out of service and will be sold.
In Ghana operations continue for now with a leased aircraft until that market too has been freshly evaluated by Fastjet, allowing the airline to concentrate on widening the network for their Tanzanian operation and getting operating permits in Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, the latter of which has been long in the making.
Fastjet’s Ed Winter in a media release had this to say: ‘Management has been carefully considering how best to restructure the Fly540 business which we inherited and this is a highly significant and very positive development in that process.We are currently focused on expanding the low cost Fastjet network in East and Southern Africa by establishing bases in Zambia, Kenya and South Africa and these plans are progressing well. However, our overall vision is to create a pan-African low-cost network and, as such, launching the low cost fastjet model in both Angola and Ghana remains firmly part of the Company’s long-term plans’.
Meanwhile has Fastjet also made an announcement on Friday last week in London, where the company is quoted on the London Stock Exchange, about their new cooperation with Expedia, which reads as follows:
Start quote:
‘Fastjet and Expedia sign strategic partnership agreement’
First global online travel agency relationship for Fastjet
Fastjet Plc, Africa’s low-cost airline, is pleased to announce a global partnership agreement with the Expedia group, the world’s largest online travel company. Fastjet flights will now be available to the millions of leisure and business travellers that shop for and book travel via the Expedia group’s extensive brand portfolio which includes leading brands such as, Expedia, the world’s largest full service online travel agency, Hotwire, a leading discount travel site, and Egencia, the world’s fifth largest travel management company serving business travellers in more than 60 countries.
‘We are so pleased for the opportunity to expand our selection of flight offerings with the addition of fastjet content to our network of leading travel sites’said Greg Schulze, senior vice president of Global Tour and Transport, the Expedia group.‘Global travellers are increasingly exploring Africa and we can now provide fastjet flights amongst our broad selection of products and services’.
Commenting on the news, Ellis Cain-Jones, Head of Commercial at Fastjet, said: ‘Our exciting partnership with the Expedia group represents a giant leap in the implementation of our digital distribution strategy. Initially focused on increasing Internet usage to book fastjet flights within Africa, the second phase of the strategy is dedicated to increasing yields by accessing international markets. The global reach of the Expedia groups’ brands will make fastjet accessible in a vast number of international markets. We are really excited to be working with world-renowned and trusted brands such as these and are looking forward to growing our network with the Expedia group’.
End quote
Watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news from across Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region.
