A F R I C A N A I R L I N E S

A S S O C I A T I O N D E S C O M P A G N I E S A E R I E N N E S A F R I C A I N E S

Inside this Issue:

Kenya Airways signs

extended codeshare agree-

ment with EgyptAir

2

EgyptAir receives 5th

B737-800 NG 2

ASKY recognized at the

Balafon Award of Excel-

lence

2

Ethiopian Airlines wins

SKYTRAX World Airline

Award

3

Royal Air Maroc Cargo and

Etihad Cargo to increase

cooperation

3

Tassili Airlines announced

order for Three Next-

Generation 737-800s

3

Mauritania Airlines Interna-

tional enhances global distri-

bution with Hahn Air

4

Volume 9, Issue 6

June 2017 Issue

AFRAA BULLETIN

MRJ touches down at Le

Bourget Airport 4

FLYHT Aerospace Solu-

tions Ltd. receives U.S.

patent for FLYHT Stream

4

Amadeus launches ad-

vanced data analytics suite

to boost travel destinations

5

E190 jet receives South

African CAA type certifica-

tion

5

Air Senegal SA to launch

operations with two ATR

72-600s

5

AFRAA Training 6

Issued by the African Airlines Association

AFRAA to stage its 49th Annual General Assembly from 12-14 November 2017

T he African Airlines Associa-

tion (AFRAA) will convene

its 49th Annual General

Assembly (AGA) and Sum-

mit from 12-14 November 2017 at the

Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.

This year’s AGA is proudly being

hosted by RwandAir.

The AFRAA AGA is a high profile air

transport event dedicated to airline

CEOs and invited top executives in the

aviation industry. Annually, it brings

together more airline Chairmen, CEOs,

top executives and principal decision-

makers in the aviation industry than

any aviation event in Africa.

In addition to the statutory Assembly

matters to be discussed, there shall be

presentations and panel discussions on

some topical industry subjects by air-

line CEOs and reputable industry ex-

perts.

The AGA also avails quality time and

opportunity for networking and busi-

ness meetings among African airlines,

industry partners and service providers.

Besides formal business of the Assem-

bly, the Summit is structured to allow

quality time for networking and busi-

ness discussions to ensure that you

leave Rwanda fulfilled.

Exhibition and Sponsorship

opportunities

There will be exhibition of products,

solutions and latest technologies in

aviation by reputable service providers

from across the world as well as excel-

lent opportunities for brand visibility

through sponsorship. More infor-

mation on exhibition and/or sponsor-

ship is available on AFRAA website:

http://www.afraa.org/

Invitation for participation

As participation is by invitation only,

please contact the AFRAA Secretariat

for an invitation to the event through

Ms. Dicie Okaya: dokaya@afraa.org

Engagements in Angola on currency repatriation challenges

AFRAA, IATA, AASA dele-

gation with TAAG Angola

Airlines CEO and Chief Com-

mercial Officer at TAAG

Angola Airlines headquarters

in June 2017

allocation to the Airlines so that they can

repatriate their sales as necessary every

month.

The delegation called on the authorities to

prioritize aviation among the other sectors

of the economy in their foreign exchange

allocations and to make the allocations to

airlines that were regular, consistent and

transparent.

Angola is among the countries have

been experiencing budgetary revenue

losses and balance of payments pres-

sures due to the dip in commodity and

oil prices. The authorities were recep-

tive to the huge economic and social

benefits of aviation industry. Further

engagements will take place on possi-

ble solutions for review and implemen-

tation by the Government of Angola.

In view of the current critical situation being

faced by airlines operating to Angola re-

garding delayed/blocked funds, a delegation

comprising of IATA, AFRAA, AASA and

airlines had a 2-day working visit to Angola

on 27 and 28 June 2017.

The IATA-led delegation met the authorities

to request on behalf of the airlines operating

to Angola an increase in foreign exchange

E gyptAir received 5th B737-800

NG. The 5th new aircraft, with

registration SU-GEJ, arrived in

Cairo International Airport to

join the national carrier's fleet. This plane

is the 65th in the fleet and 25th of the

same type.

In another development, Boeing held its

annual Ramadan volunteer activity in

Egypt for the second consecutive year at

the Al-Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo.

This year, Boeing and EgyptAir joined

hands to double the number of volunteers

to provide care packages for children and

their families at the hospital.

Mr. Safwat Musallam, Chairman, and

CEO, EgyptAir Holding said: “Our rela-

Issued by the African Airlines Association

tionship with Boeing goes back many

decades and we are delighted to partner

with them in this volunteer activity which

will bring smiles and happiness to many

patients and their families during this

Holy Month. We are pleased to share the

same values as Boeing and prioritize the

wellbeing of our community through

Ramadan which gives us an excellent

opportunity to fulfil our obligations at

multiple levels to reach out and serve.”

Source: EgyptAir

Volume 9, Issue 6 Page 2 AF R I C A N A I R LI N E S

day July 29, 2016 in Accra (Ghana) and

“Airline of the Year Award for Region-

al Operations” at the African Airlines

Association (AFRAA) 48th Annual

General Assembly held on November

20-22, 2016 at Victoria Falls in Zimba-

bwe.

In March 2017, the airline was recog-

nized as the “Air Quality and Comfort

Air Transport Awards” by the FOGE-

CA (Forum Economique et Gala de

l’intégration Africaine) held in Dakar,

Sénégal.

ASKY Airlines wishes to thank its

esteemed customers for their vote of

confidence and pledges to work even

harder to avail to them the best possible

regional air connectivity and travel

experience.

In another development, ASKY

announced the commencement of

daily flights between Lagos, Accra

and Abuja starting July, 2017.

These new routes offers more capac-

ity and flexibility with a significant

reduction in flight time between

Lagos, Accra, Abuja and the entire

Kenya Airways signs extended codeshare agreement with EgyptAir

ASKY recognized at the Balafon Award of Excellence

EgyptAir receives 5th

B737-800 NG

K enya Airways signed a

codeshare agreement with

EgyptAir, on the Nairobi-

Cairo route, in a bid to

improve connectivity to Egypt in North-

ern Africa.

The agreement will see EgyptAir load

Kenya Airways flight code on the Egyp-

tian carriers’ four flights between Cairo

and Nairobi. This will allow Kenya

Airways; to resume direct market access

between Nairobi and Cairo since August

2013 when its own operations were

suspended. The codeshare partnership

will initially cover 6 routes enhancing

passengers travel opportunities through-

out the region. These will include Cairo,

Istanbul, Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es

Salaam, Lusaka and Harare.

Kenya Airways Group Managing Direc-

tor and CEO Sebastian Mikosz said:

“As COMESA member countries, this

partnership enhances bilateral trade as

well as enabling both carriers to offer

customers seamless connectivity be-

tween Kenya and Egypt, especially for

our passengers in the region who main-

ly travel for business and leisure. Our

guests will now be able to enjoy flights

to Cairo either directly from Nairobi or

through Entebbe or Khartoum. As Afri-

can Airlines, partnerships are our big-

gest opportunity as we seek to sustaina-

bly develop Africa. This is indeed in

line with the core purpose of Kenya

Airways”, said Sebastian.

The Chairman and CEO EgyptAir

Holding, Mr. Safwat Musallam stated

that “As a member of AFRAA since

1968 and within the context of our

continuous efforts to offer seamless

transfers to our customers, EgyptAir

has initiated the partnership with Ken-

ya Airways as a foundation for future

commercial operational opportunities

between both airlines. The cooperation

also reinforces our commitment to-

wards our customers by increasing the

range of destinations all around the

world with seamless connectivity”.

Source: Kenya Airways

Photo: EgyptAir Photo: ASKY

A SKY Airlines was recog-

nized as the best Airline in

West Africa at the Balafon

Award of Excellence

(ACCRA WEIZO) held in Accra, Ghana

in May 2017 in Accra (Ghana). This

award recognizes the airline’s remarkable

performance and its growth plan.

It is to be recalled that ASKY was named

2014 “African Company of the Year” by

the Africa CEO Forum and as the “2014

Best Short Haul Carrier (West Africa)

and Best Short Haul Airline (Africa)” by

the Africa Travel Awards.

In 2016, the airline was named the “Most

Promising Airline of the Year” during

the Ghana Aviation Award held on Fri-

B oeing and Mauritania Airlines

announced an order for one

737 MAX 8 airplane at the

2017 Paris Air Show. The

order, valued at $112.4 million at list

prices, was previously attributed to an

unidentified customer on the Boeing Or-

ders & Deliveries website.

Mr. Mohamed Radhi Bennahi, CEO,

Mauritania Airlines said: “The 737 MAX

will complement our growing fleet and is

the perfect aircraft for short to medium-

haul operations across the Sahel region

and Europe, feeding traffic into our hub

airport at Nouakchott. This aircraft will

play a major role in growing our business

in the years to come.”

Van Rex Gallard, Vice President of Sales

for Africa, Latin America and the Carib-

bean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes said:

“This order is yet another endorsement for

the 737 MAX from one of our African

customers. We look forward to delivering

this first 737 MAX to Mauritania later this

year.” Source: Boeing

Issued by the African Airlines Association

Volume 9, Issue 6 Page 3 AF R I C A N A I R LI N E S

B oeing and Tassili Airlines

announced an order for three

Next-Generation 737-800

airplanes, valued at over

$294 million at list prices, at the 2017

Paris Air Show. The order was previous-

ly attributed to an unidentified customer

on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries web-

site.

Mr. Belkacem Harchaoui, CEO of Tas-

sili Airlines said: “The 737 has played a

critical role in the development of Tas-

sili Airlines. We have grown from an oil

charter operation to become a scheduled

passenger airline, connecting North

Africa with mainland Europe. This

order signifies an important next step in

the development of the airline as we

look to the future, adding additional

capacity on to existing and new routes

across the Maghreb, into France and

beyond.”

Van Rex Gallard, Vice President of

Sales for Africa, Latin America and the

Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Air-

planes said: “We are pleased that Tassili

Airlines continues to show its commit-

ment to the 737 following its first order

with us for four 737-800s which deliv-

ered in 2011. The 737's unmatched

performance and dispatch reliability

are crucial for Tassili's scheduled and

charter operations, flying to and from a

very challenging environment across

North Africa." Source: Boeing

Ethiopian Airlines wins SKYTRAX World Airline Award

RwandAir to start flights to Brussels Airport in July 2017

Photo: Ethiopian Airlines

Mauritania Airlines

announce order for Boeing

737 MAX 8 E thiopian Airlines announced

that it won SKYTRAX World

Airline Award for The Best

Airline in Africa in June 2017

at the Paris Air Show.

While receiving the award, Mr. Tewolde

GebreMariam Group CEO Ethiopian

Airlines said; “We are thrilled that

Skytrax has honoured Ethiopian Airlines

with The Best Airline in Africa award. I

am very happy that Ethiopian has won

the award as the Best Airline in Africa

based on customer survey. This is a very

strong testimony that in line with our

vision 2025, our heavy investment in

customer service, Human Resource

Development, modern fleet, infrastruc-

ture and ICT has resulted in the desired

customer delight which is expressed by

the strong vote of confidence in the

global survey. It will motivate us to

continue to invest time, energy and

money on the four pillars of our vision

2025 with sharp focus in customer

service across the value chain”.

In another development, Ethiopian

Airlines marked the commencement of

five weekly direct and non-stop services

to Singapore at a reception ceremony

held in May, 2017 at Addis Ababa Bole

Airport. The event was graced by Mr.

Tewolde GebreMariam, members of

Transport Affairs Standing Committee

from the House of People's Representa-

tives, aviation partner organizations,

travel Agencies, Ethiopian executive

management and other invited guests.

During the event, Mr. Tewolde said:

“Ethiopian flights to Singapore will

have a paramount importance in en-

hancing economic, cultural, and social

ties between Asia and Africa, and the

two countries in particular”. Source:

Ethiopian Airlines

Photo: Air Seychelles

A ir Seychelles expanded its

codeshare agreement with

Etihad Airways to offer trav-

ellers easy one-stop connec-

tions to the Chinese capital of Beijing,

effective June 2017.

The codeshare route is Air Seychelles’s

fourth codeshare connection with Etihad

Airways in East Asia after Hong Kong,

Seoul in South Korea, and Tokyo and

Nagoya in Japan.

Roy Kinnear CEO of Air Seychelles said:

“Our new codeshare route with Etihad

Airways provides guests with convenient

travel options to Beijing and reinforces

the strong political and economic rela-

tions between Seychelles and China.

Nearly 6,000 travellers from China have

visited our shores this year, and we are

working hand-in-hand with our tourism

partners to grow this number further.”

Source: Air Seychelles

Air Seychelles expands

codeshare network to Bei-

jing

Royal Air Maroc Cargo and Etihad Cargo to increase cooperation

R oyal Air Maroc Cargo and

Etihad Cargo have signed a

Memorandum of Under-

standing (MOU) which will

see the two airlines cooperate in a num-

ber of areas including network develop-

ment, freighter deployment and increas-

ing traffic on several trade lanes over the

next nine months.

The MOU was signed at Royal Air

Maroc’s headquarters in Casablanca by

David Kerr, Senior Vice President,

Etihad Cargo, and Amine El Farissi,

Vice President Cargo, Royal Air Maroc.

Abdelhamid Addou, Chief Executive

Officer of the Moroccan national airline,

also attended the signing ceremony.

Mr El Farissi said: “We are very pleased

to strengthen our existing partnership

with Etihad Cargo through this agree-

ment. The signature of this MOU is a

milestone for our long-term cooperation.

Thanks to the geographic and commer-

cial synergies which will result from this

game-changing partnership, we will take

our performance to the next level, main-

ly in the African and the American

markets. Royal Air Maroc Cargo will

also benefit from Etihad Cargo’s

operational and technological know-

how.” Source: Emirates Group

Photo: Boeing Photo: Royal Air Maroc

Photo: Boeing

for both continents with smooth con-

nections from cities with high demand

and will go a long way in boosting

trade and tourism”. The new route

takes RwandAir’s network to 23 desti-

nations. Source: RwandAir

and the administrative capital of the

European Union, is mainly known for

centuries of history, renaissance archi-

tecture and monuments. The city’s main

attractions include the Grand-Place, an

UNESCO World Heritage Site, the

Bronzed Manneken-Pis and admirable

green spaces such as the “Parc du Cin-

quantenaire”, Belgian Independence

Monument.

Mr. Chance Ndagano, the Acting CEO

of RwandAir said: “Adding Brussels to

our fast growing network, reaffirms our

commitment to create new opportunities

R wandAir announced the

commencement of non-stop

flights from Kigali to Brus-

sels, in Belgium effective

July 2017. All returning flights from

Brussels to Kigali will be via London.

With the new three flights a week be-

tween Brussels and Kigali, which will

be operated by the airline's Airbus A330

fleet configured in a triple class cabin

and equipped with inflight connectivity,

RwandAir offers a differentiated prod-

uct in terms of passenger comfort and

convenience.

Brussels, Belgium’s fascinating capital

Tassili Airlines announced order for Three Next-Generation 737-800s

Photo: Rwandair

M TU Maintenance and Vo-

laris signed an exclusive

five-year contract for the

management of the carri-

er’s V2500 engine accessories. The agree-

ment covers accessory repair and coordi-

nation during engine shop visits on a fixed

-price basis. Services will be performed at

MTU’s Maintenance accessory repair

center of excellence in British Columbia,

Canada. This new agreement builds on the

outstanding business relationship that the

two companies have shared since 2013.

MTU Maintenance is the service provider

for the V2500 family of engine models

with over 4,300 shop visits on the engine

family since 1989. As part of its compre-

hensive engine services, MTU Mainte-

nance provides specialized LRU and

accessory management and support. Its in-

house repair and test capabilities range

from fuel components such as pumps, fuel

controls, actuators and electrical compo-

nents to pneumatic components that in-

clude valves and starters. Source: MTU

Issued by the African Airlines Association

Volume 9, Issue 6 Page 4 AF R I C A N A I R LI N E S

B ombardier Commercial

Aircraft announced that

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

is the previously undisclosed

customer that signed a firm purchase

agreement for five additional Q400

turboprop aircraft. Based on the list

price of the Q400 aircraft, the contract is

valued at approximately $162 million

US.

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO,

Ethiopian Airline said: “We are reorder-

ing the Bombardier Q400 turboprop as it

is the core element in serving our ex-

panding domestic and regional destina-

tions. No other turboprop airliner match-

es its 360-knot speed capability, low

operating costs, environmental creden-

tials and passenger comfort, especially

with its cabin flexibility for single and

dual-class passenger configuration. The

Q400 aircraft shines in terms of climb

rate, single-engine ceiling, and greater

revenue-producing payload capability

from our hot weather, high altitude

airstrips, these performance attributes

being critical to interchangeability with

our jet fleet.”

Jean-Paul Boutibou, Vice President,

Sales, Middle East and Africa, Bom-

bardier Commercial Aircraft said: “The

airline market in Africa has been grow-

ing slowly but steadily as the industry is

becoming more liberalized and the

infrastructure to support the growth is

being put in place. Airlines in Africa

are working very hard to modernize

their operations to meet the challenges

of tomorrow and we are committed to

helping with the aircraft and technical

support they require.”

Ethiopian Airlines’ initial order for

eight Q400 aircraft plus four options

was announced on November 20,

2008. Four re-orders directly and

through Palma Capital, including the

one announced on June 9, increase the

airline’s Q400 aircraft fleet to 24 air-

craft, the largest in Africa. Source:

Bombardier

Mauritania Airlines International enhances global distribution with Hahn Air MTU Maintenance Canada

and Volaris sign exclusive

engine accessories contract H ahn Air announced the start

of an interline partnership

with Mauritania Airlines

International. This agree-

ment enables Mauritania Airlines to tap

into new markets where they are not a

member of the local Billing and Settle-

ment Plan (BSP). Thereby, Mauritania

Airlines International expands its com-

mercial reach to over 100,000 travel

agencies in 190 markets worldwide

while its flights are now available on the

HR-169 ticket in the Global Distribution

Systems (GDSs) Amadeus and Galileo.

Mauritania Airlines International will

join Hahn Air’s network of more than

300 air, rail and shuttle partners benefit-

ing from Hahn Air’s distribution ser-

vices.

Mohamed Radhy Bennahi, CEO of

Mauritania Airlines International said:

“With this new cooperation, we aim to

access new streams of revenue whilst

giving passengers worldwide the oppor-

tunity to benefit from our travel offer-

ings in Africa and beyond.”

Steve Knackstedt, Vice President of the

Airline Business Group at Hahn Air

said: “We are proud to welcome Mauri-

tania Airlines International into our

network of partner carriers, further

broadening our presence in the Afri-

can market with now 49 partners.

Under the agreement, Mauritania

International Airlines will benefit from

additional ticket sales and our travel

agent partners will have access to yet

another carrier whose tickets they

would normally not be able to issue.”

Source: Hahn Air

A irbus and China have signed a

Memorandum of Understand-

ing (MoU) on aviation and

aerospace, further enhancing

a spirit of cooperation. The MoU was

signed in Berlin by Fabrice Brégier, Air-

bus COO and President of Commercial

Aircraft, and He Lifeng, Chairman of the

National Development and Reform Com-

mission (NDRC) of China.

The MoU strengthens and deepens mutu-

ally beneficial collaboration between

Airbus and Chinese aviation industry in

various fields. Based on an already estab-

lished solid foundation, Airbus and China

will support the development of engineer-

ing skills and technology innovation in

China and also promote the integration of

Chinese suppliers into Airbus’ global

supply chain.

Mr. Fabrice Brégier, Airbus COO and

President of Commercial Aircraft said:

“Together with our Chinese partners, we

are confident in meeting the new chal-

lenges and opportunities and look for-

ward to an even deeper and broader part-

nership.” Source: Airbus

Airbus and China to en-

hance cooperation in avia-

tion and aerospace

M itsubishi Heavy Industries

(MHI) and Mitsubishi

Aircraft Corporation

announced that the third

Flight Test Aircraft (FTA-3) of the

Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) landed at

the Le Bourget Airport near Paris on

June 15. FTA-3 will be on static display

at the 52nd International Paris Air Show.

FTA-3 took off from the Moses Lake

Flight Test Center, Grant County Inter-

national Airport in the State of Washing-

ton, U.S.A., on June 13, and arrived at

the Le Bourget Airport on June 15. This

is the first trip to the European continent

made by the MRJ. The aircraft conduct-

ed the ferry flight to Paris from Moses

Lake via Winnipeg and Goose Bay,

Canada and Keflavik, Iceland.

The MRJ recently received the type

certification for its PW1200G geared

turbofan engine, capping several notable

program testing milestones that have

been accomplished in recent months,

including static strength, company light-

ning, initial natural icing, cold and hot

soak, high speed flutter and flight

load survey tests. Details on all these

tests and future updates on MRJ

development can be found at http://

progress.flythemrj.com/. Source:

MRJ

MRJ touches down at Le Bourget Airport

F LYHT Aerospace Solutions

Ltd. announced the receipt of a

patent from the United States

Patent and Trademark Office

for FLYHT’s emergency data streaming

technology which has been initially

enabled in a commercial software prod-

uct called FLYHTStreamTM.

Kent Jacobs, FLYHT’s first employee

who jointly filed the patent application

back in 2010 said: “During the extended

search for AF447 it became clear to

FLYHT that there was a problem to

solve. Could real-time communications

be used to send data to locate and get

FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. receives U.S. patent for FLYHT Stream valuable information from the aircraft,

possibly to even prevent a future acci-

dent? We extended the capabilities of

our system and this patent was filed.

Having this patent granted marks an

important milestone for our Company as

we continue to protect our intellectual

property and expand our exclusive offer-

ings to our customers in the aviation

industry.”

FLYHTStream is commercially availa-

ble and is a solution which augments the

on-board flight data recorders and flight

voice recorders. FLYHTStream is a

software service that is enabled by the

Automated Flight Information Re-

porting System (AFIRSTM) which

hosts services that save aircraft opera-

tors money, streamline their opera-

tions and proactively enhance safety,

which prevents accidents and can

save lives. The patent title is Aircraft

Flight Data Delivery and Manage-

ment System with Emergency Mode,

US 9,602,187 B2 and is dated March

21, 2017. Source: FLYHT

Bombardier unveils Ethiopian Airlines as Customer for Q400 Aircraft

R olls-Royce won a major order

from Ethiopian Airlines to

provide Trent XWB engines

for ten new Airbus A350-900

aircraft with TotalCare® service support,

further increasing its order book for new

engines. In addition, the order includes

TotalCare for 14 of the aircraft already in

service or on order. In total, the deal is

valued at $1.5 billion at list prices.

Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive

Officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We

have been impressed by the performance

of both aircraft and engines in service,

which gave us confidence to go forward

with our order for ten additional aircraft

which will bring even greater levels of

comfort and service to our customers.”

Source: Rolls-Royce

Issued by the African Airlines Association

Volume 9, Issue 6 Page 4 AF R I C A N A I R LI N E S Amadeus launches advanced data analytics suite to boost travel destinations

Pratt & Whitney Canada signs agreement to supply its PW150C engine to

power the MA700 Aircraft

Rolls-Royce wins $1.5bn

Trent XWB order from

Ethiopian Airlines D estination Marketing Organ-

isations (DMOs) have in the

past been bound by data

such as visitor numbers

only after the year is complete, as report-

ed in Amadeus’ recent paper ‘Smart

decisions for smart destinations using

big data’. But this has meant DMOs

have been less able to take proactive

decisions to attract travellers. To do so,

DMOs need to know what potential

visitors want, which rival destinations

they compete with and how to get ahead

of travel trends.

The latest product suite from Amadeus’

Travel Intelligence division, Destination

Insight, aims to put DMOs in the know

with analysis of up-to-date travel data,

removing some of the guesswork often

involved when making key marketing

decisions. By analysing billions of up-to

-date global air travel transactions in

near real time, the suite can reveal hid-

den opportunities for DMOs to boost

their destinations’ growth.

Pascal Clement, Head of Travel Intel-

ligence, Amadeus, said: “Destinations

that can understand today’s travellers

through data, and respond with target-

ed, effective campaigns will be well-

placed to capitalise on changing trav-

eller preferences”. Source: Amadeus

G E Capital Aviation Services

(GECAS), the commercial

aircraft leasing and financing

arm of General Electric

signed a firm order for 100 A320neo

Family aircraft at the 52nd International

Paris Air Show. GECAS has selected

CFM’s LEAP-X engine for all 100

A320neo Family aircraft.

This new order brings the total number of

Airbus aircraft ordered by GECAS to

almost 600 aircraft. Of these 220 are

A320neo Family aircraft.

Alec Burger, President and CEO of

GECAS said: “The A320neo aircraft is an

excellent product. GECAS is pleased to

make this additional commitment for

A320neos to meet strong customer de-

mand for this type. The A320neo family

aircraft powered by CFM’s LEAP-1A

engines, with now proven increased fuel

efficiencies, longer range and higher

seating capacity will continue to be one

of our core assets in our lease portfolio.

The A321 version has also gained strong

acceptance from customers in various

new markets proving the versatility of the

type.” Source: Airbus

T he E190 received type certifi-

cation from South Africa’s

Civil Aviation Authority.

Airlink, southern Africa’s

regional airline, recently took delivery of

their first E190 which will soon go into

service. Type certification opens up new

opportunities for the aircraft in South

Africa. Embraer sees a market for around

50 jets within Embraer product category

over the next decade.

Already a significant Embraer custom-

er, Airlink recently decided to add a

further 11 ERJ 140s to their fleet and

will soon operate 30 Embraer Regional

Jets of all three types - ERJ 135, ERJ

140 and the ERJ 145 – the delivery of

which will be completed by mid-2018.

Reinaldo Krugner, Vice President for

Africa, Latin America & Portugal,

Embraer Commercial Aviation said:

“This certification opens new oppor-

tunities for the aircraft, which has

already attained significant success in

other regions of the world. I’m confi-

dent that very soon we will see even

more E-Jets flying through the pictur-

esque skies of South Africa.” Source:

Embraer

Boeing signs commitment with unidentified customer for 125 737 MAX 8 Airplanes

B oeing signed an agreement

with an unidentified major

airline customer for 125 737

MAX 8 airplanes, valued at

more than $14 billion at list prices. The

agreement also includes purchase rights

for an additional 50 airplanes. The

agreement will be reflected on the Boe-

ing Orders and Deliveries website once

finalized.

Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President,

Global Sales and Marketing, Boeing

Commercial Airplanes said: “We con-

tinue to see great demand for the 737

MAX family of airplanes across all

regions around the world and today's

announcement is a testament to the

growth of our market. The market-

leading capabilities of the 737 MAX in

terms of efficiency, reliability and pas-

senger comfort, will continue to drive

profitability for our customers.”

According to Boeing's new 2017

Current Market Outlook, airlines

around the world will require more

than 41,000 airplanes over the next

20-years. The single-aisle segment

will see the most growth, with nearly

three-quarters of new airplanes deliv-

eries needed over the next two dec-

ades. Source: Boeing

E190 jet receives South African CAA type certification

A ir Senegal SA signed a

contract for a firm order of

two ATR 72-600s at the

Paris Air Show. With an

estimated value of approximately 50

million euros at catalogue price, the

contract was formalised in the presence

of Maimouna Ndoye Seck, Senegal’s

Minister for Tourism and Air Transport

and Elisabeth Borne, French Minister for

Transport.

GECAS orders 100

A320neo aircraft

Air Senegal SA to launch operations with two ATR 72-600s

P ratt & Whitney Canada

(P&WC) signed an agreement

to supply its latest PW150

engine family powerplant - the

PW150C - to power the AVIC Aircraft

MA700 aircraft. Since the selection of

the PW150C for the new regional turbo-

prop, P&WC has invested significantly

in the engine's development to support

its integration into the airframe.

Frédéric Lefebvre, Vice President, Mar-

keting, P&WC said: “The PW150C

turboprop engine continues to build on

the proven PW150A engine architecture

and will incorporate the latest technolo-

gies to deliver performance and fuel

efficiency to the newly designed MA700

aircraft. Enhancements we have built

into the PW150C engine include advan-

ced high-efficiency technologies, mate-

rials and manufacturing processes,

including a third-stage power turbine,

a modified reduction gearbox to sup-

port the aircraft's larger-diameter

propellers and an optimized low-

pressure compressor.” Source: Pratt &

Whitney

market forecasts, Africa and the

Middle East should need 300 turbo-

prop aircraft by 2035, and 400 new

routes should be created. With the

ATRs, Senegalese passengers will

benefit from a transport offer that will

generate many business opportuni-

ties, thereby helping to boost the

local economy.” Source: ATR

Delivery of these two turboprop aircraft,

which will constitute the initial fleet of

the airline, will be made in November

2017. Air Senegal SA’s inauguration

ceremony will be held in December

2017, in conjunction with the inaugura-

tion of the new Blaise Diagne Interna-

tional Airport in Diass, located some 50

kilometers from Dakar.

Christian Scherer, ATR’s Chief Execu-

tive Officer said: “According to our

I n the month of June, AFRAA held

the following courses:

Safety Management Systems (SMS) for

both the Executive Management and

personnel of Air Namibia on 20 – 23

June. The course focused on best practic-

es to improve SMS using modern commu-

nication strategy as well as risk manage-

ment techniques. A total of 32 participants

attended the courses.

The personnel of Air Botswana participat-

ed in in-house training the Refresher

courses for Dangerous Goods Regula-

tions and Weight and Balance for the

operational personnel.

Volume 9, Issue 6 Page 6 AF R I C A N A I R LI N E S

Issued by the African Airlines Association

The AFRAA Bulletin is monthly publication by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). Send articles or enquiries to: mkahonge@afraa.org

About AFRAA

AFRAA, is a trade organization of Airlines from the member states of the African Union (AU) whose aim is to foster commercial and technical cooperation for

airlines and represent their common interest. Founded in Accra, Ghana in April, 1968, and currently headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the Association members

represent 83% of total intercontinental traffic carried by African Airlines. For more information, visit: www.afraa.org

NB: Data is for all Passenger flights, both non-stop and flights with stops

African Airlines Other Carriers

June 2017

flights seats % African

Carriers

flights seats % Other

Carriers

Intra Africa 95267 8140379 91.49% 4,231 757,268 8.51%

Africa Europe 6,381 1,088,201 38.82% 8,365 1,715,136 61.18%

Africa - N. America 285 81,824 67.45% 160 39,492 32.55%

Africa - M. East 4,174 786,878 41.02% 4,780 1,131,297 58.98%

Africa - Asia 786 199,963 86.67% 116 30,756 13.33%

106,893 10,297,245 17,652 3,673,949

June 2016

Intra Africa 80,537 7,643,745 95.68% 3,633 686,081 4.32%

Africa Europe 5,646 932,743 42.55% 7622 1553668 57.45%

Africa - N. America 301 88,311 59.49% 205 47,967 40.51%

Africa - M. East 4239 776835 47.22% 4,739 1,093,199 52.78%

Africa - Asia 746 172,962 86.85% 113 30,861 13.15%

TOTAL 91,469 9,614,596 16,312 3,411,776

June 2017 June 2016

Source: AFRAA/OAG Source: AFRAA/OAG

AFRAA Training

U pcoming courses and Seminars:

In conjunction with IATA Airline

Training Fund, AFRAA will host

Free course in Aviation Internal

Audit (17 – 21 July) and Root Cause Anal-

ysis (11 – 15 September). The two courses are

open to all African Airlines. For further infor-

mation, contact Elin Bukhala, ebukha-

la@afraa.org. Limited slots

AFRAA shall be hosting Security Workshop

scheduled on 1 – 2 August in Nairobi at the

Kenya Airways Pride Center. Airlines, Air-

ports, Civil Aviation and other stakeholders

are welcome to attend and deliberate key

issues in aviation security. For registration

please contact Ms. Dicie Okaya,

dokaya@afraa.org, Cc ebukhala@afraa.org

Participants who attended Airline Document Systems and Control on

30 May – 2 June, 2017