Fly 540 Africa

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  • Gear for the Bush

    In October 2013, Namibia—one of the few countries with conservation mandated in its constitution—hosted the Adventure Travel World Summit, an opportunity for 650 delegates from 60 countries to meet, network, and, of course, explore southern Africa.

    Here’s the gear that survived the adventure.

    Bushnell Legend Ultra HD Binoculars; $275
    When you want to see a leopard’s whiskers without becoming its next meal, the Bushnell Legends are your secret weapon. Tracking an injured hyena in Namibia, our safari guide could see its wound—a lion bite—from 600 feet away. Late that day, the binoculars let us identify 47 bird species in three hours, even when some were circling 1,000 feet above us. The extra-wide field of vision glass maximizes available light and gives you a color-tuned, high-res image whether you’re peering into the forest or the dunes. Bushnell’s permanent water-repellant coating keeps your lenses clear from sweat or precipitation. The company guarantees you’ll love them or they’ll buy them back.

    Keen Clearwater CNX Sandals; $100
    From Namibia’s famed Sossusvlei dunes to the Kalahari, walking in sand is one of the desert’s greatest challenges. It feels better barefoot until the sun is high. Then, you need a shoe that protects your feet from the skin-searing surface but doesn’t overheat on the inside. Keen’s Clearwater CNX is the perfect solution. It has a barefoot feel thanks to multidirectional grooves on the thin but supportive sole, and the webbed upper drains sand as well as it drains water.

    LED Lenser X7R Flashlight; $240
    Stopping under a camelthorn to peer into the one-ton nest of a sociable weaver colony, the 70-to-500 lumen adjustable beam LED Lenser chased away shadows and helped our resident safari photographer capture a great pic. And, at night, its beam pierced the inky darkness, pinpointing a leopard crouching by a waterhole, and illuminating it well enough from 500 feet away for a gallery worthy picture. The X7R uses two LEDs in one beam, and it’s USB rechargeable.

    Mountain Khakis Equatorial Long Sleeve Shirt; $95
    On African safari, the humidity is low, but the sweat volume is high under the hot desert sun. The Equatorial shirt dried in minutes and never soaked through, even on the stillest days. And it’s tough enough to protect you from the claws of camelthorn and other grabby desert bushes. The collar flips up to keep your neck from burning.

    Patagonia Tropical Flats Shorts; $69
    Keep cool and pack light with Patagonia’s Tropical Flats Shorts. Weighing in at a mere 5.4 ounces, these shorts are made from sun protective, quick dry nylon and spandex. For extra venting, the pocket snaps open to catch the breeze. They’re stretchy enough for any activity, from hiking to fishing to kicking back with a cold one and watching wildlife.

    Peak Designs Capture Pro Camera Clip; $80
    Keeping you camera out of the sand is key in the desert. So is being able to switch between camera and bincoulars. Enter Capture Pro Camera Clip. It attaches to your camera and any backpack shoulderstrap or belt and supports even a substantial zoom lens on a full DSLR without bouncing. The quick release lock can take up to 200 pounds of force without accidentally releasing. The transition from ready to action is seamless with a simple slide clip that doubles as a tripod mount.

    Tilley LTM6 Airflo Nylamtium Hat; $79
    A fat rim for sun protection and good venting—those are the basic requirements for a safari hat. Tiley’s hand-sewn Airflow Nylantium gives you that, plus UPF 50 with a dark underbrim for glare protection. And, should a freak storm arise, it’s water repellent.

  • Comair Obtains Interdict Against License Suspension

    JOHANNESBURG – Comair says the Air Services Licensing Council has not provided clarity on whether it will suspend its air services license and, as a result, it’s obtained an interdict against the council from potentially revoking its license.

    The Kulula and British Airways operator met with the council in Pretoria earlier today.

    The interdict means Comair cannot get its license revoked prior to a hearing set down for 17 May.

    Comair’s CEO Erik Venter says after the hearing it will take the council’s decision on its shareholding review.

    “Comair is confident that it is compliant with Air Services Licensing Act and today it obtained an interdict to prevent the council from taking any action against Comair until such time as the issue regarding Comair’s foreign shareholding can be reviewed in a court of law.”

  • Egypt: Geopolitical Events Has a Negative Effect on Air Travel & Tourism

    Air travel to Egypt continues to be very susceptible to geopolitical events. The fall-out from the Metrojet incident at the end of Oct-2015, just as the winter season was starting, continues to be felt as the summer 2016 schedule gets under way. All flights between Russia and Egypt continue to be suspended, as do flights between the UK and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The 29-Mar-2016 hijacking of an EgyptAir domestic flight, causing its diversion to Larnaca, further threw the spotlight on security concerns in Egyptian aviation.

    International seat capacity to Egypt enjoyed a number of years of double-digit growth before this was interrupted by the Arab Spring of 2011. There followed a period of virtually stagnant capacity. International capacity returned to growth in 2015, before being interrupted once more by these more recent events. According to OAG data, international seat numbers will fall by 4% in summer 2016.

    Russian and UK airlines are the biggest contributors to the fall in capacity this summer, while Egyptian airlines and many from other countries in the Middle East are set to grow on international routes to Egypt. The Egypt tourism market has in the past demonstrated its powers of recovery and is likely to do so again.

  • World Travel Market Africa Set for 6-8th April in Cape Town

    To millions of travelers Africa is an amazing continent with everything for everyone. Whether you’re looking for primates, wine, culture, or wildebeest, look no further than Africa. This April, make a plan to be part of the World travel Market Africa scheduled to run from 06 to 08 April 2016 in Cape Town. The trade show will take place at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) a grand venue which will create private and commercial opportunities for tour operators, photographers worldwide. Looking at a two year time frame the World travel Market (WTM) Africa has led to an increase in the visitor number by 18% resulting in a 39% increase in travel professionals.

    Africa will again provide exhibitors the opportunity to mix up with more quality travel industry professionals to confirm quality business deals for future prosperity and growth of the tourism sector. 2015 was a great year where the event had 7731 members generating $333 million in the industry business deals. However, the event organizers believe that the 2016 event will attract more exhibitors across the globe hence increasing the networking opportunities between exhibitors, buyers, visitors and media.

    Exhibitor space for the 2016 event has filled up quickly, with only a few spaces remaining open so the time is here to take up your position. For space inquiries contact the event organisers for more details. Most of the senior travel and tourism industry executives whose sole aim is to conduct business deals and gain knowledge from the very latest research, insights and opinions have already booked space just waiting for the day of the event. Buyers get a chance to know exactly where to find what when it comes to Africa travel holiday aspects giving way to amazing Africa trip experiences throughout the continent.

    The Event tourism exhibitors include hotel owners, tour operators who showcase different Africa countries attractions as well as culture. Free interactive moment is allowed between tour operators and buyers, processes which create awareness about different country attractions and location. Buyers get a chance to know the best travel periods, how much to look at in order to buy trips in a certain particular direction and what to see and find in such places.

    The World Travel Market simultaneously generate sales that later lead to launch new products, enter new markets, raise brand awareness, size up for more  competition, conduct market research, command press attention and develop and maintain relationships. Chardonnay Marchesi, General Manager of Africa Travel Week said: “We are very proud of the platform we have provided for the travel industry over the past two years. We look forward to achieving an increase in participation this year and to hosting another successful event in Cape Town this April”. Just show up any day of the event and check out what Africa has to offer for your upcoming holiday.

  • Rwanda Air – Recommended Cheap Airline for Africa Travelers

    Nothing can out compete the air fares of RwandAir to Kigali international airport especially when it comes to connectivity from one destination to the other. Travelers find it easy to part with some few dollars and be in another destination within no minutes. Besides it’s another advantage for tourists taking safaris to multiple destinations within the East African Countries; Rwanda, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Tanzania since several flights are operated with in different countries daily.

    RwandAir also fly its B737 fleet to Lusaka and Cape Town a new route which was introduced early this year. The route is known as Kigali-Lusaka-Cape Town and the most affordable flight to both destinations in Africa compared to other airlines. The route eased travel to most top tourist countries in Africa –South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Congo, Burundi and Tanzania inclusive.

    Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and the airport is served by major airlines such as KLM, Emirates, British Airways, South African Airways, Kenya Airways or Ethiopian Airlines. Zambia is one Africa’s emerging market.

    However Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa & its airport is the second hub of South Africa. Many major airlines to Asia – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, to Europe -Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways and to Africa -south African Airways, Air Mauritius, Air Botswana, Air Namibia and TAAG Angola Airlines are connected to cape town airport hence making Air travel the means of travel in all the world continents.

    Above all RwandAir services are incredible that they even minimize flight delay cases a potential factor for many travellers. This has been a main boost to East African Tourism in general with increased number of tourists being registered by the various countries coming in for gorilla tracking safaris in the Virunga mountains and Bwindi, chimpanzee tracking in the true wildness in the Uganda and Rwanda rain forests, wild excursion game drive safaris which are exceptional in their natural untamed wilderness in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and not forgetting water rafting on Africa Longest Rive Nile and other cultural adventures and birding safaris with over 650 Bird species to sight in the region. A safari to the East African Region is worth unregrettable decision of a life time with many memories to carry a long on the way back home. Various investments in the Hospitality industry is available to cater for all classes of travelers i.e; Luxury, Budget and backpackers with ground transport being more developed to ease local connections to different sites and across borders.

  • Bargain Hunters’ Bliss as Mad South African Airline War Returns

    WITH the South African rand at worse than 10 to the US dollar, it’s a bargain shopper’s paradise for international visitors and getting around the country is about to get cheaper.

    Domestic air fares have soared by more than 60% in the past two years, following the collapse of two independent low-cost airlines, leaving just the LCCs aligned with national carrier South Afrifcan Airways (Mango) and SAA’s main competitor Comair (Kulula).

    The exit of Velvet Sky in February 2012 and then 1Time in August 2012 hiked the cheapest fares on the benchmark Johannesburg-Cape Town route from around $US56 to around $US92 one-way as the remaining carriers tried to recover losses from the chaotic six-way competition that had existed until then.

    Fares for travel a month out on Kulula priced today start at around $US84 one-way.

    New LCC FlySafair, set up by long-time local charter airline Safair, has been granted a domestic air service licence after rivals Comair and wannabe airline SkyWise blocked the launch with a legal challenge, because Safair’s complex European shareholdings didn’t conform with strict local regulations that domestic airlines must be at least 75% South African-owned.

    FlySafair said it has been granted a domestic scheduled passenger license by the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) after revamping its ownership structure.

    “FlySafair has restructured its shareholding, getting rid of the shareholding that caused the problems, and at the same time, concluding the largest employee share ownership scheme in the aviation industry, effectively giving its South African employees a 25.14% stake in the company,” the carrier said in a statement.

    Air Transport World reported that Safair, which was founded in 1969 as an ad-hoc charter operator, has held international and domestic unscheduled licenses for nearly 50 years. The company retained the staff it hired for the FlySafair launch originally scheduled for last October by using them within the charter business.

    “This demonstrates our commitment not only to job creation, but also sends a clear message that FlySafair is here for the long run. We are eager to provide South Africans with an alternate low-cost airline that is dedicated to offering competitive and sustainable fares between Johannesburg and Cape Town,” Safair CEO Dave Andrew said.

    Andrew says that a new launch date will be announced later. FlySafair will initially fly six return services a day between Cape Town and Johannesburg using two 20-year-old Boeing 737-400s, with a third on standby, before expanding onto other routes.

    FlySafair Chief Financial Officer Elmar Conradie told South African TV this week: “We can expect ticket sales early in the second half of the year with flights starting soon after.

    “If we can start sooner, we will. We don’t want to go to the market and say 1 May and then it’s only 1 September. At this stage, we want to make sure all is ready so we can fulfill our promises.”

  • South African Airways Makes 20 years of Flying to Tanzania

    The class Airline committed to deliver sure services to the world including online check-in services & self check kiosks for travellers has finally made 20 years of flying between Johannesburg and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. South Africa Airways flies to 38 destinations worldwide from its hub with headquarters at Airways Park. The airline started operating flights to East Africa in 1995 on 25th October with three flights per week a routine which changed over years to flying twice daily between the two countries per a week due to the increased Tanzania holiday demand of south African every day.

    Tanzania is a country famed as the top destination for wildlife safaris in Africa with the most popular wildlife parks –Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater offering the finest safari holiday adventures for sole, group and family gate ways in Africa especially if timed during the annual wildebeest migration. Other parks and reserves include Selious, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ruaha ,Katavi and Gombe for Chimpanzee tracking hence, planning a holiday trip to Tanzania can be almost as exciting as the journey itself between the two African countries.

    Also the most relaxing island & beaches of Zanzibar is another Tanzania tourist spot and hundreds visit the place on purpose of getting complete relaxation in the sun after a great safari holiday adventure in the nearby parks of Tanzania and Kenya. The Island are just 20minutes flying from Dar-es salaam the countries capital. Magical scenery, views and happenings are the order of the day making tourists love the place each day.

    However, South Africa Airways operates Johannesburg – Dar Es Salaam flights using its new crafts – A320s, or A319s with exceptional quality business class which has also been well accepted by travelers worldwide. All flights are scheduled Monday to Sunday and the first day’s flight leaves Johannesburg-JNB at 10: 30 to Dar-es-saalam –DAR arriving at 14:55, followed by a flight which leaves Dar-es-saalam at 15:40 for Johannesburg arriving at 18:20 while the afternoon flight leaves Johannesburg at 13: 35 getting to Dar-es-saalam at 17:55 followed by the one which leaves Dar-es-saalam at 06:00 to Johannesburg arriving at 08: 35.if you are to travel to one of these countries please make it appoint not to miss out on any of the scheduled flights operated daily.

    You can also visit South Africa’s amazing tourism destinations-Kruger national park,the Table Mountain National park ,Cape town, Seychelles islands among others.Don’t again get locked to only two African countries you can also check out other Africa magical holiday destinations like Uganda ,Rwanda and congo for Gorillas, Zambia for the great falls, Botswana a great land of culture and wildlife, Kenya the wildlife haven ,Egypt and Ethiopia a place to memories the past. Explore great places and have stories to tell in future.

  • Packing Luggage for Air Travel

    When it comes to air travel, many travelers are more concerned with their carryon luggage than they are with their bags that will be handed over to airport staff. These bags, commonly referred to as checked baggage, are just as important, if not more important, than your carryon luggage. For this reason, there are a number of different factors that you should take into consideration, when packing your bags for your next flight.

    One mistake that many travelers make, when it comes to checked baggage, is including prohibited items in their bag. In addition to prohibited items, there have also been instances of travelers trying to hide illegal items in their checked luggage. Although it may seem like a good idea at the time, it isn’t. In fact, with today’s airport security screening, it is virtually impossible for you to get away with storing prohibited or illegal items inside your checked baggage more information. This is mostly due to the fact that the screening process has dramatically changed from what it was in the past, say ten years ago.

    In the past, certain airlines only randomly searched checked baggage. Many times, these searches were only implemented if airline officials or airport security had probable cause. Today, all bags are checked, including your checked luggage. Most checks will quickly be done, but, in some cases, more extensive searches may be conducted. A quick check of your luggage may include rummaging through all of your belongings, looking for anything out of the ordinary. An extensive search could include searching all of your clothing pockets and baggage compartments. In the event that you are subject to one of those checks, it is likely that you will be caught if you are trying to conceal a cigarette lighter or other prohibited items.

    Since your bags will be checked, all of them, you are advised against locking your baggage before heading to the airport. After your bags have been properly screened, some airlines will allow you to replace the locks on your checked baggage, but not all will. For this reason, you may want to reconsider storing expensive items, such as electronic equipment, in your bags. In addition to the possibility of theft, you will find that items packed inside your checked luggage are at a higher risk for being damaged then those that are in your carryon bags.

    When packing your bags, which will be checked at the airport, it is also advised that you carefully pack them. There are a number of items, including sharp objects, which are prohibited from being stored in your carryon luggage, but those items can be placed in your checked baggage. As previously mentioned, airport security will likely examine those bags. Even during a quick examination, they will rummage through your belongings. For that reason, you are advised to properly package and secure all items that can be considered dangerous, such as those with sharp edges or points. This extra precaution may not only affect your safety, when you to go unpack your bags, but the safety of all airport security officials, especially those screening your luggage.

    By taking the time to famialrize yourself with all travel rules, including the airport screening process, you should be able to pack your bags for your next flight, the right way. The wrong way, although you may not necessarily think about it at the time, could have serious consequences.

  • Qantas Purges Frequent Flyer Bargains and Rewards Big Spenders

    Travellers don’t yet appear to understand that, when the liability keeps growing as new frequent flyers join the program and start flying, it is inevitable that frequent flyer benefits must periodically be reduced.

    CHANGES to Australia’s biggest frequent flyer program were not only inevitable, but the professional points hunters saw it coming.

    In fact, much of the criticism since Qantas announced the tightening of frequent flyer benefits in favour of customers spending the most money has come from those aggrieved about the winding back of benefits for those flying in the cheapest seats, indicating that the changes are spot on target.

    And those who haven’t read the fine print need to get with the program: it isn’t fraudulent to offer benefits with a specific set of conditions if one of the conditions is that the conditions can be changed anytime the airline likes.

    Airline accountants have become very skilfull at juggling frequent flyer contingent liabilities.

    But travellers don’t yet appear to understand that, when the liability keeps growing as new frequent flyers join the program and start flying, it is inevitable that frequent flyer benefits must periodically be reduced, either continuously in small increments, or with less frequent, larger jolts, like last week’s changes at QFF.

    It is also inevitable that a number of Qantas frequent flyers will switch to the Virgin Velocity program, which is only nine years old and doesn’t have Qantas’s legacy issues. Anecdotally, Velocity members don’t face the same restrictions on travel dates and destinations as the Qantas program.

    However, Velocity’s membership has roughly doubled since 2011 when Virgin got serious about the Australian business travel market and it, too, will eventually face the same liability issues.

  • Kenya Tourism Board ‘Winner of Africa’s Leading Tourism Board 2012’

    Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) was voted Africa’s leading Tourism Board 2012 in the Africa category, at the 19th World Travel Awards.

    The World Travel Awards (WTA) capped its year-long search for the most popular travel and tourism brands in the world with its glittering Grand Final Gala Ceremony held in New Delhi, India, on 12th December 2012.

    Other African countries which competed with Kenya included Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco among others.

    “Kenya stood out for its sustained innovative and cutting edge marketing campaigns targeting both the traditional and new niche market segments, in an increasingly competitive global tourism industry,” said KTB’s Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa who also appreciated the contribution of all the stakeholders towards this achievement.

    We are honored to be recognized as Africa’s Leading Tourist Board this year”, he added.

    The World Travel Awards, described by the Wall Street Journal as the ‘Oscars’ of the global travel and tourism industry, serves to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

    The Award was first held in 1994, as a tourism industry initiative, with travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations across the globe voting for the winners.