News ticker

Free money making opportunity. Join Cashfiesta.com and earn cash. Blog Search Engine blog search directory Blog search directory Blog Directory Travel blogs & blog posts 6jufghcayi Blog Directory blogarama - the blog directory Travel blogs Blogio.net blog directory

Fly540 -Kenya

Posted by Yaqub Khan | 4:07 PM | 0 comments »


IATA
5H		 ICAO
FFV		 Callsign
SWIFT TANGO
Founded 2006
Hubs Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Fleet size 5
Destinations 6
Company slogan Simplifly
Headquarters Nairobi, Kenya
Key people Neil Steffen, Don Smith (Chief Exectutive Officer)
Website: http://www.fly540.com/
Fly540 (Five Forty Aviation) is a low-cost airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates domestic and international passenger and freight services.[1]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] History

The airline started operations between Nairobi and Mombasa on November 24, 2006. The service initially operated twice daily using 48-seat ATR 42 aircraft[2]. The airline's name refers to its price of Sh5,540 per adult return fare between the above-mentioned cities [3].

Lonrho Africa is a major investor in the company, paying US $1.5 million for a 49 % stake. Lonrho's Joint Executive Chairman and Chief Executive, David Lenigas, was appointed chairman of the company in February 2006.[citation needed]

In May 2007 the airline introduced two Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 aircraft to increase the airline's capacity, allowing it to develop new domestic routes. Passenger numbers rose by 93 % to 171,160 in the year ended 30 September 2008, from 88,571 in 2007. At the same time, the load factor amounted to 63 %, down from 65.8 % in 2007[4].

[edit] Pan-African Ambitions

A Fly540 ATR 42 at Entebbe International Airport

The original scheduled flights included – except for freight flights – scheduled passenger traffic between Nairobi and Mombasa, while Kisumu became a destination in January 2007[3]. Daily flights on the Nairobi-Malindi-Lamu route were further added to its domestic services in February 2007 [5].

International operations commenced in October 2007 by flying to Juba in Sudan and Goma in DR Congo [6], Entebbe was added in February 2008. The Nairobi hub plans for additional expansion to Rwanda, Mozambique and Burundi in 2009[7]. The company's ambition is to become a pan-African carrier, through an expansion to an additional two regional hubs:

"...we will open up Kigali and then head to West Africa. Ghana will be the hub for West African region. In Southern Africa, we shall use Angola as our hub, so it will become a pan African low cost airline"[8].

It received it authorisation to start operations in Angola in April 2009. The initial plans include domestic flights to Cabinda, Luanda, Soyo, Benguela, Huambo and Malanje[9], but an expansion within the region will take place as soon as the domestic market has proven its success [10]. In June 2009, it was reported that Fly540 was working to set up a regional franchise in Zimbabwe [11].


[edit] Destinations

As of June 2009, Fly540 has the following destinations [12]:


[edit] Fleet

The Fly540 fleet includes the following aircraft (as of January 2009):

In January 2008, the company signed a US$ 150 million contract for eight ATR 72-500s to delivered in 2008 and 2009.[13].

[edit] Accidents and incidents

On 13 August 2008, a Fokker F27-500 cargo aircraft operated by Fly540 Logistics Ltd. crashed about 20 km (12 mi) from the Namber Konton airport near Mogadishu, Somalia. All three crew members died. The aircraft was said to be carrying a shipment of khat.[14] The plane had departed from Wilson Airport in Nairobi. Its registration number is 5Y BVF [15]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 83. 2007-04-03.
  2. ^ Airliner World January 2007
  3. ^ a b The Standard, January 18, 2007: The new kite in the skies
  4. ^ Lonrho PLC, March 30, 2009: Annual Report 2008
  5. ^ Fly540 news
  6. ^ The Standard, September 26, 2007: Fly540 eyes Sudan and DRC
  7. ^ Lonrho PLC, November 11, 2008: Lonrho Raises £15.6 million to Continue the Development of its Core Businesses
  8. ^ The Monitor, August 12, 2008: Africa: Fly540 Airline Sets Eyes on Continent
  9. ^ Lonrho PLC, April 29, 2009: Air Services Licence Issued for Fly540 Angola
  10. ^ Lonrho PLC, November 11, 2008: Lonrho Raises £15.6 million to Continue the Development of its Core Businesses
  11. ^ Zimabwe Independent, June 4, 2009: Zimbabwe: LonZim Planning to Set Up Airline
  12. ^ Fly540 website
  13. ^ EADS, January 11, 2008: Lonrho to acquire 8 ATR 72-500s for airline Fly540
  14. ^ www.bloomberg.com - Kenyan Cargo Plane Crashes Near Somali Capital; Three Killed
  15. ^ Daily Nation, August 13, 2008: Plane crashes in Mogadishu
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly540"
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

0 comments

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)