Korongo Airlines: THE END

[crew1990]

Why doesn't Korongo get a A319 instead of keeping this Boeing, the cokpit crew and the purser are working for Brussels Airlines, so why do not harmonise the fleet of Korongo with the one of Brussels Airlines to save some cost in training and qualifications?

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Maybe because this plane is fully owned and also don't cost a penny on lease contracts

CXB

[crew1990]

but in this case why Brussels Airlines removed the other Boeing from the fleet then?

[travellover]

I think that Brussels Airlines fully owned ONE Boeing 737-300 they gave to Korongo.

[CTBke]

exactly OO-LTM is the only 737 fully owned by the company ...

[sn26567]

New competition for Korongo:

Congo's Okapi Airlines to resume operations using a leased B737-800

Okapi Airlines (OKP, Kinshasa N'Djili) is planning to resume operations using a leased B737-800, Aerotransport says. Launched in October 2011, Okapi Airlines originally operated a leased Tailwind Airlines B737-400 on flights between Kinshasa N'Djili, Lubumbashi, Kisangani, Mbuji Mayi and Mbandaka before going out of business a year later in 2012.

Source: ch-aviation

[SFM]

I just noticed OOLTM on FR24 with a Brussels Airlines flightnumber (BEL9902), appearing in southern France. On the way to BRU? Maintenance?

[CTBke]

on his way for the heavy check

[convair]

Any news on how they are doing nowadays?

[airazurxtror]

This is indeed going to be a BIG project, with lots of Belgians permanently involved in situ, not only the overhead, but also pilots, cabin crew, technicians as well as BCAA inspectors, and for that purpose the new airline (or rather the Forrest Group) is setting up a new compound in a suburb of Lubumbashi to provide comfortable and secure housing for the many staff and family that will work on the project....
SN is basically setting up a complete self-supporting second base next to BRU, in one of the most desolated places on earth and so obviously there's a lot of infrastructure currently being built at FBM, or did you really think they needed so long just to pick a name, a livery and ferry the planes out?
However, this project definitely is about making money, not just about prestige, hence the presence of GFI which basically owns Lubumbashi as well as the formal go-ahead from Lufthansa, which will have to pay the bills in a couple of years. The last thing Lufthansa would want is to have a lossmaking central-African airline on their ballance sheet, I should think?

Tolipanebas was very enthusiast at the beginning and knew a lot of things about Korongo; perhaps he could give us the last news ? Strangely, it's quite a while since he last wrote on this topic.

[letscruise]

Korongo Airlines (ZC, Lubumbashi) has begun wet-leasing a B737-400, ZS-JRD (msn 24917) from South African ACMI specialist, Safair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), ch-aviation has exclusively learned. The Congolese carrier is awaiting the return of its own B737-300, OO-LTM (msn 25070), which is due back in service after March 9 following heavy maintenance in Europe.

Korongo previously also had wet-leased another Safair machine - a B737-300(QC) - ZS-ASL (msn 24387) for use on flights from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa N'Djili, Mbuji Mayi, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo.

http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/ ... r-b737-300

[tolipanebas]

The RDC has revoked the operating licences of no less than 10 domestic airlines in a push to increase safety standards:

http://radiookapi.net/actualite/2014/03 ... loitation/

According to the transport minister, further companies may be added to the list after further inspections.

[crew1990]

By the way, when Korongo will go out of the black list?

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Guess never ! tought that all congolese airliners are blacklisted of reaso by being congolese..
As Korongo don't think of flying to europe it's completly irrelevant of being off the list!
And even if it's no problem as they fly opererated by SN...

That was what I remembered of this issue...

if I'm wrong correct me!

cxb

[crew1990]

I dont know really well the regulation but i think that the European travel agency cant emit a ticket from a black listed airline, and then Brussels Airlines cant directly sell some ticket from Korongo, for example we cant book on the Brussels Airlines website a flight Brussels-Kinshasa-Lubumbashi even if the timetable perfectly fit.

As you say Korongo will never fly to Europe but I guess they will expand.

If one day Korongo expand and land to some airport where an A330 cant land, it could be interesting for SN to have a code sharing program what is not possible as long as Korongo is black listed.

[Passenger]

I dont know really well the regulation but i think that the European travel agency cant emit a ticket from a black listed airline, and then Brussels Airlines cant directly sell some ticket from Korongo, for example we cant book on the Brussels Airlines website a flight Brussels-Kinshasa-Lubumbashi even if the timetable perfectly fit.

As you say Korongo will never fly to Europe but I guess they will expand. If one day Korongo expand and land to some airport where an A330 cant land, it could be interesting for SN to have a code sharing program what is not possible as long as Korongo is black listed.

Apart from the two lists of the EU blacklists, there is this important remark in that document: "...Air carriers listed in Annex B could be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with...."

Belgian CAA has authorised that Korongo Airlines operates OO-... aircraft from Brussels Airlines.

[LJ]

I dont know really well the regulation but i think that the European travel agency cant emit a ticket from a black listed airline, and then Brussels Airlines cant directly sell some ticket from Korongo, for example we cant book on the Brussels Airlines website a flight Brussels-Kinshasa-Lubumbashi even if the timetable perfectly fit.

Not only that but it can also become an insurance issue. The company I work for doesn't allow travelling on banned airlines unless there is no airline which isn't banned. The reason being the fact that the insurance company won't pay out in case of an accident (and thus we're not insured when travellign on such an airline). For companies likes the one I work for this is a minor issue (we don't do business with many of the countries on the black list), it's a big issue for companies operating in Africa.

These restriction can or do apply for individuals (I know that the insurance company where I have my insurance doesn't allow my travelling on banned airlines wihout prior authorisation)

[RoMax]

It is very annoying for SN that Korongo is on the black list, it only makes things much more difficult for SN and the LH Group as whole to do business with Korongo even while they operate their flights themself.

[crew1990]

By the way why do the EU put all the airlines of the RDC on black list while one operate with European safety standart, why is Korongo not out of this blacklist, I dont understand...

[RoMax]

By the way why do the EU put all the airlines of the RDC on black list while one operate with European safety standart, why is Korongo not out of this blacklist, I dont understand...

They have a Congolese AOC, that automaticly blacklists them because that means the DRC aviation authorities have the oversight on Korongo as a company. What they did is hiring an SN aircraft and it's crew (partly) under an ACMI agreement. The aircraft operating under a Belgian reg and under the organisation of SN falls under the Belgian CAA's oversight. But in the end, Korongo is still a Congolese airline which automaticly bans them even with their flight operations being outsourced to a European airline.

In case they remove Korongo from the blacklist, they could operate their own aircraft under a Congolese reg even into Europe (not that they would, but they could), while Europe doesn't see the RDC CAA as reliable enough to check the reliability of these flight operations. And even without operations into Europe, there is no way the EU would remove them from the blacklist without thrusting the RDC because that black list is about more than just about operations to/from Europe (also indicated by the example of LJ).