14-16 June 2023
Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill, Kenya
Content Library
Videos
In the first episode of 2023, I am joined by 2 guests from Embraer Commercial Aviation, namely Stephane Hannemann, the VP of sales and marketing for The Middle East and Africa, who started his Embraer in the African market and has come full circle, and Akie Chabra, sales director, who joined the team in 2022, is based in Johannesburg and has a background in aviation and finance.
In this episode, we take a flight to the home of AviaDev Africa 2023, Nairobi, Kenya to meet Martin Gitonga, Head of Network Planning and Alliances at Kenya Airways, an airline that plays a vital role in keeping Africa connected to itself and the wider world. In the last month, there have been some exciting new route announcements from the airline. These include a four-weekly flight from Mombasa to Dubai and a twice-weekly Accra- Dakar flight.
In this episode, we head back to Cape Town, the host city of AviaDev Africa 2022 to meet David King, Project Manager and Paul van den Brink, Aviation Liaison, from Cape Town Air Access team powered by WESGRO who have overseen a pretty incredible recovery of connectivity since the effects of the pandemic subsided earlier this year. In this episode, we take a look at the domestic, regional and international recovery and get a feel for what’s missing from the network. We also discuss the importance of air cargo in route development and how the Air Access team is supporting other African destinations in their drive to improve their air connectivity.
In this episode, we are joined by the CEO of TAAG Angola Airlines. TAAG is one of the most interesting airline stories out there currently as it is reinventing itself, expanding its fleet and network and restructuring g itself ready for private investment.
Between 11th and 13th December, AFRAA (African Airlines Association) will host the 54th Annual General Assembly in Dakar, Senegal.
AviaDev is embedded within and dedicated to the African continent. It is the premier platform dedicated to growing connectivity to, from, and within the African continent.
Podcasts
In just over 2 weeks, the African aviation industry will convene in Nairobi, Kenya for AviaDev Africa. We have a panel dedicated to discussing new technologies at the event. Post Covid, digitisation is one of the hottest topics in the industry and one of the companies blazing a trail in this space is Technodyn International, which already support a multitude of companies across the aviation value chain.
In this episode, we meet the leader of a true African success story. Since its inception in 2006, DPO Pay has played a vital role in changing the payments landscape across Africa. Together, we discover how DPO supports its airline customers to process transactions seamlessly and prevent fraud, whilst simplifying the process for the general public and making air travel more accessible.
This podcast was recorded 10th May on-site at the AFRAA aviation stakeholders convention in Addis Ababa, where I was joined by Rodger Whittle, The commercial director for Africa at Kiu, a company with a global footprint that offers an innovative and robust Passenger Service system and suite of airline Solutions. Rodger himself has vast African aviation experience and is now leading the charge to support airlines to reduce their cost of distribution. Today’s episode is supported by an article that is featured in the current edition African skies, AFRAA’s magazine which focuses on containing costs affecting airline distribution in Africa.
For this episode, I am joined by Kevin Markette, General Manager, East Africa at the Lufthansa Group. On 2nd May 2023, the group announced a capacity/ schedule increase for Lufthansa, Eurowings Discover, and Brussels airlines in the region. Together, we discuss what has driven this announcement and what this means for the region.
Our Host partners for the event are the Kenya Airports Authority, an autonomous body charged with the responsibility of managing all airports across Kenya. They are also the entity that is actively involved in route development, the main focus of AviaDev, namely engaging the airlines to start or expand their services to Kenya’s airports. In this episode, I am joined by Jacob Bwana, Head of Marketing and Business Development at KAA and together we discuss: The post-covid recovery and resurgence. Where KAA sees gaps in the destinations served both within Africa and outside the continent How KAA works with other stakeholders to attract and retain airlines? The Cargo market opportunity. Is the market softening or continuing to grow and how is KAA supporting its development? An update on infrastructural development plans within the portfolio? What KAA hopes to achieve from hosting AviaDev Africa in Nairobi?
In this episode, we take a glimpse into the future of how we may travel and how airports and airlines can incorporate innovation to build resilience into their businesses. I am joined by Javed Malik, Chair of the Advisory Board at Ink Innovation. Javed has been a leader in the aviation industry for over 27 years, having held various Group and C-level positions, including Group COO of AirAsia, COO of Bangalore Airport, along with senior roles at Qatar Airways, Worldwide Flight Services and British Airways.
Press room
The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), the premier tourism and hospitality investment conference in Africa, will return to Nairobi on 12-14 June 2023. Overlapping it, AviaDev Africa, the leading aviation route development conference for Africa will take place on 14-16 June. Both events will be hosted at the Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill, making this a mega week for all those interested in hospitality, tourism and aviation investment & development on the continent.
Industry news
Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI) providers continue to play a prominent role in providing market-leading services to help airlines meet their operations in the post-covid era. Given the growing large-scale fleet shortages for major African carriers, mounting staff shortage issues, and growing demand for aircraft maintenance services and capital leases, it goes without question that the regional market holds significant prospects for lease operators to provide alternative and flexible services to enable these airlines to achieve their expected operational levels in 2023.