Korongo airlines first flight

[air belgium]

Today 16 April....the first Korongo airlines flight?

[Bralo20]

It should leave in half an hour indeed:

[KVS Availability Tool 6.9.8/Diamond - Amadeus Operational Info: ZC 101/16 Apr 2012]

Code: Select all

                 Planned Flight Info
Segment          Departure  Arrival    Duration
-------          ---------  ---------  --------
FBM-FIH          07:30/Mon  08:50/Mon  02:20

Segment          Flight Note
-------          --------------------------------
FBM-FIH          AIRCRAFT OWNER BRUSSELS AIRLINES
FBM-FIH          COCKPIT CREW BRUSSELS AIRLINES
FBM-FIH          CABIN CREW KORONGO AIRLINES
FBM-FIH          OPERATED BY BRUSSELS AIRLINES
FBM-FIH          MCT FLIGHT TRACKING D/D
FBM-FIH          9/ NON-SMOKING
FBM-FIH          ET/ ELECTRONIC TKT CANDIDATE


[air belgium]

Thanks a lot for the information!

[Homo Aeroportus]

Flightstats.com hasn't it yet on its radar.

Only flights they list today between FBM and FIH are two XZ, SA Express.
Funny, they also return Royal Swazi National Airways when you enter ZC and Korongo is unkown to them.

Go Korongo !

H.A.

[Bralo20]

Flightstats.com hasn't it yet on its radar.

Only flights they list today between FBM and FIH are two XZ, SA Express.
Funny, they also return Royal Swazi National Airways when you enter ZC and Korongo is unkown to them.

Go Korongo !

H.A.

I'm not sure you can rely on tracker in that part of the world, I'm currently using Airnav Flight Tracker Live 8 and I even didn't see any flights at FIH nor FBM on my screen.

[FLYAIR10]

I think I read somewhere Korongo decided to have the first flight on 18 april i.s.o.16 april.
Grtz

[RoMax]

I think I read somewhere Korongo decided to have the first flight on 18 april i.s.o.16 april.
Grtz

I saw an article with 18 april as start date in the title, while there was 16 april in the article itself...I suppose it was a fault. This article was taken over by some other media. Maybe you've got it from there?

[Boeing767copilot]

according an article in LLB: +/- 40 pax on the first flight yesterday

[convair]

OMG ! If that number includes a few officials for this inaugural flight, you can't exactly call it an enthusiastic response !

[RoMax]

Some quotes I found in the Korongo articles of today/yesterday:

Nous avons parlé de trois appareils dont deux boeing 737 auxquels vont s’ajouter deux avions Airbus et d’autres appareils sont à compléter à partir du mois de juin.

Dans un premier temps, Korongo Airlines opère avec trois avions dont deux Boeing 737. Au mois de juin prochain, trois autres avions complèteront le parc de cette société d’aviation immatriculée en République démocratique du Congo.

Christophe Allard est catégorique : «Les avions répondent aux standards de sécurité admis sur le plan international, certifiés par «Brussels Airlines», donc une structure belge qui opère selon les normes européennes qui offrent les meilleures garanties de sécurité au point que désormais, il est possible de voyager en RDC sans avoir la peur au ventre».

[sn26567]

FlyCongo (ex-Hewa Bora) will probably be the main competitor for Korongo and does not remain inactive. According to CH-Aviation, it plans to add either A320s or B737s to supplement and eventually replace its fleet of four MD-82s. It has also announced that it is evaluating various turboprops to be able to better serve regional destinations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[RoMax]

brazzaville-adiac.com mentions this about Korongo's fleet:

Pour l'instant, Korongo Airlines ne dispose encore que de trois appareils (un Boeing 737 et deux British Aerospace 146). Toutefois, la flotte aérienne de la compagnie sera complétée rapidement avec l'arrivée d'un autre Boeing 737.

"At this moment the fleet of Korongo Airlines exists out of one Boeing 737 and two British Aerospace 146's. Soon, another 737 will join the fleet."

Some sources seem to be takling about Airbus, some about another 737. I think we'll have to wait and see what it will really be...but anyway, it seems Korongo is planning to add another aircraft quite soon. Interesting...

[HighInTheSky]

brazzaville-adiac.com mentions this about Korongo's fleet:

Pour l'instant, Korongo Airlines ne dispose encore que de trois appareils (un Boeing 737 et deux British Aerospace 146). Toutefois, la flotte aérienne de la compagnie sera complétée rapidement avec l'arrivée d'un autre Boeing 737.

"At this moment the fleet of Korongo Airlines exists out of one Boeing 737 and two British Aerospace 146's. Soon, another 737 will join the fleet."

Some sources seem to be takling about Airbus, some about another 737. I think we'll have to wait and see what it will really be...but anyway, it seems Korongo is planning to add another aircraft quite soon. Interesting...

A 737, now still in service at SN, will join the fleet soon.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

A leased one?
Oo-ltm was property of sn,like the bae146! no?

Guess only oo-veh rests then...

Quick expansion imho! and that while talking of downsizing their own fleet
cxb

[RoMax]

If I can believe the media stories about the first flight of Korongo. Korongo's network in June will be like this:

- Kinshasa: 8 weekly (3 flights directly connecting to SN flights)
- Johannesburg: 4 weekly (up from 2 weekly as from tomorrow)
- Kolwezi: 4 weekly
- Mbuji-Maya: 2 weekly

Goma and Kisangani should follow soon after they say. They also want to start more regional international flights, but that seems to be more difficult (traffic rights?).

You may not say it, but many domestic/regional African markets are really high yield. And looking at the Korongo fares that must be right...299 USD for one-way Lubumbashi-Kinshasa and 540 for a retour ticket. The 299 USD fare is their promotion fare, so the cheapest you can get it...
If Korongo achieves to break into this market, that must be a nice thing. At least I hope so.

[convair]

Seems ambitious. Let's hope they succeed!
Any feedback on the l/f after 3 days operation?

[tolipanebas]

Some newsbites:

- a second 737 will indeed be sent over, mainly because ZC gained additional traffic rights to JNB.

- tail to tail service to SN's BRU-FIH flight will start in May and will initially run trice weekly, but a fourth evening flight is to be added as soon as the second 737 gets approved.

- additional domestic destinations are also planned, but for this the infrastructure of these regional airports needs to be looked at first: their current domestic destinations in RDC had to be brought up to international standards too and were done first as they serve as en route alternates for the daily FBM-FIH.

- the EC will take a second look at ZC, as it is a pretty weird situation to have the EC effectively blacklisting the overseas operations of one of its own airlines while it has no problems with that same airline operating at home? Once off the blacklist, LH/LX/SA can interline with ZC through JNB or any other point where the networks connect.

[Inquirer]

- a second 737 will indeed be sent over, mainly because ZC gained additional traffic rights to JNB.

Is that on top of the 4 they planned on operating already? It seems so, if indeed they need a second 737.
Another -300, I suppose? which one do they have available? And what will replace it here?

- tail to tail service to SN's BRU-FIH flight will start in May and will initially run trice weekly, but a fourth evening flight is to be added as soon as the second 737 gets approved.

Are passengers going to have to go through immigration at Kinshasa, or at Lubumbashi?
And how big is demand for such a connector link: 4 times weekly on 737 seems like a lot to me!

[HighInTheSky]

- a second 737 will indeed be sent over, mainly because ZC gained additional traffic rights to JNB.

Is that on top of the 4 they planned on operating already? It seems so, if indeed they need a second 737.
Another -300, I suppose? which one do they have available? And what will replace it here?

Yes, 6-weekly JNB is planned with the second 737, OO-VEH if i'm not mistaken.
Will be replaced with the incoming A319's at SN.

- tail to tail service to SN's BRU-FIH flight will start in May and will initially run trice weekly, but a fourth evening flight is to be added as soon as the second 737 gets approved.

Are passengers going to have to go through immigration at Kinshasa, or at Lubumbashi?
And how big is demand for such a connector link: 4 times weekly on 737 seems like a lot to me!

Immigration will be done at Lubumbashi, pax will stay in 'transit' zone at Kinshasa.

[Inquirer]

- a second 737 will indeed be sent over, mainly because ZC gained additional traffic rights to JNB.

Is that on top of the 4 they planned on operating already? It seems so, if indeed they need a second 737.
Another -300, I suppose? which one do they have available?

Yes, 6-weekly JNB is planned with the second 737, OO-VEH if i'm not mistaken.

Wow, that's as good as daily then?
What is competition like on this route?