Air Zimbabwe 767-200 Flight from Harare International Airport (HRE) to Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB)

Air Zimbabwe's A320 Deal Negotiated Without Board Consent

 

Air Zimbabwe is once again mired in controversy after it was revealed that the country's former transport minister, Nicholas Goche, brokered a deal for the airline's now grounded A320-200s from Chinese businessman, Sam Pa, after Mr Pa reportedly donated USD100million to the country's much-feared Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). In its report, South African investigative newspaper, the Mail & Guardian (M&G), says Goche worked with the director general of the CIO, Happyton Bonyongwe, in structuring the deal with Pa without the knowledge of the airline's now dissolved board.

Mr Pa is no stranger to the African aviation scene. In 2010, Pa and his "88 Queensway Group", a body of companies that includes the China International Fund (CIF) and China Sonangol International Holding, were lined up for a 49% stake in Air Tanzania only for the deal to collapse under murky circumstances. For a brief period, Air Tanzania operated an A320-200 which has since been transferred to Air Zimbabwe as Z-WPM (cn 630).

The state-owned Zimbabwean national airline is now reportedly considering ditching the two aircraft, stored in Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, owing to a lack of personnel qualified to both maintain and operate them.

 

Source: ch-aviation

Air Zimbabwe A320's grounded in South Africa

 

 

Air Zimbabwe's two A320 Airbuses have been grounded at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the last four months amid disclosures that the planes were unserviceable. Grounding of the Airbuses adds to the woes of the national carrier that now has only two planes in the air servicing the Harare-Johannesburg route and the domestic market. The two are a Boeing 737 and the leased Embraer jet. The third functional plane is a Boeing 767 which is usually used when the 737 is down or when President Robert Mugabe is travelling outside the country. Three MA60's acquired from China a couple of years ago have also remained in the hangars as their potential to get back to the skies has been ruled out.

An insider reported that: "The Airbuses have been at OR Tambo for the last four months and are incurring storage charges which are rising by the day as they remain unfixed. They were taken to South Africa for C-Checks." C-Check refers to the comprehensive overhaul of aircraft after a certain amount of time or usage. The source added: "When one of the Airbuses was flying, the airline used to cannibalise the parked one for parts. One of the planes needs its landing gear replaced." Contacted for comment last night, Airzim spokesperson Shingai Taruvinga confirmed the Airbuses were grounded in SA, but could not give more details.

A senior official at the airline also confirmed that the Airbuses had been grounded, but could not give further details. "It's true that they (Airbuses) are in South Africa since we don't have the capacity to service them here. One of the planes has a landing gear problem and the lessor is looking at replacing it soonest," the official said. The senior official also confirmed that the airline was conducting C-Checks on two Boeings locally and these will be completed soon. "We need about $1,5 million to complete the C-Checks on the Boeing 767 and Boeing 737 at our workshops and I suppose that should be done within the next three weeks," the official added.

Source: Bulawayo24

PICS: Harare International Airport

 

 

SA Express Apply for Bulawayo Route

SA Express have officially applied for 3 weekly flights on the Johannesburg (OR Tambo) - Bulawayo (Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo) route. The application was submitted and the end of 2013 and if SAX is granted rights on this route, it will join SA Airlink and Air Zimbabwe which both operate daily flights between the two cities. A recent article stated that the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) have teamed up in-order to market the airport amid fears the facility could become a white elephant. We will be keeping you up-to-date regarding developments on this possible route.    

PICS: New Bulawayo Airport Terminal

 

Special thank you to Zimkids Orphan Trust for the pictures.

Bulawayo's Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport Opens

 

Bulawayo's Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport has finally been opened for public use after years of delay. The new terminal will have a handling capacity of 1.5 million passengers annually. The terminal has taken more than 10 years and $25 million to refurbish and will have a new international arrivals’ hall, a variety of shops, a car park and a separate State pavilion.

It will still be incomplete when it opens, but CAAZ said the facility will have all the requisite safety, security systems and ambient characteristics of a modern airport. "Although the terminal is undergoing its final stages of completion, it has become absolutely necessary to operationalise the facility to allow utilisation of the already installed systems,” said CAAZ.

Only two airlines, South Africa Airlink and Air Zimbabwe use the airport. SA Airlink, a South African Airways service, plies the Bulawayo-Johannesburg route daily but has a capacity of 83 passengers. Air Zimbabwe flies to Harare and the resort town on Victoria Falls.

Air Zimbabwe's planned London Gatwick Schedule

Air Zimbabwe is planning to resume its Harare-London(Gatwick) route starting November 15, 2013. The airline plans to operate a twice weekly 767-200 service. The airline previously planned to resume the service on July 01, 2013.

Planned schedule as follow:

• UM722 HRE0900 – 1830LGW 767 37
• UM725 LGW1930 – 0630+1HRE 767 14

Air Zimbabwe A320, ERJ145 (PICS)

Special thanks to Solenta Aviation for providing pictures

First Pic of Air Zimbabwe's ERJ145

Thanks to the African Aviation Tribune, these are the first pictures of Air Zimbabwe's Embraer ERJ145 (MSN 145607 / ZS-BBH) which currently operates on domestic routes (Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls). The Embraer jet is currently on wet-lease through Solenta Aviation in South Africa.
Air Zimbabwe is currently offering special fares on its domestic and regional routes in-order to gain lost market share.

Air Zimbabwe Special Fares

Air Zimbabwe is currently offering special fares on several routes. The Harare-Bulawayo flight has gone down from $300 to $105. A one-way ticket for the same route is $61. The Harare-Victoria Falls flight is down from US$421 to US$180 while return Harare-Johannesburg is now US$275 from US$420. One way flights for the same routes are $140 and $150 respectively. These fares are valid until 31 July. The national airline has been struggling with negative perception due to mismanagement in the past few years.

Air Zimbabwe takeoff at Nagoya, Japan

Air Zimbabwe A320 (Pics)

 

 

Special Thanks to demotix.com

 

 

Air Zimbabwe receives first Airbus A320

Air Zimbabwe has taken delivery of the first of two Airbus A320's, which is expected to operate on  regional routes ahead of the country hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in August 2013. The plane, which was under going routine maintenance and safety checks yesterday at the Harare International Airport, had already had the airline’s livery. According to the airline, the A320 will start operating on the Harare-Johannesburg route soon.

Air Zimbabwe has so far resumed daily flights to Victoria Falls, Bulawayo and Johannesburg.
The airline’s board chairperson Ozias Bvute told Parliament in March that Air Zimbabwe will resume international flights to London in July this year after beefing up its fleet as part of its turnaround strategy.

“We have looked at route viability and we have identified the short-term routes that we think we want to concentrate on and ensure that those routes are managed and serviced properly for the benefit of our travelling partners,” Bvute said then.

Can Air Zimbabwe Become Successful Once Again?

Air Zimbabwe, the seemingly ailing national carrier is currently undergoing a restructuring programme aimed at making the airline competitive once again. Burdened with large debts and an ageing fleet of Boeing 767-200ERs and 737-200's, the carrier recently announced a fleet renewal exercise as part of the restructuring programme. Currently two Airbus A320's have joined the fleet with one recently undergoing safety inspections and certified to operate on regional routes such as HRE-JNB. Plans have also been availed to acquire new short range Embraer jets from the Brazilian maker.

But what exactly is the long term strategy for Air Zimbabwe? Several new routes have been mentioned including Durban, Mauritius, London, Lagos and Munich but is this really the best option? Currently the dominant legacy carriers on the African continent include South African Airways, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenyan Airways. They are mainly characterized by their large fleets, hub-networks, expansive route-links as well as allegiances to alliances (Star Alliance, SkyTeam).

So the question is, can Air Zimbabwe compete with these dominant carriers? At the moment we have several smaller carriers making their mark on the African continent. These include Rwandair, Precisionair and probably the new player in the game Fastjet. So unlike the European and .U.S. markets where competition is highly saturated, the African market still has major potential for growth. So my next question is were does Air Zimbabwe fit into this whole picture?

As the legacy carrier that Air Zimbabwe currently is, the need to adopt a hybrid strategy can be critical to the revival of the airline. With the current small fleet it operates, a point to point strategy can be adopted where they focus on cutting costs and increasing efficiency, a strategy done very successfully by Easy Jet. At the moment Air Zimbabwe operates a Boeing 767-200ER on the HRE-JNB route which sits all day in Johannesburg before returning to Harare in the evening. The airline can adopt a fast turn-around strategy were they can do 4-8 profitable daily shifts between Harare and Johannesburg. But you ask, is there really a market for this? My answer is simply YES, but the challenge is the price. Middle income earners are not able to pay the current lowest price charged by SAA and BA Comair of $400 return trip. Air Zimbabwe can utilize their crew efficiently and adopt ancillary revenues methods from non-ticket sources such as baggage fees, food & beverage etc. Remember we are talking about point to point basis here so why not even fly into the cheaper airports like Lanseria.

Implementing Revenue Management systems to strategically control inventory, availability on GDS (Global Distribution Systems), and a reliable web presences can assist dearly in Air Zimbabwe's renewal. Some routes were Air Zim can successfully operate on a point-to-point include; Harare-Johannesburg, Harare-Cape Town, Harare-Durban, Bulawayo-Johannesburg, Victoria Falls-Johannesburg, just to name a few.
In conclusion, Air Zimbabwe can become a successful carrier once again with the right management team in place and a strategy that fits their current situation. We wish them best of luck in the near future.

Written by; Mlandeli Ndlela at HREAirportblog

Air Zimbabwe Fails to Resume Flights

Struggling Air Zimbabwe which was supposed to resume flights yesterday failed to do so due to its current debt crisis and striking working force. The airline was supposed to resume flights to local destinations including Bulawayo and Victoria Falls but so far no updated report has been posted on their website. Will keep you posted on any new updates.

Air Zimbabwe Resuming Flights

 According to the Air Zimbabwe website www.airzimbabwe.com the airline will be resuming flights starting February 20th. Operations will resume with limited services as follow:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Harare/Bulawayo/Victoria Falls	0700/0815 - 0845/1000
Victoria Falls/Harare	1030/1215

The airline will also be restoring services to normal levels gradually and the traveling public and industry will continuously be informed.

Air Zimbabwe receives first Airbus A320

Pictured above in the hanger at Harare International Airport, it looks like Air Zimbabwe's much talked about acquisition of Airbus aircraft has finally arrived. Supposedly the first of four aircraft which is expected to be delivered but no word yet on dates or aircraft type. It will be interesting to see if this can help the struggling airline which is in serious debt. Will keep you informed about this development.