Fastjet, by Stelios!


African low-cost carrier Fastjet has firmed up its Dar es Salaam-Johannesburg launch for Sept. 27, marking its debut international route.
Initially it will link Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with Johannesburg in South Africa with 3X-weekly Airbus A319 flights, but this will be increased in line with market demand. Tickets for Dar es Salaam-Johannesburg will go on sale to Fastjet’s Facebook fans July 31, ahead of general release on Aug. 1.
“The airline expects to add further international destinations including Lusaka, Zambia, to its flying program in the near future,” Fastjet said in a statement.
Fastjet had been planning to launch international services sooner, but it struggled to secure international route rights, prompting its auditors to issue a warning about whether the business could continue as a going concern.
“Despite a number of challenges, Fastjet is now able to respond to huge consumer demand and provide an alternative and affordable link between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg, having secured all required permissions to do so. For far too long it has been difficult and prohibitively expensive to fly between these two extraordinary cities. We expect our lower fares to stimulate a huge increase in the numbers of passengers travelling on this route, as has been the case on our domestic routes in Tanzania,” Fastjet CEO Ed Winter said.
 
[h=1]Fastjet to Start Dar es Salaam – Johannesburg Service from late-September 2013[/h]by JL
Update at 0640GMT 01AUG13

African low-cost carrier Fastjet from 27SEP13 begins International operation, with Dar es Salaam – Johannesburg route. The airline to offer 4 weekly flights on board Airbus A319 aircraft.
FN201 DAR0915 – 1145JNB 319 x246
FN202 JNB1245 – 1710DAR 319 x246
 
Fastjet August Operational Update

Ahead of the release of its monthly passenger statistics, fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, is pleased to report another strong trading month for August 2013 in Tanzania, continuing the trend of month-on-month revenue increases.
Passenger revenue1 for August 2013 was over USD$2.7 million, representing a revenue increase of over 5% against the previous month and a USD$0.9 million (51%) increase since May 2013.
The figures can be attributed to a strong performance in passenger volumes with an 84% load factor and a record 33,000 passengers in the month. Ancillary revenues2 remained strong, representing 7% of total passenger revenue.

Ed Winter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of fastjet, said:
"Operational statistics for August show continued growth, demonstrating the strength of our brand and the support we are receiving from the Tanzanian population. So far we have carried 260,000 passengers within Tanzania and with a total population of 48 million there are plenty more customers who can benefit from our services.

"We are excited at the prospect of launching our first international route, Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, on 27th September, a major milestone in the progress of fastjet Tanzania. This combined with the recently announced addition of Mbeya to our network reinforces fastjet's position as the Tanzanian airline of choice. We expect to be adding more international routes to our flying program in the near future."
http://www.fastjet.com/us/corporate/investor-news/august-operational-update
 
16-Jan-2014 fastjet plc is pleased to announce that it is in discussions with the Zambian government with the intention of creating a fastjet operation based in Lusaka.


The Board see the business and political environment in Zambia as very progressive and fastjet's discussions to date with the Zambian government, Tourist Board and other stakeholders have been very positive. The Company believes the establishment of a fastjet operation would bring benefits to the country and Zambian people through the expansion of trade and tourism links as well increase safety and reliability improvements to the Zambian aviation industry.


It is anticipated that the new operation, whilst being distributed and marketed as a part of the pan-African fastjet network, would be a Zambian registered company in which fastjet plc will have a substantial stake.


fastjet will progress its application for an Air Services Licence and Air Operator Certificate as rapidly as possible but this process is likely to take up to six months. In the meantime, fastjet will be bringing its flights to the Zambian people on the Lusaka Dar-es-Salaam route that went on sale recently and has already recorded strong interest and sales.

fastjet
 
Africa's Fastjet outlines four-year strategy

Fastjet has applied for a Kenyan Air Service License (ASL), forming part of its four-year expansion strategy, as pressure begins to mount from its high-profile shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

Since launching its own-branded Airbus A319 low-cost operations from Tanzania in November 2012, Fastjet’s pan-African expansion has been sluggish. However, FastJet is sticking with ambitions to broaden its network from Tanzania and set up new Fastjet-branded ventures in other African countries.

Over the period to Dec. 31, 2018, Fastjet Tanzania will focus on growing its revenue, load factors and yield, while keeping tight control of costs. It will boost frequencies on existing routes—Dar es Salaam to Entebbe, Harare, Johannesburg, Kilimanjaro, Lusaka, Mbeya and Mwanza—and add new routes from Tanzania, opening destinations in Kenya (Nairobi) and Malawi (Lilongwe).

Fastjet is also looking to move ahead with its expansion into other markets. Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia have all been earmarked as “major growth opportunities.”

The first of these likely to happen is Kenya, where Fastjet Tanzania is seeking route rights and newly created Fastjet Kenya has applied for an Air Service License (ASL). This will pave the way for its Kenyan air operator’s certificate, which will be used to open a domestic and international base in the country.

“This is an important step for Fastjet. We have submitted a comprehensive application to the authorities who have confirmed that Fastjet Kenya has entered the approval process,” Fastjet CEO Ed Winter said.

Fastjet was previously active in the country through Fly540 Kenya, but this division was sold over the summer. At the time of the disposal, Fastjet said it was not “economically viable” to transition Fly540 Kenya from a regional to a low-cost model. Sources familiar with the situation told ATW that ties were severed because Fly540 Kenya caused “too many issues.” The stake was acquired by Fly540 director Don Smith, who last year ended up in a legal battle with Fastjet over alleged unpaid debts.

The newly created airline is 51%-owned by an unnamed Kenyan national and the remainder is “ultimately” held by Fastjet. The ASL application, which involved the submission of a detailed business plan, was published Aug. 29 and is scheduled for a public hearing around Sept. 19.

By 2018, Fastjet expects to operate 24 aircraft and carry 6 million passengers. “This represents only a 13% market share of estimated pan-African passengers in these markets,” Fastjet said. It is also looking to form partnerships with third-party airlines flying into Africa.

“The company intends to increase pan-African reach using an airline management service franchise model to develop a pan-African Fastjet network where appropriate and in particular where we want to de-risk expansion financially or politically. Negotiations are progressing in a number of countries with interested parties,” Fastjet said. Several sets of talks have been announced in the past, but none have yet materialized.

Meanwhile, Fastjet shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has fired a warning shot at the airline’s directors, criticizing their “excessive” salaries, despite a backdrop of heavy losses.

Haji-Ioannou, who owns more than 10% of Fastjet via his investment vehicle easyGroup, said: “We remain concerned at the company’s continuing losses, which in 2013 amounted to $80 million on revenues of $53 million. That’s about $2.50 of cost for every dollar of revenue. Moreover, we are concerned at the share price, which has fallen by around 84% in the last 12 months alone.”

He said Fastjet’s CEO receives $794,000 in salary and bonuses, while the CFO receives $412,000, totaling $1.2 million for these two positions alone. “If the company fails to implement such changes to correct the current unsatisfactory situation with regards to losses and excessive executive pay, we will have no option but to vote against all resolutions at the next opportunity,” Haji-Ioannou said.

Fastjet licenses its brand from easyGroup. For the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2013, easyGroup’s fees and charges totaled $1.7 million.

http://m.atwonline.com/airlines/afr..._campaign=Feed:+AtwDailyNews+(ATW+Daily+News)
 
Fastjet closes in on Zambia launch

Jan 09, 2015

fastjet-a319-jnb-rf.jpg



Fastjet has completed the first phase of its Zambian air operator’s certificate (AOC) application, taking the group a small step closer to realizing its pan-African ambitions.
African low-cost carrier fastjet launched in 2012, but its plan to establish a network of fastjet-branded operations across Africa has been stilted by regulatory hurdles. After two years, it has only established operations out of Tanzania, despite identifying “major growth opportunities” in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia.
In November, fastjet secured its Zambian air service permit and, on Friday, announced it has cleared the first phase of the AOC process.
“The process to obtain permission to operate in Zambia is proceeding extremely well. We have an excellent team in Zambia, who are working positively with the local authorities to complete the approval process as efficiently as possible,” fastjet interim chairman and CEO Ed Winter said, adding that the next stage is already “well underway.”
Zambian authorities will now evaluate fastjet Zambia’s planned company structure and its operational plan. The airline is aiming to serve various destinations in East and Southern Africa.
Fastjet has already secured Ugandan fifth freedom rights, allowing it to deploy fastjet Tanzania aircraft between Uganda and third countries. The group has also applied for a Kenyan Air Service License, but its international expansion plans will require further funding.
atwonline



 
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