Aviation News Update – WikiLeaks got it wrong about Kenya Airways

WIKILEAKS ALLEGATIONS TOWARDS KENYA AIRWAYS ‘BASELESS AND TOTALLY WRONG’

The information WikiLeaks published about the alleged ‘blocking’ by Kenya Airways of direct flights by Sky Team alliance partner Delta between the US and Kenya are ‘outrageous and totally false’ according to a regular and highly placed source in Kenya Airways.

WikiLeaks documents suggest that KQ was opposed to flight to the US, conveniently forgetting key aspects which would make such flights possible, while at the same time working against their alliance partner’s intention to fly to Kenya via West Africa.

In the first instance, Kenya’s main airport in Nairobi is still awaiting FAA certification as a category one airport, and it is expected that only after the ongoing workscope by the Kenya Airports Authority is complete, that this can be achieved. Presently for instance are the passenger flows of arriving and departing travellers still meeting in the departure lounge levels, and this is a key demand, the clear separation of these two, before Cat 1 can be certified.

Secondly do the WikiLeaks documents overlook that Kenya Airways currently does not have the aircraft available to fly to the US, considering the years of delay of the delivery of the long ago ordered B787 aircraft. Until KQ’s fleet has expanded enough, they will not be able to add US flights, while reportedly being happy to enter into a code share with Delta, should that airline finally be given clearance to come to Nairobi.

It is here in particular, where the WikiLeaks documents appear extremely weak and far from reporting facts, as it was the US administration which on the eve of the planned inaugural flight stopped Delta from taking off – guests at both ends who had come to witness the occasion were told to go home again – citing obscure security reasons why and American airline could not fly into Kenya. This was in aviation circles in Kenya seen as a deliberate affront, considering that leading world airlines like BA, Virgin, Emirates, South African, Swiss, KLM and many others fly daily to Kenya without such concerns halting their operations.

Added the source in Nairobi: ‘KQ from what I know has no plans to fly soon to the US but would support Delta, as they are an alliance partner already. KQ’s plans, when new aircraft finally arrive, will be to expire and exchange the B767 fleet and concentrate on serving Europe, the Middle and Far East and Africa. Only when the fleet has grown substantially enough to dedicate an aircraft to a service to the US can the airline consider the route, and then maybe match Delta, I believe they wanted to initially come four times a week, with the alternate traffic days. That most likely would be a code shared service as KQ also does with partners to Europe and via Bangkok to Korea and Australia. Whatever the WikiLeaks documents allege, the source clearly has no understanding of how aviation works and is simply speculating over issues he or she knows nothing about’.

Ooops to that for WikiLeaks – for sure they got that one wrong …

Aviation news update – Brussels Airlines to release several AVRO 85, opts for A319

BRUSSELS AIRLINES GETS MORE SHORT HAUL AIRCRAFT TO MEED GROWING DEMAND

A regular source at the Brussels Airlines office in Kampala has broken news that the airline is going to phase out part of their AVRO 85’ fleet, as a handful of their leases is coming to the contractual end. Instead the airline is introducing initially two A319’s, formerly owned and operated by Mexicana, a larger and more comfortable aircraft equipped with the new seats the Lufthansa Group is now bringing ‘on board’ of their short and medium haul fleet [it is understood that Austrian and Swiss too will make a changeover to the lighter and more ergonomic seat types].

The source said for the forthcoming summer season the airline will add a total of four A319’s and at least two more A320’s, increasing available seat capacity as demand continues to rise inspite of the current spike in fuel prices. It was also pointed out that the increase in overall aircraft numbers will permit the airline to offer yet better and swifter connections for travellers flying with SN via Brussels into Europe and beyond. Key destinations with added flights will be amongst others Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, the latter two also through increased code shares and cooperation with sister companies Austrian and Swiss.

Travellers from East Africa presently enjoy daily flights from the region to Brussels and through the Miles and More frequent flyer programme enjoy a series of top rate benefits, including the use of lounges, across the SN and LH network around the world.

Breaking News – Kenya’s Yala Swamp under threat of drying up as drought bites and rice growers divert water

RICE OR ENVIRONMENT – ANOTHER CONTROVERSY UNFOLDS

An investor in growing rice in Kenya has found themselves at cross roads – and crossing swords – with the environmental community, when it became known that the single inflow of water of the River Yala has been largely blocked and diverted to water the rice fields. This measure, illegal as it is to start with, has shown a prompt impact on the Yala Swamps and on Lake Kanyaboli, where the water levels have fallen and in particular sections of the Yala Swamps dried up.

Dominion Farms was exposed earlier this week as the main culprit and conservationists have appealed to the local administration and government at large to immediately intervene and stop the investor from interfering with the water flows and the environment.

Yala Swamp, though no national park but ‘only’ a national reserve, albeit also managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service, may be an upcoming attraction in Western Kenya for tourist visitors wishing to ‘pay homage’ to the paternal village of US President Barack Obama, and while in this part of Kenya then also take time to see for instance the rare Sitatunga gazelle, which is found in the Yala Swamps.

The accusations have rocked the company management and one source claims they swiftly opened gates and blockages when the news broke to get away with their previous deeds, while the company blamed low water levels in the river for the problems downstream for the swamp and the lake, an explanation largely dismissed by a conservation source in Nairobi who said: ‘yes there is a drought again, but the problem for Yala and Lake Kanyaboli is made much worse by the rice grower diverting the little water there is. It is the diversion which is making the problem so bad, if the river could just be left alone these ecosystems could still survive’.

He also advised the company not to use boreholes to feed the rice fields as this too would lower the water table but seek to tap into the waters of Lake Victoria and pump from there.

Aviation news update – Kenya Airways planning for ‘all ladies’ crews on International Woman’s Day

KENYA AIRWAYS SET FOR ALL LADIES CREW ON WOMEN’S DAY

It is understood from a usually very reliable source that Kenya Airways aka ‘The Pride of Africa’ is planning to honour the International Woman’s Day with ‘all lady flights’, whereby crews on certain flights and aircraft are ‘womanned’ by an entirely female crew in the cockpit and the cabin.

KQ has done that before, amazing many when they came to realise that equal opportunity policies have indeed brought more ladies into the cockpit, away from the traditional role as flight attendants, and KQ now employs a growing number of female pilots, including captains.

I wish all of them a happy Woman’s Day and happy landings, wherever and whenever they cruise the skies over East Africa.

Breaking News – Tanzania Tourism launches rebranding, new images and logos today

TANZANIA TOURIST BOARD PRESENTS NEW BRANDING AND SLOGANS

The Tanzania Tourist Board is expected to launch a new logo and branding for Tanzania Tourism today, when presenting the tourism industry, a wide section of stakeholders and the general public with the results of months of intense soul searching, brainstorming and hard work.

TTB felt that the ‘old’ slogans and logos were no longer reflecting the reality of today, and that the country’s marketing, especially ahead of the world’s biggest tourism fair ITB, needed a substantive boost and fresh creative approach.

It is widely expected that the approach to marketing the wide variety of attractions for tourists coming to visit Tanzania will shift focus from the best known parks and mountains to some of the lesser known game reserves and national parks, including some of the less explored islands off the Tanzanian mainland, to showcase to the world that a visit to Tanzania can be complete entirely on its own, and that there is plenty of more to discover and explore even for repeat visitors.

One of the set backs though is the poor funding for the tourist board, which unlike their colleagues in Kenya and Rwanda for instance, who comparatively get a lot more money for global promotions, are like the Uganda Tourist board the ‘poor cousins’. It was noteworthy therefore that the minister for tourism earlier in the week gave a thinly concealed directive to TANAPA and related bodies to ‘pool resources’ for better marketing results, prompting immediate negative comments from ‘unhappy staff’ of those organisations about the minister appropriating himself powers over their budgets instead of fighting at cabinet level for more and better funding for the tourism board and other bodies.

Said one regular source from Arusha: ‘this government is damaging tourism and conservation, not supporting it. The planned highway across our park here is to benefit few at the expense of a thriving tourism industry. They think that tourists must come there, they do not, there are other choices they have. You have also written about the Stone Town in Zanzibar and Stieglers in Selous. All these are UNESCO sites and that is very valuable but our government seems to be out of tune with these things. Now they tell us to pool our resources with TTB because they in the first place starved them out of money. Our promotional budgets are targeting certain things and what we spend has been approved, our budgets have been approved and our targets for promoting Serengeti and Ngorongoro are not always the same like TTB. Of course we coordinate with TTB, we talk and we consult, but if what the minister is now directing comes through the next thing he wants to merge us all. We are not competing with TTB or other bodies but covering our own niches and targets. He was deputy minister in last cabinet but has he learned about tourism and conservation, this is very disappointing. And our bosses are just told what to do or else they are sacked or branded anti government and all for the failures of a system and one man’.

Harsh words but considering what is at stake here totally appropriate and justified. The source did also say they intend to consult with private sector stakeholders, but not officially and talking to parliamentarians especially those with a link to tourism, to enlighten them on the real issues without going ‘public’ as yet for fear to their careers and professional future.

Aviation news update – COTWU asks for sacking of managers and financial bailout for ATCL

NOW UNIONS DEMAND SACKING OF ATCL MANAGEMENT

The Communications and Transport Workers Union in Tanzania has, following a series of negative headlines and scandals, also demanded from government to sack the ‘inept’ management of Air Tanzania, a call which can only be supported. What cannot be supported though was the instantly made second demand that the Tanzanian government recapitalize Air Tanzania and keep them afloat, while seeking a ‘strategic investor’ – a search which has been going on for years and yielded nothing but expensive ‘fact finding missions’ and otherwise hot air. With the tendency that such a financial injection may yet again be used for purposes other than settling huge outstanding debts – the airline has been sued in South Africa by agents whose ticket refunds have been pending for several years now, incidentally without IATA taking any decisive action over this travesty of rules and regulations – it is not recommended that money is being wasted on an parastatal, which sell by date has long expired.

Aviation experts in Tanzania seem largely united in their opinion that ATCL is a dead horse not worth flogging any longer and that government instead should make life easier for other Tanzanian airlines by granting them support, incentives and beginning to treat them like partners in progress and not a threat to the outdated notion that the ‘national airline’ was under threat by them, especially as there is no longer even a resemblance of a national airline left.

It has often been pointed out here that while verbal commitments chase each other from government functionaries, the ‘real’ action behind the scenes is lacking greatly, as the TAA’s failure to create a timely link from existing taxiways to the new Precision Air hangar amply demonstrates. Fly540 sources too quietly say that getting operating permits in the first place was not easy and that route expansion should be facilitated with greater ease. Other regular aviation sources were generally suggesting that the entire legislative and regulatory framework for aviation be subjected to a stakeholder review, with KCAA compelled to take observations and suggestions more seriously than done in the past to enable growth for a sector, which feels stifled and undervalued and certainly not understood by the powers that be.

Breaking News – Uganda’s national museum under threat for ‘progress’

DON’T TAMPER WITH UGANDA’S NATIONAL MUSEUM SAY EALA DELEGATES

The presence of EALA (East African Legislative Assembly) members in Kampala, where they arrived two days ago to assess the implementation and impact of various tourism and wildlife related programmes the East African Community has currently underway, was also used by ‘friends of the museum’ who enlisted the support of EALA delegates. The museum is presently threatened with being knocked down to construct a highrise building, supposed to house the ministry of tourism and the tourist board, amongst others and these plans have raised strong opposition, as the land on which the national museum is located is extensive and offers other options. Yet, died in the wool bureaucrats, and it has been suggested they have their own agenda over the project, insist that they must go ahead and raze one of Uganda’s most valuable post independence buildings with no regard of heritage, tradition and preservation. In fact it was learned that one faction within the ministry, charged with overseeing the museums and monuments in the country, was categorically opposed to the plans, but being only of ‘minor’ interest and influence within the ministry’s bureau’cracy’ – pun intended – their pleas and submissions would likely be casually waved off like one keeps flies away. One source in particular has in fact suggested that the powers that be at the ministry have constantly cut down budget allocations to the museum meant for regular maintenance and upkeep so as to create ‘a dilapidated scenario’ giving them another reason to propose knocking the building down. This, while not independently verified, is however entirely plausible, knowing the modus operandum of our bureaucrats.

The parliamentary committee on tourism too has now gotten involved, and has already threatened to block any plans and lobby for the withholding of funds to the project, which they termed a ‘national heritage’, after meeting with their EALA counterparts at parliament building yesterday. Indeed, while there are many museums scattered around the country, and often critically underfunded, the national museum is a treasure hive for both locals and foreign visitors about the long history of the country’s kingdoms, the pre- and post independence periods and has much to offer, besides the sheer aesthetic value of the building itself.  

The tourism ministry has of late been in the media for all the wrong reasons, mainly over the saga surrounding the Uganda Wildlife Authority, where in particular the minister himself is accused of having created the crisis by making blatantly wrong and biased decisions, an allegation supported by past decisions of the High Court in Kampala which threw out the board appointments made by the minister, from which all the troubles stemmed.

Watch this space.