Africa Aviation / Afrika Lugvaart - Aviation Chat

Snakes

Apollo — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:29:27 GMT

Man jailed for snakes on a plane
2010-09-06 12:34

Kuala Lumpur � A Malaysian was jailed for six months and fined $61 000 for trying to smuggle 95 snakes out of the country, a sentence that campaigners said was too light.

Anson Wong, already convicted of trafficking in wildlife in the US in 2001, pleaded guilty last week and will start his sentence on September 13.

Under Malaysian law, Wong could have faced seven years in jail and fines of up to $32 000 for each snake up to a maximum of $320 000 or both.

Wong was detained when in transit from the Malaysian island state of Penang to the Indonesian capital Jakarta on August 26 when staff at Kuala Lumpur airport were alerted to a bag that had broken while on a conveyor belt.

They found 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle inside the bag.

The US Department of Justice said Wong had pleaded guilty to a trafficking in the US in 2001 and was sentenced to 71 months in jail.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organisation, said the sentence indicated unwillingness by Malaysian authorities to get tough with real wildlife criminals and to show the world it was serious about wildlife trafficking.

"This is a tragedy. It clearly tells wildlife traffickers that they have little to fear from Malaysian law," said TRAFFIC Southeast Asia regional director, William Schaedla.

- Reuters

Also: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/

First death from poisoned Rhino horn in Thailand

African Wings — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:26:31 GMT

Lo Guys

I received this one via e-mail. I for sure hope this is the truth.
Way to go - laat die f...rs vrek !

Quote:

First death from poisoned Rhino horn in Thailand

THAILAND - Bangkok Star - 18th August

A woman mourns over the body of her deceased husband after he had
purchased apparently purposely contaminated Rhino horn on the open
market in Bangkok.
The source of the contamination is still to be verified but it is
thought to be from a private game farm somewhere in southern Africa.
Officials in Thailand are frantic to identify the source, as the
powdered horn is sold in miniscule amounts and they have no idea how
much has already been distributed thoughout Bangkok. Local hospitals are
on standby for an unprecendented influx of new cases.

Officials are unable get information as the rhino horn dealers in
Bangkok are being unco-operative. They neither want to be fingered as
being the provider of the poisoned horn, not do they want to reveal
their illegal international sources. It is believed that private game
farm owners in southern Africa are colluding between themselves to
distribute an effective poison that is harmless to the animals but
harmful, or even fatal as in this case, to those that ingest the
contaminated horn.

A game farm owner from the North West Province who obviously wishes to
remain anonymous, has admitted to using the poison on 4 of his animals.
Three of them have shown no side-effects whatsoever 2 months after the
poison was injected into the horns. However the 4th rhino was
slaughtered and de-horned on a remote part of his farm in the last week
of July. When asked to comment on the death in Thailand from suspect
poisoned rhino horn, he refused to be drawn into the morals of the
farmers joint action. He said that there would be many more cases in the
near future as he was personally aware of at least another 5 slaughters
of contaminated rhinos in the North West Province alone.

Authorities in South Africa are unable to comment on the "poison"
collusion
among the game farm owners nor are they able to verify the source of the
contaminated horn.

Despite the ethical furore the poisoning of rhino horn may trigger, to
many of us this is what we've been waiting for - It's great news in a
desperate fight - at last a positive way to fight back to help save the
rhino, no matter how illegal - after all the poachers & the "Rhino
Mafia" & corrupt politicians or official's acts are also very much
illegal !! - all hell will break loose but always remember - " 'n boer
maak 'n plan" - this one's desperate but terrific and will wake the Zim,
Mozam, SA & Provincial Gov's & Authorities & those further north from
their arrogant/corrupt slumbers !!
The fight's really on - can't wait !! - Well done to the farmers & rhino
owners !!

ZWF Comments by Tim Condon

Please contact the ZWF Anti- Poaching Confidential Hot-Line with any
information in strictest confidence on any acts of poaching - rhino
horn, ivory & game for bush meat - to our email at
tim.condon@shaw.ca !!
______________________________________

Sharp objects found in airline food

NewsRoom — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:52:33 GMT

Quote:

Kenya Catering Employees Face Court
Sharp objects found in airline food

By Wolfgang H. Thome, eTN

(eTN) - As a strike is looming at NAS Airport Services, Kenya�s leading aviation catering firm, several of their employees were produced in court and charged with intent to bring harm to airline passengers, after they were allegedly found to have put sharp objects into meal portions made ready for delivery to customer airlines.

As many as 5 staff are faced with stiff prison terms if found guilty, and although it could not be absolutely ascertained that their actions were deliberate as a result of the ongoing dispute between workers, their union, and the company, suspicion of course lingers that their alleged criminal plot was prompted by their albeit illegal desire to make the company consent to wage, terms, and conditions demands made on behalf of the unionized workforce by the union.

At present though, a source close to NAS has played down suspicion that this was a concerted action with masterminds still at large, claiming the employees in question were acting alone in a small group of agitated but misguided workers. The court case, when heard, will undoubtedly tell a fuller story.

Delta vision to be a carrier of choice for both Asian and Americans

Tupperware Pilot — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:49:19 GMT

A chance of heart due to the economy?

Delta vision to be a carrier of choice for both Asian and Americans

Sep 05, 2010

Delta is upbeat about its business in Japan as new routes and the surging yen boost travel and help along the recovery in the industry, a top executive said Thursday.

Delta, the world's biggest airline, is investing more than $1 billion in its global operations through 2013, and the robust results from its Japan business underline the soundness of such investments, Delta Air Lines President Edward Bastian told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.

"Our goal in Asia is to be the carrier of choice for both Asian as well as American customers," he said. "We have seen significant improvement in our outbound travel."

The strengthening yen, which has battered Japanese exporters, is a major blessing for Delta as it reaps the benefit of increased travel by Japanese whose spending power has jumped and are flying in droves to spots like Guam, Hawaii and Saipan.

Delta has seen its Asian revenue climb 30 percent year-on-year in the latest quarter, largely because of the yen's rise, and Delta is seeing strong results in July and August as well, Bastian said.

"It has been an important contribution to the recovery," he said.

The dollar recently hit a 15-year low against the yen and continues to trade near the 84 yen level.

Bastian said Delta sees Japan and Asia as key parts of its global business, and Delta's recent strong financial performance puts it in a good position to grow in the region.

Delta, the leading U.S. carrier to Asia in departures and seats, has added 12 new nonstop trans-Pacific routes since 2008, according to the Atlanta-based carrier.

Among Delta's planned Japan routes are Narita-Palau, Nagoya-Honolulu and two flights from Haneda, to Detroit and Los Angeles.

Haneda has long served as a domestic airport but is adding international flights, starting next month. Delta is among three U.S. carriers that secured Haneda landing slots.

Bastian said Delta still sees Narita, the main Tokyo international airport, as the regional hub, and foresees no capacity reductions there, despite competition from Seoul and other regional airports, as well as Haneda's potential.

Bastian also said he was disappointed that Japan Airlines chose to stay with American Airlines and spurned Delta as its alliance partner.

JAL, which is restructuring after filing for bankruptcy protection in January, had been in talks with both airlines before making the decision in February.

"We wish them nothing but success," Bastian said of JAL.

Question on Aircraft Type

Updraught — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:54:14 GMT

A quick question from all you aircraft fundis: What aircraft is indicated by the designation B67?

Thanks for your response!

Ryanair's plan to fly with only ONE pilot ...

MaggieM — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:47:42 GMT

Yup, ONE pilot, no first officer.

"Let stewardesses land the plane in a crisis, says Ryanair boss:

Airline wants to ditch co-pilots By SEAN POULTER Last updated at 10:26 PM on 3rd September 2010

Ryanair's ever-controversial boss has called for the second pilot to be dumped from the flight deck of aircraft to save money. Michael O'Leary suggested air stewardesses could be trained to take over and land the plane in the event of a crisis. The idea is the latest in a long line of cash-saving wheezes from the budget airline boss who once suggested, apparently seriously, that aircraft could fly with standing-only areas for passengers.

'Why does every plane have two pilots? Really, you only need one pilot,' he said, suggesting flying a plane was little more difficult than playing a computer game. He said: 'Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it.' Asked what would happen if the single pilot suffered a heart attack, he said one of the cabin crew would be trained to land a plane. 'If the pilot has an emergency, he rings the bell, he calls her in. She could take over,' he told Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

But the idea was immediately ridiculed as a dangerous fantasy by pilots. Patrick Smith, a long-serving pilot, told the magazine it was 'beyond preposterous'. He accused Mr O'Leary of stoking the common misconception that planes more or less fly themselves. 'Even in routine operations, it's important to have a second person there,' he said.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, said: 'Are there no lengths to which he will not go to get publicity? His suggestion is unwise, unsafe and the public will be horrified.' Mr O'Leary has turned Ryanair into one of the world's most profitable airlines by tearing up industry conventions with his 'cattle class' operation. He appears both to enjoy the controversy his remarks cause as well as being more than half serious.

When he dreamed up the idea of standing only areas for passengers he suggested they would hang on to a handrail during take-off and landing. Another idea was to charge for using the aircraft lavatories. Following the volcano ash cloud crisis, Mr O'Leary initially announced a cap on the support and compensation to passengers, only to be forced into a U-turn by the EU. This summer, he infuriated many by introducing a baggage charge for the summer holiday season, which brought a massive increase in the cost of putting luggage in the hold. Mr O'Leary suggested there is still a long way to go and that many other costs that can be removed to make flights as cheap as possible. For example, there could come a time when airport baggage handling systems are scrapped in favour of passengers loading their own cases into the hold. Airports are ludicrously complicated places only because we have this utterly useless transaction of taking your bag from you upon departure, just so we can give it back to you at arrival,' he said. 'Get rid of all that ****.'

Mr O'Leary said that while some may ridicule his ideas, they set the template for the way airlines will operate in future. 'For a small little Mickey Mouse Irish airline, the whole industry around the world now watches what we do,' he said. 'If you don't approach air travel with a radical point of view, then you get in the same bloody mindset as all the other morons in this industry. 'In many ways, travel is pleasant and enriching. It's just that the physical process of getting from point A to point B shouldn't be pleasant, nor enriching. It should be quick, efficient, affordable, and safe.' But Kate Hanni, the founder of FlyersRights.org, a passenger advocacy group, said: 'He insults the dignity of the flying public every time he opens his mouth.'"

And this lunatic is calling other people in the industry morons??

Lufthansa A380 operation changes to Beijing and Johannesburg

NewsRoom — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:10:52 GMT

Quote:

Lufthansa A380 operation changes to Beijing and Johannesburg

As per 03SEP10 GDS timetable display, Lufthansa is bringing forward Airbus A380 inauguration date on Frankfurt � Johannesburg route, effective 12SEP10.

As a result of A380 entering service to Johannesburg twice a week, Frankfurt � Beijing A380 service is reduced to one weekly till 26OCT10.

Details below:

Frankfurt � Beijing
01SEP10 � 30OCT10 388 Day 3 744 Day x3
31OCT10 � 388 Daily
Beijing departs following day

Frankfurt � Johannesburg
12SEP10 � 24OCT10 388 Day 47 744 Day x47
25OCT10 � 02NOV10 388 Day x27 744 Day 27
03NOV10 - 388 Day 136 346 Day x136
Johannesburg departure is the following day.

South African Airways increase capacity to Livingstone in Zambia

NewsRoom — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:07:59 GMT

Quote:

South African Airways increase capacity to Livingstone in Zambia

South African Airways from 01OCT10 to 30DEC10 is to operate Mainline service on Johannesburg � Livingstone service in Zambia.
Planned operating aircraft below:

01OCT10 � 07OCT10 319 Day 5 738 Day 7
09OCT10 � 15OCT10 738 Day 156 319 Day 34
16OCT10 � 30DEC10 319 Daily

Changes in Air France A380 CDG to JHB route

NewsRoom — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:05:04 GMT

Quote:

AIRFRANCE A380 Sep 2010 changes

As per 03SEP10 GDS timetable display, AIRFRANCE is adjusting Airbus A380 operation on Paris CDG � New York JFK and Paris CDG � Johannesburg service during the month of September 2010.

Details:

On Tuesdays in September 2010, planned Airbus A380 operation on Paris � Johannesburg flight, Shifts to Paris � New York JFK.
777-300ER service operating on AF006/007 Paris � New York JFK Tuesday service will shift to Paris � Johannesburg flight (JNB departure on Wednesdays)

SAS to hold inflight gay wedding

NewsRoom — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:01:04 GMT

Quote:

SAS to hold inflight gay wedding, SK903 on 06DEC10

Star Alliance member SAS Scandinavian Airlines on 06DEC10 is to organize the world�s first inflight gay wedding. The flight, is scheduled to be SK903, Stockholm to Newark on Airbus A340-300.

According to the press statement, this plan is �a natural celebration of love�. The Airline is now opening the competition to gay couples, submitting photo/video presentation of their love story through the airlines� website. The couple with the most votes will receive the wedding ceremony on A340 Business Class, as well as receiving complimentary accomodation in New York, flights to Los Angeles, with 3-night stay at ANdAZ West Hollywood.
Sweden in 2009 legalized same-sex marriage.

South African Airways new Airbus A330-200 Routes and Configuration

Tupperware Pilot — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:48:01 GMT

South African Airways new Airbus A330-200 Routes and Configuration

As per 02SEP10 GDS timetable display, South African Airways is to introduce Brand NEW 222-seater Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet. The A330-200 aircraft is currently due to enter service on 01FEB11, Johannesburg � Lagos route.

Other Planned Operational routes and configuration of A330 as follows:

Johannesburg � Lagos 01FEB11 � 27FEB11 Daily
Johannesburg � Cape Town
28FEB11 � 01MAR11 SA333 (one-way, Appears to be aircraft repositioning, replacing A340-200)
02JUL11 - SA333/346 Day x25
Cape Town � London Heathrow 28FEB11- Daily (to be maintained in Northern Summer 2011 season)
Johannesburg � Munich 01JUL11 - Daily

Above mentioned routes, specific days and operational periods are subject to change

Airbus A330-200 C36Y186

Business Class 36 Seats
Rows 1-6
Layout AC-DG-HK
Wings Section Row 5 � 6
Galley and Lavatory located between Row 3 and 4
Economy Class 186 Seats
Rows 45 � 68
Layout AC � DEFG � HK
Wings Section Row 45 � 54
Exit Row 55
Lavatory located between Row 54 and 55 and rear of aircraft
Exception
Row 65 � 67: AC � DFG � HK
Row 68: DEF � HK
Bassinet Seat 45 C/D/G/H

Arik Airline Grounded Over N1.9 Billion Debt

NewsRoom — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:11:51 GMT

Quote:

Arik Airline Grounded Over N1.9 Billion Debt

Kayode Ekundayo and Nahimah Ajikanle Nurudeen

2 September 2010

Lagos � Hundreds of air travellers were yesterday morning stranded at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) grounded Arik Airline over unpaid debt.

Arik is said to owe over N1.9 billion on domestic routes and about $126, 000 on international routes.

NAMA's head of Public Affairs Supo Atobatele said the agency gave Arik airlines until yesterday to pay its debt accumulated for years or be grounded.

The agency approves flight plans filed by airlines and also has the authority to deny same to some airlines.

Atobatele told our correspondent that only ten agency's airline that complied with the demands as at this morning were flying.

Airlines are supposed to statutorily deduct five per cent of ticket fees and remit to the agencies.

"Ten airlines have complied and are flying, except Arik," Atobatele said.

Some of the airlines that were flying included; Air Nigeria, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, Chanchangi Airlines, Overland Airline, Associated Airline, Allied Air, OAS Helicopters, Bristow Helicopter and Mobil Aviation.

Atobatele urged Arik to comply with the Federal Government order and be allowed to fly again.

"It is not our duty to ground airline, but they are not flying, others have complied, why shouldn't they?" he asked.

He said virtually all the domestic airlines yesterday embraced the newly introduced Pay As You Go system of payment by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) as they operated flights across the country without hitches.

Arik Air did not refused to comply with the new payment regime, claiming that the introduction of pay as you go payment regime was a unilateral decision by the Agency.

Arik Air information officer, Mr. Banji Ola, could not be reached through his phone as at the time of filling this report.

A peace meeting was said to have been called by the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Fidelia Njeze, few weeks ago with other airline operators but was shunned by Arik airline.

The Assistant General Secretary of the AON, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, said: "If it is true that Arik did not honour the invitation by NAMA aimed at reconciling accounts to ensure the actual amount the airline was owing and the eventual payment of the debts through an agreed payment plan, I will be very surprised.

"This is because at the last meeting with the minister of aviation, we all agreed that all member airlines of AON must pay the debt they owe, especially on international operations. Arik Air in the presence of everybody said it was ready to pay what it owed on international operations. It further said it was ready to cooperate with NAMA."

Arik was said to be making arrangement to pay N50 million to NAMA yesterday to enable it commence operation this morning.

The airlines owe NAMA more than N4 billion over the years.

SA Express Aims to Replace Fleet to Boost Capacity

NewsRoom — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:04:47 GMT

Quote:

SA Express Aims to Replace Fleet to Boost Capacity

Julius Baumann (Business Day)

2 September 2010

Johannesburg � REGIONAL airline SA Express plans to acquire an entirely new fleet over the next few years, as its management aims to increase the airline's capacity and move into larger 70- to 90-seat aircraft.

CEO Inati Ntshanga, appointed earlier this year to replace Siza Mzimela, said yesterday that another factor informing their decision was the difficulty in securing peak-hour departure and landings slots at OR Tambo airport. The larger aircraft will allow the airline to carry more passengers on fewer aircraft and maximise the use of peak slots.

"We have yet to decide which aircraft type we will be purchasing and so far have only issued a request of interest from the various suppliers," said Mr Ntshanga yesterday. He said that SA Express was spoilt for choice with numerous manufacturers competing in that segment of the market, including Bombardier, Embraer, Antonov and Sukhoi.

SA Express's decision is somewhat surprising considering that the state-owned airline's fleet is still relatively young, with many of them less than 15 years old. The airline has 25 aircraft, of which 13 are owned and 12 leased. These include Bombardier CRJ200 jets and Q400M turbo-prop aircraft, two of which were delivered as recently as 2008. The aircraft seat between 50 and 75 passengers.

Mr Ntshanga said many of the leases on the CRJ200 jets were coming to an end in the next few years and the management would have to put in place an interim solution until the arrival of the new aircraft.

Chief financial officer Sikhumbuzo Zulu said the airline was comfortable that it would be able to raise up to R600m off its own balance sheet and there was no need to approach the government for support. SA Express yesterday announced a net profit of R250m in the year to March, up from R235,4m in the previous year. This helped keep the net profit margin at 14%.

Despite the improvement in net profit, overall revenue slipped 0,5% to R1,8bn, dragged down by a drop in the number of passengers transported and pressure on yields. The average load factor for the year came in at 62%, down from 69,6% last year and 73,7% the year before.

A lower fuel price helped the group keep their operating costs under control, up 0,8% to R1,4bn. Fuel costs for the year slumped from R463,8m to R297,2m.

During the year, the airline continued to improve its debt-to- equity ratio, improving to 41% from 54% last year.

"This is a great improvement from 2007-08 when our debt-to-equity ratio was at 108% and we were technically insolvent," said Mr Ntshanga.

EU blacklists 2 Ghanaian airlines

Bingo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:23:05 GMT

EU blacklists 2 Ghanaian airlines
2010-09-02 14:46

Brussels - The European Union says it has added two Ghanaian-registered cargo companies to its list of airlines whose aircraft are barred from flying to Europe.

One is Meridian Airways, which operates five Douglas DC-8s from Belgium's Ostende-Brugge Airport. The EU statement on Thursday says Meridian was listed "as a consequence of a series of very poor results from inspections".

Another freight operator, Airlift International, will be allowed to use only one of its fleet of five DC-8 aircraft on flights to Europe.

The EU's list includes 278 banned airlines from 17 countries - mostly small carriers from Africa and Asia. The list was established in 2006 and is updated regularly.

- AP

Teen Completes Cross-Country Flight (Across the US)

NewsRoom — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:53:56 GMT

Quote:

Teen Completes Cross-Country Flight

Nate Foster, a 17-year-old from Maryland who took off in August to fly across the U.S. in a Piper Cub, has made it safely to Monterey, Calif., according to the Baltimore Sun. Foster received his private pilot certificate just a few days before launch, but he had logged about 150 hours at the controls since the age of 14. He completed the trip in just six days, staying mostly on schedule except for one day waiting out thunderstorms in a small Nevada town. He flew across the Rockies via a 12,000-foot pass, and told the Sun the scariest part of the trip was flying across the wide, empty spaces along the border of Wyoming and Nebraska. "It was like flying over the moon," he said. "I felt this horrible loneliness. I just had to get out of there."

Foster's father, Whit, who introduced him to the world of aviation, met him in California. Nate flew home via a commercial airline to be back in time to start his senior year at Friends School.