Gabonese gov't pushes ahead with new national carrier plans

AirKenya receives first Dash 8-200

Safari operator AirKenya (P2, Nairobi Wilson) has taken delivery of one DHC-8-200 (msn 516) on lease from Elix Aviation Capital. The aircraft is currently registered as N361PH pending registration in Kenya, the lessor confirmed.

The DHC-8-202 is first of its type in the AirKenya fleet and the first to be leased from Elix, which announced that it was expanding its leasing services in the African market. The Dublin-based lessor last year delivered its second DHC-8-Q200 to Safarilink Aviation (F2, Nairobi Wilson) of Kenya, following the 2019 delivery of one ATR42-500 to Afrijet Business Service (J7, Libreville) in Libreville, Gabon. Elix has a diversified lease portfolio comprised of Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) and Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) turboprops with more than 20 lessees worldwide.

AirKenya operates charter and scheduled flights into Kenyan National Parks and reserves. Apart from the new arrival, it operates a fleet of eight aircraft, including three 16-seat DHC-6-300s aged between 43 and 46 years old;...

De Havilland to pause Dash 8-Q400 production in 2021

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC, Toronto Downsview) has resolved to pause its DHC-8-Q400 production line once all ordered aircraft are completed later this year.

"We will not be producing “whitetails” (i.e. completed aircraft ahead of confirmed orders) and market demand will guide our future production plans for the Dash 8-400 aircraft. While the very challenging market conditions being faced by the industry may lead to a pause in production this year, De Havilland Canada has not determined the duration of such a pause if one were to occur," the manufacturer's spokesperson told ch-aviation.

Leeham News reported that the Canadian manufacturer reportedly told suppliers that it would not require any more parts for the time being once the outstanding turboprops have been built.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, de Havilland has firm orders for twenty-two Dash 8-Q400s. However, only 13 of these have assigned customers: six are due to deliver to Ethiopian Airlines, four to TAAG Angola Airlines, two to Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and one to Air...

Gabonese gov't sets forth plans to launch new nat'l carrier

Gabon Airlines assets being liquidated

Gabon Airlines (GY, Libreville) is officially in liquidation after a Libreville court issued a directive to dispose of the defunct carrier's assets, the Gabonese Review has reported. As the official successor to Air Gabon (GN, Libreville) and its still-borne Royal Air Maroc-aligned successor, Air Gabon International (Libreville), Gabon Airlines was founded in 2007 by private investors, banks and insurers with its CEO Christian Bongo Ondimba, a son of former Gabonese strongman Omar Bongo. Initial operations between Libreville and Paris CDG took place on 11 April 2007 using a B767-200(ER) and an A340-300, CS-TQM (c/n 117) on lease from Hi Fly (5K, Beja). However, difficulties were soon encountered with the airline posting significant losses over the following four years. Flights ceased in 2011 while in 2012, the carrier lost its Air Operators Certificate. Among the assets that have since been disposed of include the 767-200(ER), TR-LHP (msn 21877), which had been grounded in Addis Ababa since 2007 over an unpaid debt to Ethiopian Airlines...