New charter airline Aero Georgia targets September launch

Full article on forbes.com

The Caucasian country of Georgia could be served by a new charter airline as soon as this September following successful talks with two eastern European investors.

Aero Georgia is aiming to launch flights with a single narrow-body aircraft capable of carrying up to 150 passengers, Igor Aptsiauri, the company’s chief executive, told me in a telephone interview.

“This will be the first time that Georgia will have a purely charter airline,” he said.

“What we have noticed here in Georgia is that there's a very big demand for charters. And not only in Georgia … If we look at the big airlines in eastern Europe and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] region, the ones that are doing more or less OK financially are all charter airlines...

This is why flights are still operating from Milan’s airports

Full article on forbes.com

When Italy’s government placed the northern region of Lombardy on lockdown this weekend, many assumed that Milan’s airports would immediately halt flights.

The reason for isolating Lombardy, after all, is to slow the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease that has so far infected 109,500 people worldwide, killing 3,800. Italy is by far the European country worst affected by the outbreak, with 7,375 cases and 366 deaths. Lombardy is its worst hit region.

Several countries and airlines have already taken matters into their own hands by grounding flights and cutting frequencies to northern Italy.

Yet, as of Sunday March 8th, the day that the lockdown began, Milan’s Malpensa Airport and Bergamo Airport were both insisting that it’s business as usual in their terminals. Bergamo Airport’s operator is still sharing a video that encourages its customers to #keeponflying...

South Sudan's most credible airline targets breakthrough year

Full article on forbes.com

Sky Navigator, a South Sudanese virtual airline that launched operations in 2019, has laid out an ambitious plan to normalize air transport in its war-torn home nation.

The company is locally owned but relies on chartering aircraft from foreign partners due to the limited capabilities of the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, which lacks the ability to issue Air Operator’s Certificates (AOCs) and has ceded control of its airspace to Sudan since the two countries separated in 2011.

A pair of 12-seater Cessna Caravans is currently operated by the airline under short-term contracts with Horn Aviation of Kenya and Fly Zanzibar of Tanzania.

But managing director Cosmos Gombura is aiming to replace these units with five of Sky Navigator’s own Caravans this year – three on long-term leases and two purchased outright – as well as pressing the regulator to begin issuing local operating licenses as soon as possible...

SaudiGulf's high hopes

Full article in PDF format: page 16-17 & cover

With just six aircraft in its fleet, SaudiGulf Airlines, a boutique carrier based in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia, has only a modest slice of the kingdom’s fast-expanding aviation market.

Owners Al-Qahtani Group, a family-run conglomerate, undoubtedly hoped to spread their wings faster when they were granted an operating licence in 2016.

But, for chief executive Abdulmohsen Jonaid, who joined the airline after heading up Saudia, the country’s much larger flag-carrier, quality is more important than quantity at this stage of SaudiGulf’s development...

How to protect airliners from missiles

Full article on economist.com

The shooting-down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 over Iran on January 8th provoked outrage around the world—not least in Iran, where it triggered a new round of anti-government protests. Mixed with the grief and anger was disbelief that an international airline was willing—and allowed—to fly through a potential conflict zone. Such catastrophes are not as rare as they should be...

The downing of flight 752 in Iran is a tragedy of complacency

Full article on guardian.co.uk

On 7 January, one day before Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran, as commercial jets piled into the busy air corridor over neighbouring Iraq, I tweeted: “I hope the lessons of MH17 are not being forgotten.”

That reference to Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 – which was shot down by separatist rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014 – might seem like an eerie premonition. But it was simply common sense. My concerns were rooted in a basic grasp of the risks of flying through potential conflict zones. Last week’s tragedy has exposed the abject failure of western governments, intelligence agencies and airline industry groups to protect travellers, as they pledged to in the aftermath of MH17.

Consider what was known in the days leading up to the loss of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752...

This digital startup is stamping out the ‘tax-free shopping’ scam

Full article on forbes.com

I was awestruck last year when I visited Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the most famous and perhaps the most beautiful shopping mall in the world. Few can resist gawping upon entering this masterpiece of neoclassical architecture, with its sweeping mosaic tiles, palazzo-style facades and huge iron and glass dome. An even bigger shock awaits ordinary folk who glance at the prices in the posh fashion outlets lining its streets. But not everyone is left aghast. For some tourists the Galleria Vittorio is a place to spend, not gaze. And for non-Europeans, in particular, the splurging comes with the expectation of a 22% VAT refund at the airport. Yet few tourists receive their dues. By the time retailers and middlemen have had their fun, these shoppers are lucky to get 14% back. And it’s a problem that affects more than just super-rich visitors to Milan...

Boeing needs a new boss

Full article on guardian.co.uk

Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s chief executive, last week told US lawmakers that he would have grounded the 737 Max in a heartbeat – if only he’d known about the dangers posed by the aircraft’s anti-stall mechanism. His apparent ignorance of this design flaw led to the deaths of 189 people in October 2018, when Lion Air Flight 610 slammed into the Java Sea. Five months later, once Boeing had convinced most of the world that poorly trained Indonesian pilots were probably to blame for the disaster, another 157 people died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

To the ordinary person in the street, glaring similarities between the crashes – both of which involved the same, brand new aircraft type nosediving at the same stage of their flight – made it obvious that the 737 Max should be grounded...

MEA: Beirut force

Full article in PDF format

During the early years of Syria’s civil war, Middle East Airlines (MEA), the flag-carrier of neighbouring Lebanon, benefited from an uncomfortable spike in demand due to its proximity to the battleground.

With Syrian airspace all but closed to civilian traffic, most refugees who could afford airline tickets drove 110km from Damascus to Beirut before boarding their flights.

That footfall has subsided in recent years as the war-torn state hobbles towards some semblance of normality. At home, flag-carrier Syrian Arab Airlines is plotting to re-build its network with new Russian aircraft that are not subject to Western sanctions. Abroad, a handful of international airlines have tentative plans to resume operations in Damascus.

And while less cross-border demand seems like bad news for MEA, Mohamad El-Hout, the airline’s longstanding chairman, actually wants the trend to continue...

Interview: Belarnicio Muangala, Fly Angola General Manager

Full article in PDF format

Angola’s aviation sector took a symbolic step forward in April, when the European Union lifted all restrictions on TAAG Angola operating in its airspace.

The state-owned flag-carrier had been trying to shake off its EU ban for more than a decade: first gaining an exemption for Portuguese flights; then securing the right to serve elsewhere in Europe with specific aircraft; and finally being given unfettered access to the continent.

By removing TAAG from its blacklist, Brussels signalled that the mismanagement and corruption associated with the airline no longer poses a danger to the safety of flight.

But, on a broader commercial level, there remains little positive to say about civil aviation in Angola...