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Tag: IATA

  • Wakanow.com introduces innovative payment model

    Wakanow.com introduces innovative payment model

    Wakanow.com – an online travel agency – has announced its transition from a two-week airline billing settlement cycle to a daily direct remittance and pre-paid card payment settlement, which is aimed at reducing the cost of travel for customers.

    The firm changed its payment model from the two-week Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), because the plan requires multi-billion bank guarantees. This prompted travel agencies to pass on the increased cost to customers.

    The new model will make airlines receive payments within 24 hours against the BSP’s four-week timeline standard. Some of the benefits of the new payment procedure, the firm said, include a faster refund process in which claims can be turned around in a few working days rather than the current arrangement which takes months to complete.

    Wakanow’s Group Managing Director, Mr Obinna Ekezie, said: “In the last two years, airfares have increased due to the devaluation of the naira and increased airline risk in payment collection and remittance. These new daily remittance and prepaid card settlement platforms to be launched by Wakanow have been tested by notable airlines, such as Emirates, Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways. We believe this would revolutionise the entire travel industry and offer reduced pricing for airline tickets.”

    Wakanow, Ekezie said, is working closely with its International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines partners and Zenith Bank to streamline the transition.
    Regional Manager of Royal Air Maroc, Jamal Harichi, hailed the new payment initiative. He said: “This new method as championed by Wakanow would enhance painless ticket purchase and promote professionalism in the industry. Wakanow has returned with a successful, safe and dynamic initiative that will give a new lease of life to the travel industry and propel the economy.

    “I renew my full support for the innovations initiated by Wakanow.com and thank the entire team for their efforts in order to make Nigerian market a model of innovation, modernization in African tourism sector.”

    Wakanow is Africa’s largest Online Travel Agency with commercial operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and the UK. The company is currently undertaking a large expansion project which will result in stronger footprint across Africa, the UK and USA. Wakanow currently process over 15,000 bookings in Nigeria monthly as the demand for African travel continues to grow.

  • IATA seeks reforms in global aviation infrastructure

    The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, has said there is need for  global aviation infrastructure reform to avert a crisis in the sector.

    He is worried that many of the world’s airports are operating at or beyond their designed capacity. The provision of air navigation services in major markets, such as the United States, Europe and China, is struggling to keep pace with the technical capabilities to manage demand at optimum efficiency, he said.

    He told The Nation that with the challenge: “We don’t see governments preparing to make the investments that will be needed to cope with future growth, especially as major infrastructure planning cycles are now measured in decades.”

    He further disclosed that there was also crisis in the cost of infrastructure. Europe, unfortunately, provides the example.

    To him, over the last decade, passenger charges on the average one-way ticket have more than doubled.

    He said: “Why these divergent courses? The bluntest explanation rests on pure market forces. Airlines are subjected to intense competition. So they are in a constant search for the efficiencies needed to make a more compelling price offering to their customers.

    “Airports, on the other hand, are not subjected to the same competitive pressures. With very few exceptions, there is no choice of airports.  If you want to fly to Amsterdam, for example, Schiphol is your only choice. And when it looks like there might be competition as in Paris, you find that Orly and Charles de Gaulle have the same owner,” he added.

    De Junaic further stated that airports are critical partners for airlines, adding that without them, airlines would literally have no place to take their passengers.

  • 2017, safest year ever for aviation – ASN

    2017, safest year ever for aviation – ASN

    The Aviation Safety Network ( ASN ), an independent organisation located in the Netherlands, says that 2017 has turned out to be the safest year ever for commercial aviation.

    ASN, in its 2017 airliner accident statistics released on Wednesday, said there was an extremely low total of 10 fatal airliner accidents, resulting in 44 occupant fatalities and 35 persons on the ground.

    This, according to the report, makes 2017 the safest year ever, both by the number of fatal accidents as well as in terms of fatalities.

    The network said that 16 accidents and 303 lives lost was recorded in 2016, adding that these included five accidents that involved cargo flights while five were passenger flights.

    According to ASN, given the expected worldwide air traffic of about 36,800,000 flights, the accident rate is one fatal passenger flight accident per 7,360,000 flights.

    The President of ASN, Mr Harro Ranter, said the low number of accidents came as no surprise, noting  that the average number of airliner accidents had shown a steady and persistent decline since 1997.

    Read also: DANA flies 2.7 million passengers in nine years

    Ranter commended the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO ), Internatiional Air Transport Association ( IATA ), Flight Safety Foundation and aviation industry for their continued safety-driven efforts.

    He disclosed that as at  December  31, 2017, the aviation industry had a record period of 398 days with no passenger jet airliner accidents and 792 days since the last civil aircraft accident claimed over 100 lives.

    According to him, one out of 10 accident airplanes was operated by an airline on the EU “blacklist”.

    “Statistics are based on all worldwide fatal commercial aircraft accidents ( passenger and cargo flights ) involving civil aircraft of which the basic model has been certified for carrying 14 or more passengers.

    “Consequently, the June 7 accident involving a Myanmar Air Force Y-8F transport plane that killed 122 is not included.

    “When including military transport aircraft as well as non-commercial flights, the total number fatalities would be 230 in 24 fatal accidents but still the lowest numbers in modern aviation history.

    “Last fatal passenger jet airliner accident was on November 28, 2016 involving Avro RJ85 LaMia, near Medellin, Colombia.

    “Last civil aircraft accident claiming over 100 lives happened on Oct. 31, 2015 involving Airbus A321 Metrojet, North Sinai, Egypt with 224 fatalities,’’ he said.

    ASN is an independent organisation founded in 1996 with the aim of  providing  up-to-date, complete and reliable authoritative information on airliner accidents and safety issues.

    Reacting to the report in a statement on Wednesday, the Secretary General of ICAO, Dr Fang Liu, said the organisation was encouraged that no major hull losses and few fatalities were reported for 2017 flights.

    These results, according to Liu, speak to the commitment and cooperation of the governments, operators, and professional men and women worldwide who have worked so hard together to achieve them.

    NAN

  • DANA Air gets IATA membership certificate

    DANA Air has received its membership certificate from the International Air Transport Association ( IATA).

    The airline has assured passengers of its commitment to raising the bar of its operational efficiency with an airline model that guarantees sustainability and professionalism in the industry.

    Dana Air Accountable Manager Mr Obi Mbanuzuo made this known last week, during the presentation of the certificate to the airline in Lagos.

    He said the airline would continue to maintain global best practices while still churning out world-class  initiatives to exceed the flying aspirations of its ever-increasing membership of its loyalty programme – Dana Miles.

    He said: “Since becoming an IATA member, we have received a barrage of requests for interline and code-share agreements and we can’t wait to take our unrivaled services in Nigeria to the global stage.

    “DANA  Air remains uncompromising in its commitment to maintaining global best practices and as always, we will continue to churn out world-class initiatives to meet and exceed the flying aspirations of our teeming passengers .’’

    On the airlines’ fleet and route expansion plans, Obi said: ‘’Our decisions are strategic and it is very difficult to forecast in this part of the world, but I can confirm to you that we have commenced talks with some notable aircraft manufacturers and we should increase our fleet in no distant time. Even with our current capacity, we are doing very well and have a strategy to meet the demands of the flying public.’’

    He said Dana was very confident of its model as presently, adding that it is the only Nigerian carrier to have undergone an operational audit conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and its foreign partners, The Flight Safety Group.

    “We also scaled the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and we wish to assure our guests that we are not resting on our oars as our commitment to professionalism is unwavering,’’Obi added.

    Also speaking at the event, IATA’s Area Manager, South-West, Dr Samson Fatokun, said not all airlines are members of IATA as a result of its stringent admission process but commended Dana Air for making the list and joining over 300 airlines presently on the association’s registry.

    “We have requirements for any airline that wants to join the  to the IATA family  and one of that requirement is that they must pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and this has kept most of them back.  IATA comes with a requirement of quality and people expect the airline to operate with recommended standards of aviation globally. We commend Dana Air for this feat and hope that they will keep up the good work’’

  • IATA: ‘$1.2b airlines’ revenue locked in Africa’

    IATA: ‘$1.2b airlines’ revenue locked in Africa’

    The global airline industry has $1.2 billion (£916.6 million) blocked in nine dollar-strapped African countries, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday.

    The global commodities price crash that began in 2014 hit economies across Africa hard, particularly big resource exporters such as Angola and Nigeria. Low oil and mineral prices have reduced government revenue and caused chronic dollar shortages and immense pressure on local currencies.

    The fiscal slump has meant governments have not allowed foreign airlines to repatriate their dollar profits in full.

    At an aviation meeting in the Rwandan capital, IATA’s Vice President for Africa, Raphale Kuuchi, said airlines were in talks with “a few governments to unblock airline funds”. He did not specify the companies were affected.

    “To do business effectively, airlines must be able to reliably repatriate their revenues,” Kuuchi said. “And that’s not the case in nine African countries: Angola, Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan and Zimbabwe.”

    Of the total of $1.2 billion, Angola has blocked the largest amount, $500 million, while Sudan has held up $200 million, another IATA official, Adefunke Adeyemi, told Reuters.

    Last year Nigeria owed airliners $600 million but as of October the amount had fallen to $221 million, she said.

  • IATA flays high tax, airport charges

    IATA flays high tax, airport charges

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for reduction in taxes and airports’ charges.

    The global airlines regulatory body, in a study released at the weekend, said higher airport charges and taxes could deny passengers full benefits of cheaper air travel in the next 10 years.

    The IATA study indicated that many airports across the globe have increased charges and taxes astronomically in the last few years, with statistics showing that international passengers departing from 13 African Airports are charged between  $40 and $85.

    Included in this group are major destinations, such as Accra, Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Nairobi and Entebbe. Djibouti, the study said, has the highest charge of $89 per passenger (departing and arriving), adding that at other nine airports, passengers are charged between $30 and $40.

    Within the European Union (EU), it  was observed that the United Kingdom (UK) still has the highest flight taxes with an adult holder of economy short haul ticket flying from a UK airport, paying $20 in tax.

    For a first or business class ticket, the tax paid goes for as high as $41.

    Despite the critical role that air transport plays and its significant contribution to the economies of African countries, governments’ policy makers continue to view air transport as a luxury service for the elite, the report said, stating that directly and indirectly, air transport supports about 6.7 million jobs in Africa and contributes $67.8 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite this, many African governments and airport service providers burden airlines and passengers with high taxes, fees and charges, the report, said.

    IATA’s Director-General/CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said: “Airlines, like all competitive businesses, are in a constant struggle to improve efficiency. Europe’s airports however, are largely insulated from competitive forces. Europe’s light-handed Airport charges directive has failed Europe’s travellers and its own competitiveness by letting airport charges rise.”

    He said tighter EU regulation is needed to stop airport monopolies from taking money from the pockets of travellers to reward investors. The goal should be economic regulation of airport monopolies that is an effective proxy for competition—promoting efficiency while protecting consumers.

    “In that regard the voice and interests of airlines – airports’ main customers– should be carefully listened to. This will ensure effective regulation that will broadly balance the interests of travellers, investors, citizens and economies,”he said.

    The trend of increasing private ownership of European airports, he said, adds urgency to the situation, hinting that since 2010 the number of European airports in private hands has almost doubled.

  • Benefits of IATA membership, by Dana Air

    Accountable Manager, Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, has described  the airline’s membership of the International Air Transport Association (IATA)  as  a milestone to demonstrate its professionalism and commitment to operational efficiency.

    In an interview, Mbanuzuo said the IATA membership came two years after the airline passed the  International Operations Safety Audit (IOSA) and was admitted into the association’s global safety registry.

    Mbanuzuo said: “Becoming  a member of IATA is a significant milestone for us at Dana Air and this only demonstrates our level of professionalism and commitment to operational efficiency in terms of  providing our guests with safe, seamless and world-class air transport service in Nigeria.

    “Apart from the fact that this membership will further strengthen our relationship with other international airlines, we see it as an opportunity to take our amazing products to the global stage through interline and code-share agreements.’

    “You would recall that Dana Air is the first and only Nigerian airline to have undergone an operational audit conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and its foreign partners – The Flight Safety Group, and we are determined to reinforce our strategic route network within and beyond Nigeria.’’

    Dana Air has launched a Special Services Unit to attend to passengers with special needs, urgent complaints, update passengers on current promos and benefits of Dana Miles at the airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri.

  • IATA to Africa: invest in airport infrastructure 

    IATA to Africa: invest in airport infrastructure 

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has advised African governments to invest in airport infrastructure.

    Such investment, IATA said, would ensure improvement in air safety.

    Besides, focusing on airport infrastructure, the global airlines regulator also urged African governments to consider committing more resources to training of technical aviation personnel to boost the quality of  industry expertise and education.

    IATA said investment in human capital development was neccessary for the growth and development of air transportation in Africa.

    Its Regional Vice President, Africa and Middle East, Muhammad Ali Albakri, made this known in an interview with The Nation at the weekend  in Lagos.

    He said air transport could grow in Africa, if governments plough revenues accruing from taxes and levies into expanding operational facilities to enable airline operate safely and profitably.

    Albakri said the global body will continue to engageAfrican governments on ways to improve civil aviation regulation,promote safety and security as well as design measures that will stimulate the growth of air transportation.

    The global airlines regulator, however, canvassed the sharing of security information among African countries to facilitate the movement of cargo and people across transnational borders.

    He said connectivity within African countries still remains a major hurdle for many countries because of failure of African governments to liberalise their airspace.

    Liberalising the African airspace, Albakri said, will make it easy for more carriers to fly into major  capitals without bilateral restrictions.

    Regrettably, Albakri said the Single African Sky Agreement reached by many countries many years was yet to take off, because some of them were yet to realise the benefits a liberalised airspace could bring to their economies.

    He said though Nigeria has taken some steps to fix its aviator sector, a lot still needs to be done.

    Albakri said: “Air transport in Nigeria supports more than 650,800 jobs, including tourism-related employment, and contributing $8.2 billion to the country‘s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    “ Over the next 10 years, passenger volumes are forecast to grow more than seven per cent yearly, exceeding the global average by a healthy margin.

    “For Nigeria, this means an additional 7.9 million passengers that will take to the sky every year, creating significant opportunity to accelerate economic growth, boost prosperity and support development.”

    He said despite significant investment in Nigeria’s aviation sector, the country’s air transport infrastructure still ranks low among African states.

    Albakri said though IATA recognises and supports the positive developments by Nigeria on infrastructure, it  seeks continued adherence to international best practices and an optimal regulatory environment.

    He said: “Now that the country is emerging from recession, aviation can unlock the enormous economic potential that exists within Nigeria. We encourage the government to continue to promote aviation for its role as a catalyst and economic enabler for the country, and to promote stronger connectivity within Nigeria and its neighbouring African countries.

    “In addition, now is the time to continue to invest in modern and efficient infrastructure to accommodate the future traffic growth that will occur,” he said.

    Albakri said unwarranted or excessive taxation on international air transport will continue to have negative impact on economic and social development.

    This, he said, pushed IATA to join forces with industry partners in ensuring that airlines are subjected to fair and efficient taxation measures with respect to their operations, regardless of location.

    He said: “IATA will continue to work with the industry to ensure that government authorities adhere to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations taxation principles. In this regard, IATA is actively involved in a range of activities.

    “We will ensure that new and existing taxation measures, be they direct or indirect, are fairly applied and adequately consider the economic and social ramifications.

    “We will continue to push  against measures that result in double taxation, mobilise  against taxation measures that unjustly target the industry, where the resulting tax revenues are not reinvested in air transport related services and infrastructure.          He also said IATA will continue to play leadership role in influencing airport and airspace planning and development projects worldwide to meet airline requirements for safety, efficiency and functionality.

    The IATA chief, however, spared  a thought for the multiple entry policy obtainable for African carriers into Nigeria, urging other African carriers to open their skies for accelerated development of the continent.

    Albakri said: “We encourage other countries to embrace what Nigeria has done by removing all restrictions that serve as obstacle to opening Africa with  the least requirements.

    “What we need in Africa is air services to connect the entire continent so that there could be exchange of expertise, knowledge and commerce.”

    He said air safety in Africa has improved tremendously with more carriers embracing the International Operations Safety Audit ( IOSA).

    Albakri said: “Safety has improved for African carriers due to hard work and focus on international standards, practices and procedures.

    “We will continue to urge African countries to focus on airport and airspace management infrastructure improve training  documentation, engage in regulatory information sharing to drive safety culture.”

  • Passenger demand surged by 10% – IATA

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that global passenger traffic data for April 2017 increased by 10.7 per cent when compared to the same period in 2016.

    The association said the surge was the fastest pace in six years. April capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 7.1 per cent and load factor climbed 2.7 percentage points to 82 per cent, a record for the month of April.

    IATA said that the strong performance was supported by a pick-up in global economic activity and lower airfares, stressing that after adjusting for inflation, the price of air travel in the first quarter was around 10 per cent lower than in the year-ago period.

    IATA estimated that falling airfares accounted for around half the demand growth in April. However, the cabin ban on the carriage of large portable electronic devices (PEDs) from 10 Middle Eastern and African airports to the US appeared to have weighed down Middle East-North America passenger traffic.

    Mr. Alexandre de Juniac, the Director-General of IATA, said April showed that demand for air travel remained at very strong levels.

    He however added that despite this, there were indications that passengers were avoiding routes where bans were in place.

    He added: “As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security considers expanding the ban, the need to find alternative measures to keep flying secure is critical. If the ban were extended to Europe-to-US flights, for example, we estimate a $1.4 billion hit on productivity and industry costs.

    “And an IATA-commissioned survey of business travellers indicated that around 15 per cent would seek to reduce their travel in the face of a ban.”

    On the international passenger markets, IATA emphasised that April international passenger demand rose 12.5 per cent compared to April 2016, with all regions recording double-digit year-over-year traffic increases for the first time in 12 years.

    Total capacity also climbed 7.7 per cent, and load factor climbed 3.5 percent, which points to 81.5 percent.

    African airlines’ led all regions in growth with a 17.2 per cent traffic increase in April, the fastest pace in more than five years.

    This, IATA said followed a recovery in demand on the key market to Europe. Conditions in the continent’s two largest economies are diverging, however, with business confidence rising in Nigeria, while political uncertainty remains heightened in South Africa.

    Capacity rose just 6.1 per cent, with the result that load factor soared 6.9 percentage points to 72.5 per cent.

  • IATA slams US, UK over electronics ban on board aircraft

    International Air Transport Association (IATA) has slammed the restrictions on electronics in flights by the United States (US)  and the United Kingdom (UK), describing  them as unacceptable, and questioned their effectiveness.

    Its Director-General, Alexandre de Juniac, said the UK and US authorities should work with the airline industry to “find a way to keep flying secure” without requiring passengers on certain flights to check in their electronic devices.

    “The current measures are not an acceptable long term solution to whatever threa t they are trying to mitigate. Even in the short term it is difficult to understand their effectiveness,” said, de Juniac during a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations last week.

    He pointed out the differences between the airports under the US and UK governments’ electronics ban: “Why don’t the US and the UK have a common list of airports? How can laptops be secure in the cabin on some flights and not others, including flights departing from the same airport?”

    The US restrictions, announced on  March 21 ,2017, forbid passengers on US-bound flights departing 10 African and Middle Eastern airports from carrying on-board most electronic devices that are larger than a mobile phone.

    UK regulators followed suit shortly after, but its list of restricted airports notably excluded major hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

    “The current situation is not acceptable and will not maintain the all-important confidence of the industry or of travelers. We must find a better way,” said de Juniac.

    He said while affected airlines worked quickly to implement the new security restrictions, the industry was not involved in prior discussions with authorities.

    “There was no prior consultation and little coordination by governments,” said de Juniac.