Ethiopian Airlines makes maiden flight to Seychelles with a special charter for 152 Chinese tourists

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES MAKES MAIDEN APPEARANCE IN SEYCHELLES

(Pictures courtesy of Seychelles Tourism Board)

While still several weeks away from commencing scheduled operations between Addis Ababa and Mahe, has the Ethiopian national airline nevertheless made the maiden flight yesterday, 22nd January with a full plane load of Chinese travelers who had booked a holiday of a life time on the archipelago and came from China on one of ETs scheduled flights to Addis.
The group will be picked up again on the 29th January after spending a week on the islands, using the new Kempinski Seychelles Resort, the Le Meridien Fishermens Cove and the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort.
The maiden flight was greeted by the traditional aviation welcome, an arc of water from two fire engines sprayed over the taxiing plane, and after coming to a stop 100 Seychellois children, waving the Chinese and Seychellois flags, greeted the visitors with songs and cheers.
The trip was organized by China Travel Services, whose management was on board of the flight too and 7 Degrees South, one of Mahes leading DMCs was handling the transfers and tour arrangements on the island.
A large government and diplomatic delegations was at hand at the airport to greet the first ever charter of Chinese travelers, with the Chinese Ambassador being flanked by Mr. Barry Faure, Chairman of the Seychelles Tourism Board and Secretary of State in the Presidents Office, while Deputy CEO Elsia Grandcourt represented STB, explaining that China was in 2011 the best performing market with a 97 percent growth rate and heading for yet further growth in 2012.
Seychelles, truly Another World.

3 Months and counting to the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix

THREE MONTHS AND COUNTING TO THE FORMULA 1 RACE IN BAHRAIN

A recent trip to the Kingdom of Bahrain for their bi-annual international air show had me pass by the F1 circuit every time I was going to or coming from the show ground at the Sakhir Air Base, and memories came back how the long awaited season opener last year had to be postponed, and was in the end cancelled to the lasting regret of the global racing fans who, in the short time Bahrain was a race venue, had come to love the circuit, the people and the country.
Gulf Air, official carrier of the Bahrain International Air Show, is of course also the official carrier of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix and main corporate sponsor as the 4th race of the 2012 season is named The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, taking place between 20th and 22nd April this year.
The airline, as witnessed, has a number of their aircraft advertising the event and in fact one Airbus A 330 is painted in special F1 livery, flying the message across their network.

F1 has become a global brand, a profitable business and attracts not just hundreds of millions of spectators every season through their broadcasts on leading TV stations, but also has many faithful following the trail of the teams, some for one, others for two and a few who can afford it for quite a few more races around the globe.
20 races are on the calendar in 2012 until the new champion will be crowned at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on the 25th of November, although in the past the title was often long gone as the last few races went underway. Travelling to the season opener in Melbourne / Australia will be a relief for those who thrive on the fumes of F1 fuel or for whom the sound of the car engines is music in their ears, and a week later it is already time again to fight for pole position when the Kuala Lumpur Petronas Grand Prix goes underway. Over China and Europe the season moves to Canada, then back to Europe before going East again to Singapore and Japan, Korea and India, and then criss crossing the globe one last time this season, via Abu Dhabi to Austin / Texas before heading to the final race of the season in Sao Paulo / Brazil.
Bahrain built their F1 course in 2004, a source of national pride back then, and was awarded the coveted FIA Centre of Excellence Award in 2007, recognizing the immense contribution the circuit and all the staff had made to F1 motorsport. Sadly, a year ago, the season opener, a special honour for any circuit of course, had to be first postponed and then eventually cancelled altogether, when what appears to have been externally sponsored political unrest swept the country. When asked, Bahrainis from all walks of life assured me during my recent visit that the entire country was looking ahead for this years race and that there would be no repeat of last years scenes in the streets, which the government eventually got under control with the assistance and support from Saudi Arabia. During the BIAS 2012 Air Show, attempts were made to demonstrate and foreign inciters were blamed by official sources this correspondent spoke to, and in the end nothing came of it, the international media present concentrating on the air show and not the attempted side show political firebrands had in mind. My prediction is that the Bahrain Gulf Air Grand Prix will go ahead in April and I will, as always, watch the race from the comfort of my arm chair, qualifying sessions and all, with special fondness and pleasant memories from my recent visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Visit the F1 website for all the race details and available official package tours to all the venues via www.formula1.com/…travel/tickets_and_travel _landing.html or else chose any other specialized travel agency or tour operator easily found on the web.

Zanzibar news update – Ferry disaster culprits finally in court, charged with murder

FERRY DISASTER CULPRITS CHARGED IN COURT
11 people, including the captain, some of his crew and staff in charge of load controlling and operations of the ill fated ferry MV Spice Islander which sank off Zanzibar en route to Pemba were charged with murder and over 200 counts of negligence leading to death on Friday last week. Alongside the 10 in the dock stood MP Jaku Ayub with them, also charged with the same counts.
Mention of the case has been set for 02nd February at which stage the accused are due to take a formal plea before the High Court, not possible under the legal system in a lower court where the charges were filed and read out to them.
Independent reports peg the number of missing to over 1.000 additional passengers, with over 200 bodies recovered at the time of the accident, and while divers were unable to reach the deep waters where the ferry now rests to give any confirmation, it is generally suspected that most of those were trapped below deck and went down with the ship into their wet grave.
Only last Thursday was the final report of the commission of enquiry published and presented by Zanzibars Chief Secretary, which makes a damning piece of literature on the companys failures, omissions and deliberate oversights of safety regulations, loading procedures and keeping of passenger manifests. Corruption was also cited as one of the underlying factors of the disaster besides the dangerous mechanical condition of the ship and the total disregard to regulation under which to operate. Justice at last coming the way of the survivors and the families of those who lost their loved ones. Watch this space.

East Africa’s power companies, aka The Dark Lords, are keeping their stranglehold on the region

ESCAPE FROM THE LORDS OF DARKNESS APPARENTLY NOT IN THIS LIFETIME
East Africas power companies and distributors, now widely termed the Dark Lords for their inability to keep the countries supplied with sufficient electricity, have gone both defensive and offensive at the same time in recent weeks. While denying the obvious, which is an abysmal failure in advance planning and creating the capacities required to meet the expanding energy needs as were projected 10 and more years ago they also down-talk system losses and often rotten infrastructure which needs urgent replacement. On the offensive side they are now trying to use media consultants and charm to sweet talk the public in to accepting continued misery, which in particular in the cities and towns across the region is marked by power outages every other night, as here in Uganda.
Small businesses are driven out of existence due to lack of power every other day, and those which survived somehow are now faced with tariff increases of 40 and more percent, which in the estimate of informed analysts and observers will lead to a wide spread increase in power theft as bills become unaffordable.
In Uganda, the much hailed Bujagali 250 MW hydro electric power plant is still not producing, after the repeatedly delayed final commissioning date of late November or early December was missed again, and by some considerable timeframe it seems as even the latest possible start up of February this year is now under doubt, made worse by the company simply not owning up and offering the public a detailed explanation and revised commissioning schedule. And to compound matters further, some expert opinions have now began filtering into the public domain that the planned Karuma Falls hydro electric station may take as much as 10 years to complete, which would plunge the country back into power rationing and darkness once the 250 MW from Bujagali have been soaked up by growing demand, more consumers being connected to the grids and the absence of fresh supplies from other new power stations. Admittedly, a few stand alone grid plants are being introduced or have been commissioned last year, and Kinyara Sugar apparently also plans to put up a power plant to become self sufficient and sell surplus to the national grid operators, as Kakira Sugar is successfully doing already, but those are now seen as drops on a hot stone. Heavy fuel oil plants, planned to go on line this year, had crude oil production taken off as enthusiastically projected by government bodies, were supposed to ensure sufficient capacity but with the ongoing disputes over oil contracts parliament maintains a stand that Tullow Oil has no valid license and contract at present as well as tax, policy and regulation issues unresolved, that may take yet a few years longer too before the implementation phase takes off.
Until then, the outlook is dark, pun fully intended, uncertain at best as to how East Africa is going to still the growing hunger for electricity, which is a key ingredient for further economic growth and to keep people sitting at home watching football matches rather than taking to the streets protesting. Anyone listening out there? Well they better are unless they are ready to face the music, in darkness most likely

Kenya aviation news – Moi International Airport VIP lounge burns to ashes

KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY UNDER RENEWED FIRE
Pun was intended, according to a regular aviation source from Kenya, when he reported that the VIP Lounge at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa had burned to ashes yesterday morning.
Only recently extensively refurbished the lounge was accessible to government officials and other VIP travelers. Said the source: This is just another nail in KAAs competence. In Nairobi last year they had repairs ongoing in Terminal 3 and a hot water boiler exploded. Here they have repairs just finished and now say that an airconditioner caught fire. What contractors are they employing that such disasters keep happening. What procurement are they doing, Jua Kali or what? Remember the power outages at JKIA last year, the year before here in Mombasa which halted all flights after dark for several days? We in the aviation industry are just so fed up with organizations where appointments are made on political grounds instead of competence. Aviation demands top competence and here is another example how they let us down. Thankfully no one was injured and the fire brigade from the airport managed to extinguish the fire before it could spread to other parts of the airport terminal building or affect flight operations.
KAA in the meantime also face questions on the progress of the extension of Nairobis Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where apron spaces, aircraft parking spaces and a new terminal are being constructed, with members of the aviation fraternity asking for the pace of work to be stepped up further to ensure timely completion of the project. No answers were forthcoming either from KAA over the start of constructing a second runway at JKIA, which is long overdue and seen as a critical constraint for further traffic growth at East Africas biggest airport. Watch this space on regular aviation updates from across the East African region.

Kenya seeks to capitalize on the London Olympics by launching ‘Kenya House’ project

BRAND KENYA TARGETS LONDON OLYMPICS
Kenya is seeking substantial publicity and exposure during the upcoming London Olympics, banking on the performance of their medium and long distance runners, as Brand Kenya is aiming to raise over 5 million US Dollars for a campaign co-sponsored by the Kenya Tourist Board, the Kenya Investment Authority, the Kenya Export Promotion Council and other national bodies with links to foreign trade.
Kenya has close trade links with the UK and is one of the Britains main foreign investment destinations in Africa and tourists from the UK to Kenya are amongst the leading nations in terms of arrival numbers.
Corporate sponsors are now being approached with the concept of a Kenya House during the July / August main Olympic Games and shortly afterwards the Paralympics which will extend the spotlight on the planned events into September. At the Kenya House will a series of events be showcasing Kenyan produce and products such as tea, coffee, flowers but also other exports like fruits and vegetables while highlighting investment opportunities in the energy sector, manufacturing, agro processing and of course the tourism industry.
The Kenya Tourist Board is expected to launch new promotional material, showing off not only the countrys best known attractions but also the newly opened tourists circuits in Western Kenya, while music, song, dance and poetry too will provide entertainment, highlighting the rich cultural variety of the country.
Kenyas National Olympic Committee has also thrown their weight behind the initiative, aimed to show Kenya from its sunniest side and capitalize on the world coming together in London this summer.
Watch this space for future updates.

Kenya news update – ICC ruling on Kenya post 2007 election violence due this afternoon

ICC RULING HAS REGION AT EDGE
At 13.30 hrs local East African time today will all who matter in this region be tuning into the news broadcasts, as the ruling by the International Criminal Court is expected today, if charges against 6 suspects of being involved in the Kenya post election violence of 2008 are to stand or to be dismissed. With several prosecution witnesses having dropped out already, no longer willing to testify, while others have found themselves buried in controversy of changed stories, there is no telling how the pre-trail chamber judges will rule.
Security across Kenya has been stepped up and the outcome, either way, is expected to bring the supporters of the main politicians in the case out onto the streets, in demonstrations of either joy or else in anger.
Kenya is facing however more difficulties this year, and key tourism stakeholders notably shtumm on the ICC case for that matter have quietly expressed their concern over the long overdue decision on an election date. A regular source, albeit somewhat reluctantly, had this to say: The ICC decision is a big one. It influences the election campaign because if indicted, some may find it difficult to run for President with that cloud having over them. Kenyans are also no fools and know that the two main protagonists have not been charged, which many see as biased and even an attempt to avoid renewed fighting between the main political groups, if their leaders had joined those six in The Hague. But our main problem is the election date. Kenya always had elections between Christmas and New Year, the busiest time for tourism. With the disaster last time, when violence broke out over the results, tourists are likely to stay away this time from our country to avoid being caught up again and the media will of course warm up those stories. Let me again say, that not one tourist came to harm during those clashes, not one, but still we suffered great setbacks in arrivals that year. We need to know NOW when elections will be held to prepare, to have overseas tour operators plan ahead. Personally I dont think we will have a repeat of the violence last time but if the result is tight, who knows. So overseas tour operators will be very careful. Our constitution actually said elections must be held in August this year but that was challenged in court and it seems the ruling left the setting of the date to government. August is also a high season month which coincides with the European main school holidays and of course the migration of the big herds into the Masai Mara. Either way, whichever date, it is not going to be conducive for our sector. Already the Somali crisis of last year saw the arrival curves losing momentum and add to that the economic issues in Europe and around the world with maybe another big global recession looming? 2012 is going to be a very tough year for us all and we can only hope that our internal politics and the elections and the ICC announcement today do not make it ever worse.
Notably have these concerns also spread into the wider region, where the dominance of Kenyas economy is seen as both positive in terms of opportunities but also as a millstone around the other necks, when things go sour in Kenya and transit of exports, imports and the hub function of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for much of the regions air traffic are disrupted. Uganda is in its 50th anniversary year of Independence from Britain, and while no major campaign has yet unfolded, inspite of the country also having been named the Lonely Planets top destination for 2012 ( Lonely Planet’s Top Country to Visit) there is apprehension here too that events in Kenya could spoil the party for Uganda as well as other regional countries depending on tourism receipts.
Watch this space for updates when the ICC verdict has been announced later today and the likely implication this will have for Kenya and the wider region.