In addition, the company has positioned Pete Buresh, its regional vice president for International Aircraft Sales/Africa, in Cape Town, South Africa.

“These additional resources put us closer to our customers and position us for growth opportunities in these regions,” said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Gulfstream. “The momentum we carry following the entry-into-service of our two new aircraft, the G650 and G280, makes this an ideal time for renewed focus, particularly in Europe, a traditionally strong business jet market.”

The London sales and design center will give European, African and other international customers convenient access to the acquisition and design stages of a Gulfstream business jet. Its centerpiece will be a showroom filled with a range of veneers, leathers and fabrics from which to create an aircraft interior.

The facility is located in the Mayfair district of central London.

Gulfstream’s new authorized sales representatives for aircraft transactions in Europe are Tim Leacock Aircraft Sales in the United Kingdom, ATP Aviation in Ankara, Turkey, and Loyd’s Aviation Group in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Gulfstream appointed Evergreen Apple Nigeria in Lagos to the same role.

Each firm has access to a network of entrepreneurs and operators that value and utilize business aviation. ATP Aviation and Loyd’s are Gulfstream operators.

“All of these partners have extensive knowledge of Gulfstream aircraft and what models are the best fits for their respective markets,” Neal said. “Customers will appreciate their expertise and attention to service.”

Buresh, a 20-year Gulfstream employee, was named sales director for Africa in March 2010.

Gullfstream is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), which designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. The company has approximately 65 aircraft based in Africa, including more than a third that are G450s or GIVs. Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are each home to more than 10 company-built aircraft.

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Revenue increased by 5% to £2.87bn while “cargo had a healthy turnover of £230m and performed well in a global market that showed decline.”

The Group said in an official statement that “Virgin Holidays continues delivering profit and strengthening its distribution position, with a 6% year on year increase in forward sales for 2013/14. It opened its 100^th shop, and created over 135 new jobs and apprenticeships in the past year.”

Last year saw a double dip recession, a continued weak macro economy, and an Olympic Games which, although a fantastic event, severely dented demand for business travel.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Craig Kreeger said: “Virgin Atlantic has a programme of measures going forward which I am confident will improve our financial performance considerably in 2013/14 and put us firmly on the road to a return to profit in spring 2015.

Kreeger, who joined Virgin Atlantic on 1^st February, outlined his programme to transform the business with a focus on network, alliances and reducing operational costs whilst continuing to invest in leading customer experience.

The airline is beginning to witness a lift as it flew 5.5m passengers in 2012, an increase of 188,000 year on year.

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The Lagos MRO, an authorised service facility for Bombardier and Hawker Beechcraft, said demand for MRO service is sky-rocketing with more aircraft scheduled for base maintenance checks.

Another Hawker 800XP and a Bombardier Global Express are scheduled for maintenance base check.

Steve Bothma, Maintenance Director at ExecuJet Africa, said they have been well-received since they started operating at the Lagos facility.

He added that the facility continued to grow in keeping with firm growth of business aviation in Africa.

“We are extremely proud of the MRO’s development and progress,” Bothma said. “With a secure access way from the main road and direct access to the runway and taxiway, the 5,000m² facility features a wide concrete apron with ample aircraft parking space.”

ExecuJet Africa is a unit of ExecuJet Aviation Group, the leading global business aviation organisation offering a diverse range of services.

It has its head offices in Zurich, Switzerland. And it has operations in six regions. These are in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

The post ExecuJet Africa Completes Hawker 800XP Aircraft in Lagos appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

This comes after UACN announced that it had sold a 51 percent share acquisition of Livestock Feeds Plc, a company that produces animal feeds and quoted in the Agricultural sub-sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Daily Official List.

MDS is Nigeria’s leading provider of integrated supply chain solutions such as warehousing, haulage, distribution and redistribution in over 600 cities and villages connected by a network of 50 distribution centres across Nigeria.

While UAC will continue to own 51 percent majority stake in MDS Logistics, a statement released by the company on Monday said the joint venture was driven by the need for a strategic partnership with an experienced international operator that would bring technical expertise into the company.

Speaking on the partnership, UACN’s Group Managing Director, Larry Ettah, said his company is looking forward to working together with Imperial Logistics as its strategic partner to engage the under-served and fast- growing logistics market in Nigeria.

Ettah added that, “The combination of MDS’ vital local experience and the value adding international logistics expertise of Imperial Logistics will lead to efficiency and raise benchmarks in Nigeria for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Imperial Logistics Chief Executive Officer, Marius Swanepoel, on his part said, the newest acquisition strengthens Imperial Logistics’ footprint in Africa and that it is consistent with its strategy of focusing on consumer opportunities in Africa and following its customer base on the continent.

“MDS has a quality customer base with a strong new business pipeline. Through the transaction, Imperial has also secured a specialist management team, which strengthens and complements the group’s existing skills set in the logistics business,” he said.

Imperial Logistics, a division of the Imperial group, is an international logistics and supply chain leader delivering excellence in end-to-end logistics and supply chain management with operations in several African countries and in Europe.

UACN, on the other hand, is a company with operations in foods, paints, logistics and real estate.

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He asked Turkish businessmen not to see Egypt as a single country with 85 million people but as the door to billions of people in Africa.

Speaking at the sidelines of the Turkey-Egypt Business Council meeting last Friday, Kandil said, “the Suez Canal’s contribution to the Egyptian economy only from fees from ships passing by is like $5.6 billion a year. But with industries in the right and left side banks of the canal and plus with logistical services, we think we can go up to $100 billion a year.”

Kandil who had a meeting with Turkey’s president Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said both nations had agreed to expand ro-ro lines and also to allow Egyptian goods to be carried from Egypt to Turkey and to Europe.

Turkey and Egypt’s bilateral trade has improved somewhat tremendously over the years following the Tahrir Revolution in Egypt.

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The shipyard when completed is expected to generate employment for youths and ultimately improve the nation’s economy, while arresting capital flight that would, in turn, bolster the country’s economy as new ships and ship docking services would be available in the country.

The project which has received approval from necessary authorities will also have facilities for dry docking ocean vessels.

Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, said the establishment of the new shipyard is expected to drive sustainable development and step up capacity building in the maritime sector of the economy so that Nigeria can be a strong force in the maritime sector globally.

“We will not only build ships, with a facility for dry docking in the shipyard, we are bringing in the private sector because we want to avoid the pitfall that goes with government single handedly handling this kind of business.”

“Our belief is that if it is successfully completed and managed, we will not only create employment opportunities but also arrest capital flight as many vessels calling in Nigerian ports will now have a facility for dry docking instead of going elsewhere to do it.”

Aside generating employment and improving the nation’s economy; Akpobolokemi said the new venture is expected to also enable cadets from the Maritime Academy of Nigerian (MAN), Oron, Akwa-Ibom to have opportunity for practical training experience during their sea time.

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The airline and its partner, Federal Airline will ”wet lease” a Boeing 737-300 from Starcargo Airlines, an experienced aircraft leasing company at OR Tambo International Airport for its planned air service between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Starcargo will provide the crew, maintenance and insurance while Federal Airline will operate the service for fastjet Holdings which owns 25 percent interest of the business.

The arrangement will last for 6 months, giving fastjet time to obtain permission to operate its Airbus 319 jets in South Africa.

”This is yet another definite step towards the commitment of fastjet services and we remain on track for an end of May launch,” fastjet CEO, Kyle Hayward said.

”fastjet is working hard with its South Africa partners to put its initial route (Johannesburg to Cape Town) on sale shortly.”

Federal Airline local operator, Brad Dickson said the airline is expected to start selling tickets in about a week.

”We are basically completing the process in terms of the regulatory requirements and driving the necessary bodies. We anticipate the opening of booking around 15 May and the first ride will be on 31 May.”

fastjet partnered Blockbuster, an investment company owned by Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward Zuma and business man, Yusuf Kajee after renegading from its interest to buy bankrupted 1time airline. Both will be using Federal Air, a SA air charter serviced based at OR Tambo to operate its flight.

South African investors hold 75 percent of the new airline, making it compliant with registrations on an air license ownership.

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According to the NCAP 2013, companies with private jets are permitted to carry only employees or members of the Board of Directors while individuals with private jets can only carry members of their family, excluding friends and business associates.

The new policy, in part, reads: “For private aircraft owned or leased by individuals, only the family members of the owner/lessee of the aircraft will be permitted on board as passengers”

“For private aircraft owned or leased by companies or corporate entities, only the employees and members of the Board of Directors of the company will be permitted on board as passengers.”

Passengers on board will also be subjected to an air traffic control clearance.

“For aircraft belonging to non-scheduled or scheduled operators, only the employees and members of the Board of Directors of the company or the corporation may be permitted on board as passengers; all operators will declare the identities of all passengers on non-revenue charter flights in the appropriate general declaration forms prior to obtaining ATC clearance.”

“Nigerian carriers operating revenue passenger charter flights will be required to have a current non-scheduled or scheduled operator permit with operations manual that contains flight duty time limitations, which will be strictly monitored on regular basis.”

Business owners and corporations sometimes have private jets that make logistics easier for them. Some business moguls in Nigeria with private jets include Africa richest man, Aliko Dangote, Global Fleets’ Jimoh Ibahim, Globacom CEO, Mike Adenuga and Chief Harry Akande.

The reviewed policy tagged “The Revised National Civil Aviation Policy 2013” (NCAP)” which took about a year to review was released on Friday to bring new and sustainable regulatory structures into the industry for security and safety of airline passengers and crew.

The new policy covers safety programme; accident investigation and prevention, monitoring and control of general aviation; introduction of an effective search and rescue mechanism as well as the development of an effective and sustainable economic regulatory framework.

Nigeria’s aviation Minister, Stella Oduah said the aviation policy was last reviewed 12 years ago.

The revised NCAP 2013, according the minister is in line with section 769 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 and consists of 10 critical parts of the aviation industry, which “would be reviewed every five years or when necessary.”

In line with the newly reviewed policy, the Minister has also directed that all foreign-registered private jets will not be allowed to stay in the country beyond 15 days. Also, foreign-registered jets on special mission would only be allowed to stay for only 60 days, following special approval from the office of the minister.

Part VII of the NCAP 2013 reads: “Retention of foreign registered aircraft in Nigeria will not be permitted beyond a period of 15 days from date of entry. However, the Minister of Aviation may, in certain circumstances, grant the extension of this period for up to 60 days.”

According to the former Managing Director of Aerocontractors Airlines, Captain Akin George, over 70 percent of private jets in the country carry foreign registration. Thus, the stringent condition might affect the movement of business moguls whose private jets currently carry registration of countries like the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa among others.

The post New Aviation Policy To Pose Difficulties For Private Jet Owners In Nigeria appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

“Our performance in the first quarter of 2013 was very much on target, with continued strong performance in key markets, resulting in healthy growth in revenues and net profits,” Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex, told Arabian Business.

According to report, net profit in the first quarter climbed to $18.9 million from $16 million in the same period of 2012.

“As expected, our operations in core markets, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, continue to grow with healthy margins, and we were very satisfied with the increasing positive contribution of our operations in Africa to the company’s overall performance.”

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sub-Saharan Africa economy is expected to grow 6.1 percent next year.

South Africa’s economy, the largest economy in Africa, is poised to expand 3.3 percent next year from 2.8 percent.

Arabian Business quoted the IMF as saying the global economy is expected to grow 4 percent next year, up from 3.3 percent this year.

On the back of this global growth, “the firm is maintaining its focus on its stated expansion strategy in growth markets through acquisitions and franchising in addition to our organic growth plans,” Hachem said.

The post Aramex Q1 Profits Soar 14% On Higher African Revenues appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Fastjet believes Africa is a growth aviation market, with regional and intercontinental traffic growing rapidly thanks to the continent’s continued economic expansion. Currently, the African aviation market is significantly underserved. Air travel spending as a percentage of GDP in Africa is a fraction of what it is in other emerging markets. But Airbus forecasts that total passenger traffic in Africa will grow at an average yearly rate of 5.7 percent between 2010 and 2030. This is well above the 4.8 percent world average growth rate.

Fastjet commenced its first commercial flight on a modern A319 aircraft, from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza in Tanzania, in November 2012. The airline’s second route will operate between Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro. The airline has indicated that a number of other destinations, namely Zanzibar in Tanzania, Entebbe in Uganda, and Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya, will be “coming soon”. Executive chairman of fastjet, David Lenigas confirmed this. “The fastjet launch in Tanzania will be the start of what the company believes will be a truly great pan-African, low-cost airline. Over time we plan to have fastjet flying the continent of Africa, from north to south and east to west.”

Chris Zweignethal, Chief Executive of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, said fastjet’s strategy to offer low-fare options in the market would probably open up new market segments to the option of flying. He added: “The existing airlines operating on the major routes are providing capacity to satisfy demand. Fastjet operations in the region will introduce additional competition, which is in the interest of the customers and places pressure on the operating margins of the established airlines, including that of fastjet.”

Fastjet has ambitious plans to create Africa’s first pan continental airline, bringing with it international standards of safety, quality, security and reliability. In order to offer low-cost fares, fastjet offers pay-as-you-travel extras, giving its passengers the choice to pay for additional services such as a bag checked-in or an onboard refreshment, rather than building these costs into the price of a ticket.

The fastjet branding features an African Grey Parrot, which is said to reflect the company’s mission, values and target audience. Fastjet CEO, Ed Winter, said: “The African Grey is renowned for its intelligence and is therefore a perfect personification of fastjet’s motto – smart travel.”

According to fastjet, the low-cost airline model seeks to attract large numbers of additional passengers by offering significantly lower fares. The fares need to be low enough to persuade people who did not previously travel by air to do so, and others to travel more often. Globally, the launch of a low-cost carrier creates a completely new market rather than a redistribution of market share in the existing market. During mid-2012, fastjet merged with existing airline, Fly540, which will gradually disappear as fastjet grows, but which gives it assets in Angola and Ghana as well as East Africa.

Winter confirmed that fastjet was in negotiations to buy failed South African low-cost carrier, 1time. Winter said: “The acquisition of 1time would be a complementary strategic fit for fastjet’s growth into a pan-African low-cost carrier. The synergies with fastjet would potentially increase the number of available route networks from South Africa into the rest of Africa. 1time would be rebranded into the fastjet brand and sold through fastjet.com.”

Fastjet also confirmed that it was in talks with Emirates about a potential partnership. “A partnership would benefit both fastjet and Emirates with greater passenger traffic and would give travellers in Africa the opportunity to connect to the rest of the world through Emirates’ Dubai hub, with fastjet providing passengers from African cities,” explained Winter.

Zweignethal hopes the airline will have a positive impact on the African aviation sector by opening up new markets through new city pair combination as opposed to operating only in the current well established markets. He believes it is a change that will be welcomed.

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