AviaDev Insight Africa

Welcome to the March edition of the AviaDev Insight Africa Connectivity update for 2025, hosted by Jon Howell, CEO and Founder of AviaDev Africa.

This month's guests are:

Sean Mendis, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH SEAN

Behramjee Ghadially, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH BEHRAMJEE

Topics this month include:

Recap and feedback on Uganda Airlines' new LGW route

Kenya Airways report a $42 million profit and continues to tweak its schedules and navigate operational challenges

Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Partnership. Who stands to gain the most and what's behind it?

Deep Dive Topic 1: Understanding the importance and changing dynamic of the China market to Ethiopian Airlines' network.

Deep Dive Topic 2: US-South Africa schedule changes as Delta and United lean in to Cape Town and away from Johannesburg

Fastjet to launch Harare-Lusaka from 9th April

Airlink to boost Nairobi to 10 x week and Lusaka to 10x day

Singapore Airlines increasing Johannesburg to 10x week in April and 12x from June

Gulf Air to return to Nairobi on 2nd June after a 13 year hiatus

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In this episode, we hear Rodger Foster's farewell speech to the industry ahead of his retirement.

Rodger is CEO and Managing Director of Airlink, and the speech reflects on his career and the evolution of Airlink since its founding in 1992.

He reflects on the journey through significant political and economic changes in South Africa, detailing the challenges and achievements in the aviation industry.

Rodger discusses the current state of the industry, emphasizing the need for updated regulatory frameworks, better infrastructure, and more collaborative approaches to unlock Africa's aviation potential.

He criticizes the inefficacy of the Single African Air Transport Market (SATAM), and addresses issues like unfair economic regulations, outdated airport services, and the need for modernized weather services and digitalization. Ultimately, Rodger advocates for fundamental growth changes and greater unity across the industry to ensure a sustainable future.

Watch Rodger's lifetime achievement award interview here

Welcome to the February edition of the AviaDev Insight Africa Connectivity update for 2025, hosted by Jon Howell, CEO and Founder of AviaDev Africa.

This month's guests are:

Sean Mendis, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH SEAN

Behramjee Ghadially, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH BEHRAMJEE

Topics this month include: Air Peace canceled Johannesburg, Lome, and Jeddah flights, but signed an interline agreement with Emirates RwandAir's connectivity challenges and how they can overcome them Ethiopian updates include the new Porto Route, Manchester moving to daily service, Entebbe increase, Moscow increase, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur increases, and a change in routing for West Africa Etihad to suspend Seychelles from 22 May Condor increasing Cape Town from 5-7 per week and Jo'burg from 2-3 per week, plus Norse to go 4 x weekly to CPT Winter 2025 ITA to start Rome - Mauritius flights from November 2025 Cathay Pacific to increase to Jo'burg from 5 x week to daily from July Uganda Airlines latest on the London route Eswatini Air to open Lusaka 2 x week

In this episode, I am joined by Marco Goetz, Chief Commercial Officer, and Rupert Kraus, Director Network Development and Airport Relations at Discover Airlines.

The airline turns 4 in 2025 and continues to develop its African network.

In the episode, we discuss:

The African network and fleet in 2025.

The Zanzibar route performance and continued expansion

A new route for 2025, the Seychelles, starting in October 2025.

Windhoek will be served from a new base in Munich 3 x week from March 2025.

How big a role has the interline with Airlink/ FlyNamibia played in making this route a success?

Inflight product upgrades

Fleet development and what this means for African destinations that cannot yet be served.

Meet the team at AviaDev in Zanzibar this June

Connect with Rupert

Connect with Marco

In this episode, I am joined by our 3 partners to preview the inaugural AviaDev tourism and connectivity forum, a platform offering practical advice and showcasing best practices to inform and assist Africa's tourism authorities to shape their destination's connectivity.

Our partners are:

Natalia Rosa, Tourism Project Lead, SADC Tourism Business Council

Kojo Bentum-Williams, CEO, VoyagesAfriq

Tim Harris, Helm Growth Advisors

In the episode, we discuss:

Why the Cape Town Air Access initiative was created and the benefits it has brought to the Western Cape

Is there appetite from the SADC governments to support the development of aviation and tourism in the region and what lobbying efforts are currently taking place?

Why destinations are not already more involved in air service development

An overview of the sessions and what attendees will gain from attending.

You can find out more about the event here

If you are an airport listener, why not share the episode and encourage your tourism authority to join you for the event?

In this episode, we sit down with George Mothema, CEO of BARSA, the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa, who represents the interests of international, regional, and local member airlines and ground handlers to government, airport operators, and stakeholders in the airline industry.

We cover:

South Africa's recovery to date in terms of airlift and tourism

BARSA's priorities for 2025 and beyond

What's holding back progress?

An overview of topics and speakers slated for the 2025 edition, taking place 13-14 March in Kruger, Mpumulanga.

To find out more about the summit, visit https://barsa.co.za/summit-2025/

To follow BARSA on LinkedIn, click here

To view the Trevor Noah campaign video

In this episode, recorded live on location in Dubai, we are joined by Timur Shumarov, Co-Founder, and Tatenda Karuwa, Account Executive, from Solus Insurance Brokers to discuss the critical topic of aviation insurance for African airlines.

In the episode, we cover:

The typical insurance an airline will need to be able to operate

How is the insurance landscape in Africa changing and what is driving the change?

The challenges of providing incomplete or incorrect information when applying for coverage or leaving a renewal too late

The benefits of engaging an insurance broker to support the airline.

Connect with Tatenda

Connect with Timur

Find out more about Solus at https://solus.ae/

Our conversation is supported by an insightful article entitled "5 Best Practices When Seeking Aviation Insurance" which can be read here

We welcome back Raphael Haddad, President of Jetcraft Commerical, for a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing African airlines regarding aircraft procurement and financing.

Topics discussed:

An overview of current market trends and sentiment

Is aircraft acquisition and financing becoming more difficult and what options are open to African airlines?

Fleet renewals. Are airlines looking for improved efficiency and economics or are they simply focused on cost?

How can we improve the strength of African airlines to ensure that African connectivity continues to develop?

Is Africa ready to handle a doubling of the commercial fleet in the next 20 years?

Connect with Raphael on LinkedIn

Visit the Jetcraft Commercial website

Welcome to the first edition of the AviaDev Insight Africa Connectivity update for 2025, hosted by Jon Howell, CEO and Founder of AviaDev Africa.

This month's guests are:

Sean Mendis, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH SEAN

Behramjee Ghadially, Aviation Consultant. CONNECT WITH BEHRAMJEE

In this bumper episode, we cover the following stories:

✈️ Ethiopian Airlines to launch Hyderabad 3 x week from June

✈️ SAA opening a daily flight to Dar-Es-Salaam on 20th January

✈️ Air Sierra Leone launching operations with Freetown-Lagos using Embraer ERJ 145

✈️ British Airways increasing service to Nairobi in Summer 2025 and the impact on Kenya Airways and Uganda Airlines' ambitions in this market

✈️ Lufthansa Group deep dive: Brussels Airlines increasing its long haul fleet and sub-Saharan expansion to 56 weekly flights.

✈️ Discover to launch Seychelles 2 x week from October 2025

✈️ ITA joining the Lufthansa Group and what this means for African connectivity

✈️ Air Arabia launching service to Addis Ababa from Sharjah

✈️ Turkish Airlines' expansion into Tanzania

✈️ Emirates increasing frequencies to Madagascar

✈️ Latest on the South African market and ownership ruling

If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to the podcast to never miss another episode and share this episode with someone in your network who would benefit from listening.

In our first podcast of 2025, we examine how AI is revolutionizing airline revenue management and how this can improve airline profitability in Africa and across the globe.

To discuss this topic, I am joined by 3 revenue management experts: the President and CEO of RTS, Raja Kasilingam; Passenger Airline Senior Vice President, Bharat Kumar and Senior Vice President, Jason Codd.

Topics discussed:

An introduction to airline revenue management- its origins and evolution

Common mistakes airlines make with their revenue management practices

The World of Artificial Intelligence and how it can support decision making

How to deal with scepticism and how AI can provide transparency in outlining recommendations

Read the blog here

Connect with Raja here

Connect with Bharat here

Connect with Jason here