Korongo Airlines: THE END

[airazurxtror]

Brussels Airlines is taking care of things like maintenance and crew training,...

Who are the pilots ? Who are the engineers and maintenance personnel ?
Brussels Airlines personnel - or others ?

[sn26567]

RTBF (based on a Belga news release) confirms the news that Korongo is on the European blacklist, but seems to say that flights could operate anyway. A spokesman for Brussels Airlines stresses that Korongo will operate with a Belgian AOC and not with a Congolese one: http://www.rtbf.be/info/economie/detail ... id=5982073

[RoMax]

Who are the pilots ? Who are the engineers and maintenance personnel ?
Brussels Airlines personnel - or others ?

I tought the original plan was to have SN pilots wich go to the DRC for a few months, but there was not so much enthousiasm for that plan under the SN pilots. But as far as I know SN is still taking care of the personnel (like training), but I don't know if there is actually SN personnel wich will be working for Korongo.

[congolaise]

Does any STAR ALLIANCE member have a subsidiary in another blacklisted country outside Africa,
Afganistan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Georgie....?
It is not possible that Brussels Airlines would be the only member having a blacklisted subsidiary.
May be a solution can be found with Star Alliance to accept blacklisted member airlines.
So we can safe the KORONGO project.

[matey11]

Yes there is personnel of brussels airlines already in DRC. An for the blacklisting I don't know it would be very strange to me because these aircraft are still brussels airlines property operated and maintained by brussels airlines personnel. Also the registration of the aircrafts will stay belgian. So I would be suprised that belgian registrated aircraft are not allowed to return to their home base.

Kind regards

[DeltaWiskey]

Ok, but Korongo is still a congolese AOC, no?
I think that is the primary reason, but if all the above is true I don't think it is a big deal to become "unblacklisted" once flying.

[RoMax]

Ok, but Korongo is still a congolese AOC, no?
I think that is the primary reason, but if all the above is true I don't think it is a big deal to become "unblacklisted" once flying.

Yes but didn't SN say Korongo will fly with a belgian AOC.

But anyway all DRC airlines are blacklisted, so the EU just did what they do with every airline flying in/from the DRC. Korongo has to prove their safety, but as SN is actually taking care of the operational part of SN I doubt they will stay on that black list for a long time.

[RoMax]

Does any STAR ALLIANCE member have a subsidiary in another blacklisted country outside Africa,
Afganistan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Georgie....?
It is not possible that Brussels Airlines would be the only member having a blacklisted subsidiary.
May be a solution can be found with Star Alliance to accept blacklisted member airlines.
So we can safe the KORONGO project.

Korongo Airlines will not be owned completelly by SN. So Korongo will start as a non-member affiliate (just like Shenzhen Airlines, Shangdong Airlines, BMIbaby, Germanwings, Sunexpress, Congo Express,...). And in that case it's not a real problem for Star Alliance that one of their members is shareholder of a blacklisted airline. And if Korongo Airlines wants to join Star they have to do the full integration process like any other new member and of course they may not be on the black list to be approved to join Star.

Congo Express, the daughter of South African in the DRC is also blacklisted.

[RoMax]

http://www.mediacongo.net/extra/echoshow.asp?echo=233

This article (official press release?) includes two pictures of their brand new hangar in Lubumbashi. Still no official launch date, in the last sentence they say the launch date will be communicated next.

[Shanti]

Are the Korongo planes still in Brussels?

[sn26567]

Thanks for the link, Mr Boeing. This seems indeed to be an official press release.

I pointed out two interesting sentences:

Dès que le pays sera sorti de la liste noire, Korongo Airlines basculera ses opérations sous immatriculation congolaise.

As soon as the country will emerge from the [EU] blacklist, Korongo will register its aircraft in the D R Congo.

Korongo Airlines a obtenu les autorisations opérationnelles requises pour le démarrage de ses activités. La nouvelle compagnie aérienne congolaise est désormais dans l’attente de l’approbation du dossier d’importation de ses avions et de l’acceptation de son programme d’exploitation par les autorités congolaises.

Korongo has all the necessary authorisations to start operations. It only waits for import licences for its aircraft and the government approval for its flight programme!

One should think that the government would have been more eager to get a decent airline started quickly in the country!

I also noted that Korongo has duly selected a director of communication, a local Geert Sciot.

[DeltaWiskey]

Very nice hangar however. Just out of interest, when was AirDC planned to begin commercial operations? Spring 2008?

[matey11]

Spotted both korongo aircraft still in hangar 117

[RoMax]

Some other websites say "Korongo will soonstart selling tickets". I wonder how long this "soon" will eventually take?

What I think is also quite interesting: Korongo plans to have 500 staff members eventually (they would already have about 100 the articles say). I wonder when they will achieve this and wich expension they are planning (I'm talking mainly about the fleet).

http://www.africanmanager.com/site_eng/ ... t_id=16644

http://www.congoforum.be/ndl/nieuwsdeta ... t=selected

[congolaise]

One should think that the government would have been more eager to get a decent airline started quickly in the country!

One can go further and understand what you say as DECENT = WHITE.
Do not be surprised of the lack of eager.

[sn26567]

One should think that the government would have been more eager to get a decent airline started quickly in the country!

One can go further and understand what you say as DECENT = WHITE.
Do not be surprised of the lack of eager.

No Sir (or Madam), by decent I mean an airline which has not been blacklisted by the European Union. All the airlines of the DRC have been banned in the EU. As soon as this situation is reversed, the Korongo planes will get a Congolese registration, as it should be.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

All the airlines of the DRC have been banned in the EU.

Who cares as Korongo is only for domestic congolese flights under SN label..

As soon as this situation is reversed,

Don't think it's gonna happen soon maybe with some exceptions,
Hewa can lease one or other aircraft again,but also no congolese reg... ??

the Korongo planes will get a Congolese registration, as it should be.

as it should be ?? or an irish or so like Alitalia/Air France and a lot others flying around europe ..
as it should be...

Wishing the Korongo project a lot of success but I don't think people care about the reg.. the more the name of the plane and the SSSS of SN !

CX-B

[cnc]

All the airlines of the DRC have been banned in the EU.

Who cares as Korongo is only for domestic congolese flights under SN label..

how about codeshare agreements? or don't you care about those either

[cathay belgium]

cnc ,

I don't know for sure but I tought that banned in the EU means that this aircrafts can't fly in european aerospace !
Didn't know that this implies also that codeshares were banned also..
In this case it's simple, Korongo flies under Belgian licence and OO-XXX regs !
What's the problem then,
regs and licence doesn't care pax I guess just politics

So if I understand, SN/LH can't codeshare Korongo domestic.. so no codeshares, just sell them seperately,
more administrative work but still flying no ??

You see I don't know the rules but tell us what's the real problem of flying under Belgian licence in Congo ?

CX-B

[congolaise]

cnc ,

You see I don't know the rules but tell us what's the real problem of flying under Belgian licence in Congo ?

CX-B

The only problem is that DRC became independent on JUNE 30th 1960.
We are a sovereign state now, some people in the audience seem to ignore this.