Korongo Airlines: THE END

[RTM]

F50 Fast and fuel efficient...? I think not... Not compared to its competitors anyway. However, I do agree with the fact that they are past their useful life. Sturdy and reliable they are though, but so is a Dash8-300. And of those, the production only ceased a couple of years ago. So if you search hard, relative young ones are an option. Other possibility is the ATR42. Still in production, so available in every age category up to nearly 30 years old. A -500 seems to be the way to go though should they opt for a used one. Very fast and quiet, but not as rugged as the Dash and Fokker.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

They should grow faster... Why are they stucked with 1 aircraft only?

[sn26567]

Korongo to get a second 737 and a 50 seater turboprop

Korongo Airlines (ZC, Lubumbashi) is planning to add a second B737-300 and an unspecified 50-seater turboprop to its fleet as part of growth plans, CEO Christophe Allard has disclosed.

Speaking to the Congolese press, Mr Allard said that the added aircraft would replace two Bae 146-200s, that have subsequently been returned to their owners, that had not proven suitable to either the Congolese market or climate.

Mr Allard bemoaned the Congo's poor aeronautical infrastructure which, he said, discouraged new, potentially lucrative, routes from being opened.

Source: ch-avitaion

[Tomskii]

They should grow faster... Why are they stucked with 1 aircraft only?

They should NOT overrush things at all. The situation in Europe is already complicated, hence imagine what it is like in Africa. Better have a slow (-er than average) buildup of routes and planes than to go at it all at once and realize you are going to have to file bankruptcy!

[Inquirer]

Korongo to get a second 737 and a 50 seater turboprop

Korongo Airlines (ZC, Lubumbashi) is planning to add a second B737-300 and an unspecified 50-seater turboprop to its fleet as part of growth plans, CEO Christophe Allard has disclosed.

Speaking to the Congolese press, Mr Allard said that the added aircraft would replace two Bae 146-200s, that have subsequently been returned to their owners, that had not proven suitable to either the Congolese market or climate.

Mr Allard bemoaned the Congo's poor aeronautical infrastructure which, he said, discouraged new, potentially lucrative, routes from being opened.

Source: ch-avitaion

Is it a formal decision, or just stating their intention?
Because I remember reading that they hoped doing this, but were waiting the go-ahead from their shareholders for the plan?

[airazurxtror]

Christophe Allard in "Le Soir" (5 June) :

- it's impossible to progress when we have only one aircraft - we think about another B737 and a 50-seats turboprop
- who will finance that ? The present shareholders ? Only one of them ? A new one ? We'll see, but it must be done by the end of the year.

[RoMax]

In an interview (De Redactie.be)regarding the launch of the IAD route, Gustin also said that they will soon decide, together with George Forrest Group, how Korongo will be further developed. "Probably there will be a fleet of three aircraft instead of one currently," Gustin said.
He also said that 15% of all passengers on the BRU-FIH route, fly on to FBM with Korongo. Therefore it is starting to take an important place in SN's Central-African network, despite a difficult start.

[sn26567]

"Probably there will be a fleet of three aircraft instead of one currently," Gustin said.

Confirming what was already written earlier. And that should be a second 737 (unfortunately not a -800) and an unspecified 50-seat turboprop.

[RoMax]

Confirming what was already written earlier. And that should be a second 737 (unfortunately not a -800) and an unspecified 50-seat turboprop.

Indeed, Allard (ceo of Korongo) previously said this indeed, but he was not very clear about the shareholders' commitment. Now it seems at least SN is still willing to invest in Korongo and they still see the advantages of them for the whole AFI network of SN.

[sn26567]

Korongo plans link to Uganda

Korongo Airlines has plans to expand its network outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo and could introduce flights to other markets across Central and East Africa to add to its existing domestic activities and three times weekly link to Johannesburg, South Africa. Ward Bonduel, Chief Commercial Officer, Korongo Airlines, confirmed that discussions are at an advanced stage and new routes could commence as soon as additional fleet capacity is available.

Korongo is to add a second 737-300 to its fleet and introduce a 50-seat turboprop, likely to be either an ATR 42 or Fokker 50. The second 737-300 will be based in Kinshasa and will serve domestic routes and introduce regional international services, including a link to Entebbe, Uganda, via Kisangani, the third largest urbanised city in the country.

Korongo Airlines is also looking at opportunities to work with other global airlines to enhance connectivity into the Democratic Republic of Congo. It already has an arrangement with Brussels Airlines, but according to Bonduel deals could be reached with others in the future. "We are talking to big airline partners like Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa and South African Airways (SAA), all of who are interested in interline partnerships,” he said.

In terms of traffic levels, things are looking positive for Korongo Airlines. Numbers are “going in the right direction,” according to Bunduel and transit traffic is also showing growth. “On the peak days sometimes more than half the passengers on the flights from Kinshasha are transfer passengers from the Brussels Airlines service,” he said. “We are also reinforcing our position on the Johannesburg market due to the demand from corporates for safe travel to Lubumbashi, the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and home for many of the country's biggest businesses in this sector.”

Full article in The Hub

[Air Key West]

Hi everybody ! slightly off-topic, but I thought it would help keep the forum lively in this hot summer vacation :

http://www.air-journal.fr/2013-07-24-ai ... 79424.html

Air Cemac (Cemac = Commmunauté économique et monétaire d'Afrique centrale, or Central African Economic and Monetary Community) based in Brazzaville (Congo, not the DRC/Kinshasa) is supposed to take off by the end of the year.
Air France is said to have a 40% stake in the airline of six central African countries (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Tchad). The new airline should link the capital cities of these countries, as well as contribute to set up direct air links between African capitals following the appeal of the African Union (AU) to have direct flights between its capital cities. Officially, the African skies have been opened up to liberalisation in 1999, but with little effect.
The new airline also wants to fly to six (still unknown) European cities.

Very ambitious program.

Any recent news about Korongo (and linking FBM to FIH to connect with b.air's flights to/from Kinshasa) ?

[sn26567]

ITAB - International Trans Air Business (Lubumbashi) deployed its B737-200(M), msn 21959, into service on September 10 with its maiden flight being to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa N'Djili.

According to the DR Congo Airline blog, ITAB operates the 3x weekly flight onboard the Combi (i.e mixed freight and passenger configuration) routed as Mbuji Mayi -Lubumbashi -Kananga -Kinshasa N'Djili.

The local government hopes the service will give competition to CAA - Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (BU, Kinshasa D'Dolo) and Korongo Airlines (ZC, Lubumbashi) thereby resulting in cheaper, more affordable fares.

(Source: ch-aviation)

And less profits (or bigger losses) for Korongo? And what about the safety record of this new airline using a very old 737-200?

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Plane is from 1979, used by Alaskan and Federal Express... brandnew for Africa standards
Guess they are already happy not to see another Antonov over there...
Well safety, they get what you pay for... no ?
Poor people travel risky or not, rich people don't care and fly the best..
At least there's a bit of more choice..
Don't expect Ryanair to open up new routes over there...

CXB

[kilobravo243]

As per Jeune Afrique, Lufthansa not willing to invest more money in Korongo becasuse of SN poor financial performance. Groupe Forrest, the other minority investor is willing to put more money... Not sure what's next. That is one more reason I personnaly ruled out SN being the partner of the new congolese airline, does not have the financial backing required.

http://bit.ly/1a55URO

[Flanker2]

What did LH expect? More than 100 employees and a hangar, for a single aircraft.
Did they expect to make millions like this?

I don't think that it's a money issue as LH's stake in this is very small.I think that LH's board sees having a stake in a blacklisted carrier as a liability.

Can't Forrest and the local shareholders dilute SN's stake with a capital increase? They can get aircraft from elsewhere than SN. Allard's team who worked so hard to make this happen don't deserve this.

If LH pulls the plug on Korongo, it will be a prelude to the rest of the carnage.

[sn26567]

I wonder to what extent Jeune Afrique is well informed. They mention that Korongo has two aeroplanes...

[nordikcam]

I guess they have one ( the old one SN 737 ) and they use 2...one is leased. But maybe I'm wrong !

[CTBke]

a shot of the LTM at FIH Airport

[sn26567]

Korongo to wet-lease a Safair B737-300 during 1Q 2014

Korongo Airlines (ZC, Lubumbashi) will wet-lease a B737-300 from South African ACMI specialists, Safair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), from January 13 to February 9, 2014 ch-aviation scheduling data has revealed. The lease will presumably cover the absence of the Congolese carrier's own B737-300 WIN., OO-LTM (msn 25070), which is due in for heavy maintenance.

Source: ch-aviation

[Didymus]

Apparently Safair is wholly owned by ASL Aviation Group which is a subsidiary of Compagnie Maritime Belge. I guess the choice for Safair is not a total coincidence?