Egyptair

Egyptair has increased the number of weekly flights to Asmara, Eritrea from three to four flights for the summer schedule 2010. The fourth frequency will be introduced by the end of May 2010 departing from Cairo International Airport Terminal 3 to Asmara International.

The airline will operate Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with Airbus A320 aircrafts and is promoting the route on its website.

Roundtrip special offers to Asmara are available from 2329 Egyptian Pound or 300 Euros according to the airline’s current promotional campaign for Asmara on;

http://www.egyptair.com/English/Pages/SpecialOffersDetails.aspx?OfferId=262.

Egyptair is joining other African airlines in the battle for the growing African aviation market. Speaking to reporters at a media event in Cairo last October, new EgyptAir group chairman and chief executive Hussein Massoud said the airline was restructuring its network.

“We have already finished the first phase and now we are working on the second phase to enlarge our network, with the co-operation of Star Alliance.

We are concentrating our co-operation with Star Alliance to be a hub for Africa. We have several points in east Africa and have more (to follow) and are selecting some destinations in west Africa.

Middle Eastern carriers Yemenia and EgyptAir have avoided being included on the European Commission’s blacklist of banned airlines, having faced scrutiny over the past few months.

Yemenia’s case has been discussed by the air safety committee responsible for drawing up the blacklist, notably following the fatal loss of an Airbus A310 in June, but it has concluded that the airline should remain unfettered.

EgyptAir had also been warned of possible restrictions over concerns about the number of safety issues turning up during inspections. The carrier does not appear on the latest blacklist update, issued today.

But the revised list extends a European blanket ban to another three states - the Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, and Djibouti - after the identification of deficiencies in safety oversight by the national regulators. The extension means that practically all airlines from a total of 15 countries are forbidden from conducting European Union operations.

Ukrainian carriers have been lifted from the blacklist, although two of these - Ukraine Cargo Airways and Volare - were removed by default, having had their air operator’s certificates withdrawn.

Ukraine’s Motor-Sich Airlines has been removed from the list after the “receipt of certain information” from Ukrainian authorities, says the Commission.

It adds that Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines (UM Air) has had restrictions partially lifted, but is still only allowed to operate a single Boeing MD-83 within Europe.

“We cannot afford any compromises in air safety,” says European transport commissioner Antonio Tajani.

“Our aim is not just to create a list of airlines that are dangerous. We are ready to help those countries to build up their technical and administrative capacity to guarantee the safety of civil aviation in their countries.”

Progress on addressing concerns at Angolan flag-carrier TAAG has also resulted in the carrier’s being permitted to operate four Boeing 737-700 aircraft on European services in addition to its Boeing 777s. Source: (RATI)

Departures

Planning to visit Eritrea this winter? You will have several options to get there by air during the coming winter schedule 2009/10, which will start by the end of this month.

According to the latest update Eritrean Airlines, Nasair, Lufthansa, Egyptair, Yemenia and Sudan Airways will operate flights to Eritrea from various destinations.

The number of weekly departures to Eritrea shows a net decrease of two for the coming month of November compared to the same month last year. This is mainly due to the reduction of number of flights operated by Eritrean Airlines and Nasair.

Although Eritrean Airlines ceased operating flights from Asmara to major European cities, the national carrier continues to serve flights twice a week between Asmara and Jeddah. Eritrea’s second carrier Nasair will operate scheduled flights from Asmara to Assab, Cairo, Dubai, Rome, Jeddah, Khartoum and Massawa.

United Airways offers flights to Asmara under a code share agreement with Lufthansa from the United States via Frankfurt. The most consistent schedule is offered by Lufthansa, which will continue to fly three times a week from Frankfurt to Asmara via Jeddah.

In terms of price Egyptair is one of the cheapest options to fly to Eritrea, if tickets are booked well in advance. In comparison to the same period previous year, the Egyptian carrier has increased weekly frequency from two to three on its route from Cairo to Amara .

Egyptair is connecting major European cities such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, Brussels, Vienna and London via Cairo to Asmara.

Yemenia is going to operate two days a week to Asmara from Sana. Sudan Airways has posted flights operating on Saturday and Wednesday from Khartoum to Asmara on its official home page.

Traffic to Eritrea’s main Airport Asmara remains strong with passenger numbers reaching 117000 in 2008, which is an increase compared to 2007 (RATI).

Latest figures show that air traffic on the continent is growing faster than in many other regions.

“We are keeping a presence in all traffic regions and cancelling flight connections only when alternatives are available to our passengers. At the same time, we are opening up new markets in Africa, for example, so as to harness new growth opportunities” explains Lufthansa board member Karl Ulrich Garnadt in a interview last week.

At the same time Lufthansa is going to expand on its long-haul routes to Africa by cooperating with Brussels Airlines starting this winter season on a code share basis. African economic growth prospects, as well as the up coming 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, have caused a revival of many routes to Africa, which ceased many years ago due to low demand.

For many years Brussels Airlines has been developing a strong route network to African destinations long before other European carriers have realized the growth potential of African aviation. Lufthansa owns a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines and hopes to get a greater foothold in the African market through the current partnership and a possible future takeover of the Belgian carrier by 2011.

Cairo International Airport, the second busiest airport in Africa after Johannesburg International Airport of South Africa, has finished construction and design of the new Terminal 3. According to the airport Egyptair and all Star Alliance members will move to the new terminal in the coming months. Flights departing to Asmara Eritrea with Egyptair will change from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 by the 17. June.2009. The new facilities are going to reduce the transfer times at Cairo Airport to 45 minutes for international flights. This will enable the airport to meet the increasing passenger demand, which uses Cairo as a transfer hub between Europe and Africa.