African Pilot Aviation News 02 2015 • Monday 12 January 2015 “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” Ambrose Redmoon FlySafair checks in its 100 000th passenger Just over two months after its inaugural flight, South Africa’s first true low cost airline FlySafair has checked in its 100 000th passenger. The passenger flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town on 22 December 2014. “We’re thrilled to have reached this milestone in such a short time,” says FlySafair CEO Dave Andrew. “This is a clear indication that the South African flying public has given our airline their vote of confidence. Many of these passengers are corporate flyers and we have been delighted by the degree of support from businesses across South Africa since we took to the skies on 16 October 2014. “We set out with very modest expectations for capturing the corporate market, given our initial limited network and schedule. However, we can tell from the day trip travelling patterns and company e-mail addresses that many small, medium and even larger businesses are making use of our conveniently timed services, particularly on flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town and on our Port Elizabeth services from both Johannesburg and Cape Town. As we augment our network and schedule, we anticipate that business demand will increase substantially.” Andrew adds that the immediate demand for FlySafair flights has exceeded expectations so significantly that he anticipates that growth will take place faster than first envisaged. With many domestic and regional city pairs considerably underserved and prevailing fares that are prohibitive for most South African air travellers, he says FlySafair intends to provide a value-added alternative that will continue to stimulate increased demand in all the markets it serves. Additional routes will be announced in the first quarter of 2015. For further information or to simple book your next flight, visit flysafair.co.za For more information on the Aero Club Airweek taking place at Parys Airfield go to aeroclub.org.za/ fastjet Zambia approval update fastjet, Africa’s low-cost airline, is pleased to announce that fastjet Zambia Ltd has received confirmation from the Zambian Civil Aviation Authority that it has successfully completed the critical ‘Phase 1’ of its application for an Air Operating Certificate (AOC). This is a significant step towards the launch of fastjet operations in Zambia. The next stage of the AOC process, which is well underway, allows the authorities to evaluate fastjet Zambias planned company structure, gain first-hand understanding of fastjets Airbus aircraft and approve fastjet Zambias operational plan. Zambia will be fastjet’s second base from which it plans to operate low-cost flights to various destinations in East and Southern Africa. Prices on regional routes from Zambia are currently very high, especially so where a monopoly operator controls the route. AirAsia accident prompts Indonesian aviation crackdown After AirAsia Flight 8501 went down on 28 December in the Java Sea, the Indonesian government is examining the licenses and schedules of all Indonesian airlines to be sure they are not violating any rules and have proper paperwork for the routes they fly. The Associated Press reports that AirAsia had not received the proper clearances from the government to fly on that day. The airline was authorized to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but not on Sunday, which is when the accident occurred. Officials said that Singapore had authorized the Sunday flight, but not Indonesia. In response to the accident, The Indonesian transportation ministry has forced the cancellation of all AirAsia flights between the two cities. Djoko Murjatmodjo, acting director general of air transportation, said that several officials had been suspended for allowing the flight to take-off and the ministry issued a new directive 0n 31 December, which requires all airlines to provide its pilots with current weather information on their routes of flight. Previously, the pilot and co-pilot had the responsibility for obtaining a weather briefing and weather on 28 December is one of the factors being examined in the accident. The pilot had contacted air traffic controllers to say he had threatening weather on his route, but was denied a request to climb to a higher altitude because of other traffic. AirAsia has had a good safety record prior to this accident, its first since it began operation in 2001. Aviation humour Because they had no reservations at a busy restaurant, my elderly retired airline captain neighbour and his wife were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table. “Young man, were both 90 years old,” the captain said. “We may not have 45 minutes.” They were seated immediately.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:11:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015