Kenya's Astral Aviation outlines Australia, EU carrier plans

Mozambique's LAM overhauls fleet for inc'l, cargo debut

Kenya's Astral Aviation plans three more AOCs

In line with ambitions to become a global player, Kenya's Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) plans to set up three more cargo subsidiaries following its new joint venture Suid Cargo Airlines in South Africa, says Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gadhia.

In an interview with Times Aerospace, Gadhia disclosed he plans to divest some of his 70% stake in Astral to raise money for new AOC ventures in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. He also plans to retain at least 51% of Astral Aviation to comply with Kenyan ownership requirements, with unnamed strategic investors taking a 40-45% shareholding.

"We've been in talks with several strategic investors interested in investing in Astral," Gadhia said. "They have also shown an interest in investing in our vision of setting up AOCs. They like what they hear from us." Discussions are at an early stage with "at least" three interested parties.

Gadhia said a European AOC would likely come in 2025, with Ireland and Malta under consideration. A Middle Eastern AOC would follow around the same...

South Africa's Suid Cargo to make 2Q23 debut

South African cargo start-up Suid Cargo Airlines (Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will begin non-scheduled flights from its hub at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo in the second quarter of 2023 with a B727-200(F) wet-leased from 25% shareholder Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta).

The Kenyan cargo specialist will also make its fleet of two B747-400(BDSF)s, one B767-200(SF), and two B757-200(PCF)s available to the subsidiary on a charter basis, which will enable Suid Cargo to scale its operations to cover Southern-, West- and East Africa, plus Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Astral Aviation Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gadhia said in a statement.

In May 2022, Astral Aviation disclosed to ch-aviation that it was setting up a joint venture AOC in South Africa to be called "Suid" - meaning South in Afrikaans - but asked to keep the news confidential until the air operator's certificate (AOC) had been finalised. Gadhia has now revealed that Suid Cargo will apply for its AOC by October 2023, as the plan is to operate the...

Kenya's Astral Aviation, Etihad Cargo ink MOU

As a part of its strategy to expand its network globally, Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for capacity sharing with Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International), for flights between Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya and Abu Dhabi International in the United Arab Emirates.

According to a joint statement, the agreement will see Astral Aviation and Etihad Cargo sharing up to 50% of all available capacity on additional flights to be introduced by the Kenyan cargo specialist on the route from April 1, 2023.

"We look forward to transporting perishables from Kenya into Abu Dhabi and beyond on Etihad's network, and on the return with cargoes from Asia, USA, and Europe to connect into Astral's intra-African network in Nairobi. This cooperation will create new opportunities for our respective clients and will be a win-win partnership," commented Astral Aviation Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gadhia.

The arrangement will also further Etihad Cargo's reach into the African market, said Senior...