In his opening Address to this year’s Airline Association of Southern Africa (AASA) conference AASA CEO Chris Zweigenthal addressed the key question: “What’s stopping us? What’s not?” This is an edited version of his address presented in a question and answer format. HOW IS THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY DOING? The InternationalRead More →
SAA is leasing two A350-900s from Hainan Airlines and two from Air Mauritius. The leases are all three year sub-leases and we can only hope that SAA acquired them at singularly competitive rates as the original client airlines no longer wanted them. By the time you read this SAA shouldRead More →
The Hawker-Siddley125 range was around for so long that many corporate flight departments tend to overlook it in favour of new and far more expensive biz-jets. And then in 2013 Hawker stopped building it, so now only exceptionally smart operators know how good it is. I was surprised when myRead More →
For anyone who loves aeroplanes it is always sad when a once high-flying airliner is reduced to a dirty old wreck being slowly raided for parts in the ‘rust in peace’ wastelands of an airport. With the revolutionary leaps in jet engine efficiency it is not unusual for a jetRead More →
It had to happen. General aviation autopilots have been advancing at such a pace that it is now possible to install a switch on light aircraft that will take over from the pilot, fly to the nearest suitable airport and land on it. This must be great comfort to allRead More →
Namibian airline, Westair, made its inaugural flight into Cape Town on Friday 4 October 2019. The airline will be offering 7 flights a week for 4 days a week from Eros Airport in Windhoek, stopping at Oranjemund on the way to Cape Town. Cape Town is the first international destinationRead More →
Boeing has created a new safety committee to oversee both design and manufacturing in a move the company said reaffirms its “longstanding commitment to aerospace safety and the safety of its products and services.” Called the Aerospace Safety Committee (ASC), this permanent office will be headed by retired Admiral EdmundRead More →
The pleasure – albeit transient – of owning a brand spanking new aircraft has become exponentially more expensive and thus out of the reach of many. The benefit of this for South Africa’s thankfully still deep repository of skills in aviation maintenance is a thriving industry refurbishing old aircraft. ITRead More →
With the increasing worldwide need for airline-focused training to address the looming shortage of pilots, the Multi-crew Pilot Licence (MPL) is gaining popularity. One of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to address this ICAO initiative is via the extensive use of professional, authentic flight simulators. French simulator company AlsimRead More →
Back in 1989, when the small Swiss plane maker Pilatus announced the PC-12 as its single engine King Air competitor, there was much disparaging the idea that senior business execs – with company money to burn on fuel – would trust their lives to a single engine turboprop. Turns outRead More →
