AviaDev Insight Africa

This episode is the third of a new format that focuses on sub-Saharan African air route development, with a specific focus on routes that are due to start or cease in the next quarter.

My guests for this podcast are:

Aviation consultant, analyst and commentator, Sean Mendis, who brings over 20 years of experience in the industry, including stints managing airports, commercial airlines, and also cargo airlines in Africa and the Middle East.

Behramjee Ghadially, an aviation consultant with over 20 years of experience (9 of which has been in Africa) supporting airlines globally with their network planning and strategy.

In this episode, we cover:

• Airlink moving to daily Malawi from mid December, whilst SAA has announced they are pulling out.

• Etihad's Abu-Dhabi to Nairobi service and why Etihad has a small footprint compared to the other Middle Eastern carriers

• FlyNamibia to launch Luanda, Maun and Victoria Falls in 2024

• Jambojet launching Mombasa-Zanzibar with a dash 8

• TAAG Angola increasing Sao Paulo frequencies

• flydubai ordering 787s and what this means for Africa

• ET's Dubai Airshow orders and how they plan to deploy the aircraft

• SAA to launch Gqeberha from Johannesburg

Rumour Mill

• Malawi Airlines adds an ex-asky 737-700. Will we finally see the new routes they have been teasing for months?
• Madagascar Airlines. What's next there?
• Emirates back to Nigeria. Anytime soon?
• Air Tanzania to start USA

Did we miss a route? Let me know Email Jon

Connect/ Follow Behramjee Ghadially here

Connect/ follow Sean Mendis here

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe and never miss another episode.

This episode was recorded 7th November 2023 on location in Windhoek, Namibia

I spoke with Bisey Uirab, the CEO of the Namibia Airports Company, who is responsible for the operation and development of the country's airports.

Bisey himself has a long history of leading multiple private sector and state organizations including the Namibia Ports Authority, where he served as CEO for 10 years before becoming CEO of NAC in 2019.

In the episode, we discuss:

• The connectivity and aviation development ambitions of Namibia
• The factors attracting new carriers to the country
• Airport infrastructure development and investment plans
• What Namibia hopes to achieve by hosting AviaDev Africa 2024

You can follow NAC via LinkedIn here

Check out www.AviaDev.com to sign up for event updates.

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe for free to ensure you never miss another episode.

This episode was recorded on 7th November on location in Windhoek, Namibia, where AviaDev Africa 2024 will take place June 19-21.

Today's guest is at the helm of one of the most important stakeholders, FlyNamibia, who will be heavily involved in the event as an official carrier

Andre Compion is a well-known Namibian businessman and the Managing Director of FlyNamibia.

In the episode, we discuss:

• How and why Fly Namibia was created
• The thinking behind the equity stake from Airlink
• The current network and fleet
• The recent IATA membership and what the airline aims to do with this
• New route developments

You can follow FlyNamibia's via their social media handles here:

LinkedIn

Instagram

To find out more about 2024's event, visit www.aviadev.com to sign up for event updates.

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe for free to ensure you never miss another episode.

In this episode, we dive into a topic that has been dominating conversations over the last couple of years, specifically aviation's role in supporting the drive towards net zero and a more sustainable industry.

To do this I am joined by Dirk Singer, the Head of Sustainability at Simpliflying, a consulting firm that is dedicated to supporting a greener and more environmentally sustainable future for air travel.

Together we discuss:

• How best to address the topic of sustainability with industry stakeholders?
• What Simpliflying is aiming to achieve with the book?
• Should Africa be subject to the same sustainability targets as everyone else, when its aviation industry is unprofitable?
• Who should finance sustainability?
• What can African aviation and governmental stakeholders be doing now to capitalise on the opportunity?

Buy the book here

Listen to the sustainability in the air podcast now here or find it on all platforms

Follow Dirk on LinkedIn

Follow Simpliflying on LinkedIn

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This episode is the second of a new format that focuses on sub-Saharan African air route development, with a specific focus on routes that are due to start or cease in the next quarter.

My guests for this podcast are:

Aviation consultant, analyst and commentator, Sean Mendis, who brings over 20 years of experience in the industry, including stints managing airports, commercial airlines, and also cargo airlines in Africa and the Middle East.

Tatenda Karuwa - a journalist writing for Simple Flying, the largest aviation website globally https://simpleflying.com/

In this episode, we cover:

• SAA to launch Sao Paulo from both CPT and JHB
• SAA opening Abidjan
• Uganda Airlines launching Mumbai and Lagos
• Ibom Air launching Accra
• Air Tanzania swapping Mumbai to the Boeing 737 MAX 9
• Ethiopian Airlines increasing Accra and Seychelles
• Fastjet increasing frequencies from Bulawayo to Johannesburg

Rumour Mill:

• Emirates to return to Nigeria
• Ghana Airlines latest
• TAAG to launch LGW

Did we miss a route? Let me know Email Jon

Connect/ Follow Tatenda Karuwa here

Connect/ follow Sean Mendis here

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe and never miss another episode.

This podcast was recorded on 18th October in Dakar, Senegal, where I was attending the ACI Africa Annual General Assembly.

Senegal is also the home base of the African Civil Aviation Commission or AFCAC who have been very visible and busy sensitising stakeholders in terms of the benefits of the single African air transport market. In June at AviaDev, AFCAC and AviaDev signed an MoU to support each other in the fields of communication and route development.

In this episode, Adefunke Adeyemi, Secretary General, AFCAC and I discuss:

• Status update. What is the current state of progress?
• How do you respond to airline CEOs who don't necessarily support SAATM?
• Have there been new intra-African routes launched that may not have happened before SAATM?
• Have AFCAC been successful in solving market access disputes?
• Are AFCAC lobbying for visa reform?
• The goals and objectives of the next 2 years

Follow AFCAC on LinkedIn here

Watch Adefunke's lifetime achievement award interview here

As always, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe and never miss another episode.

This episode is an opportunity to understand what we can expect from the upcoming AFRAA AGA taking place in Kampala, Uganda in November 2023.

Together we discuss:

The African aviation recovery

AFRAA's current priorities

Preview of sessions, speakers and topics to be addressed at the AGA

What will be on offer for the delegates

Find out more about the AFRAA AGA here

Hit that share button to share these insights with someone you feel will benefit from listening and see you for the next episode soon.

In this episode, we are heading to Germany to meet the CCO of discover airlines an airline delivering a huge number of international tourists to the African continent.

In this episode, we discover...

The origin story of the airline

The current network and how it has been developed

The fleet composition and product offering

The market composition

The rebranding exercise

Future African destinations

How airports and destinations can influence Discover's planning decisions

The Namibian market. Why has it been such a success?

You can connect with Helmut on LinkedIn here

Visit the discover website

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, don't hesitate to subscribe and never miss another episode.

In this episode, we welcome back a previous guest, Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, a low-cost South African airline that is about to embark on a regional expansion launching new routes to Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique.

Together we discuss:

Why now is the right time to enter these new markets

What is driving the demand on the routes?

How FlySafair expect the routes and load factors to develop and the role local partners will play in this development

How AviaDev has supported the conversations around these new route developments

The impact of the FlySafair and South African Rugby team strategic partnership on the business

Are the immediate plans to continue to expand or consolidate?

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In this episode, I am joined by flydubai, a very important international airline serving multiple points in Africa, which has just announced a brand new route, taking its African network to 11 destinations in 10 countries.

The airline has announced it will serve Mombasa on the east coast of Kenya 4 times per week from January 2024.

In this podcast, we hear directly from the airline as to what has prompted this new route announcement and also to get a general feel of FlyDubai's approach to development in Africa, with Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations at flydubai.

Connect/ Follow Sudhir on LinkedIn here

For those listening, you can now head across to our new website www.AviaDev.com to see the theme for our 2024 event and get a flavour of our event plans.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating to enable us to be found by even more people, and feel free to share the link with someone in your network that you think would benefit from listening.