Page 92 - World Airnews September 2020 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL NEWS DIGITAL

U DREAM GLOBAL RETURNS AFRAA VISITS TAAG ANGOLA

AIRLINES
kit from The Airplane Factory for a single different African countries including
engine Sling 4, put it together with the help Namibia, Kenya, Egypt and the Sudan along
The U Dream Global team pilot Megan of a small support team and then decided the way and shared some of their more through the AFRAA consultancy unit which such as high taxes and charges, high
memorable moments with their audience
to fly across Africa.
Werner and her co-pilot Adriaan van der Eighteen-year-old pilot and founder of at Lanseria. will be launched by the end of this year. fuel costs and blocked funds were also
Heever were given a triumphant ‘water the non-profit organisation U Dream Global The occasion was, however, tinged with AFRAA secretary general The main objectives will be to provide discussed.
salute’ welcome back home when they Megan Werner said she wanted to use the sadness as those present recalled the tragic Abdérahmane Berthé met TAAG Angola utility-oriented studies to airlines and On fuel costs which account for 30-40%
landed on South African soil this weekend. project to send a message to people who accident of Werner’s father and project Airlines chief executive officer Rui Carreira, stakeholders, undertake methodological of airlines’operating costs in Africa, it was
A special low-key event to mark the are disadvantaged in their lives. director - Des and another project director at TAAG Angola Airlines head-office during macro-econometric modelling and fore- noted that in some cases in Africa there is
return of these young aviators who have "Your past does not equal your future," Werner Froneman – who were killed when his recent visit to the African country of casting of the aviation industry and provide opacity on fuel pricing with some countries
made history with their Cape to Cairo she said. "No matter what has happened in the support aircraft they were flying in Angola. value added client-centred products and that levy taxes on fuel - contrary to the
challenge was held at Lanseria International your past, instead of using it as an excuse, went down suddenly in Tanzania. services. Chicago convention.
Airport in Johannesburg. Family, friends use it as motivation to get where you really The accident is still under investigation The meeting assessed the state of He said the association will vigorously “High taxes and charges make African
and sponsors including Execujet Africa vice want to be.” by the South African and Tanzania civil development of air transport in the country implement its action plan aimed at airlines less competitive since these levies
president Africa Gavin Kiggen and a small Werner took copies of her book 'It’s up aviation authority. It occurred in August as and the needs of African airlines towards transforming the industry as well as helping have significant impact on the financial
media contingent were there to share the to me: seven ways to make a difference' the plane departed from Tabora Airport in a safe, efficient, sustainable and profitable to fuel positive economic progress across performance of airlines operating in a high
occasion. to hand out to learners, aviation students Tanzania. airline business. Also present were TAAG the African continent. cost environment,” said Berthe.
Angola management team who discussed
Werner and van der Heever are part of a and the audiences she addressed along Des and Werner were providing support the performance of the airline and areas The developments on the implementa- He said ICAO principles regarding user
group of teens who bought a home build the journey. The team stopped in many to his daughter and co-pilot. Q where AFRAA can provide support. tion of the Single African Aviation Market charges (contained in the ICAO’s policies
The meeting noted the importance of (SAATM) were discussed. on charges for airports and air navigation
AFRAA noted with appreciation TAAG
collaboration for the development of Angola’s support of SAATM. services) and the foundation set in the
Chicago Convention should be applied by
African aviation. “Commercial partnerships relevant authorities.
are vital to help African airlines overcome “The Airline business cannot grow and
some of the unique challenges experienced thrive without market access which is one On the situation of airlines’ blocked
in their operating environment,” said of the critical factors for airlines business funds in Angola, it was noted that the
Berthé to succeed. An interconnected Africa will country had cleared the backlog of blocked
He highlighted other forms of collabora- boost intra-African connectivity, trade and funds which had been significant and
tion and resource sharing among airlines tourism, creating economies of scale that had negatively impacted the affected
which AFRAA is addressing through its joint will benefit the industry and allow African airlines’ operations. The situation had been
projects on fuel purchase, distribution, carriers to dominate African skies. AFRAA, aggravated by low commodity prices, fiscal
training, route network co-ordination, as a member of the Monitoring Body of policies and currency fluctuations in the
maintenance and the pooling of resources. the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) will be at country.
“Through these projects, AFRAA seeks the forefront of SAATM implementation To assist TAAG Angola on its growth and
several avenues to address pertinent and will facilitate the incorporation of the future plans, AFRAA offered to provide
views and concerns of its members for the
challenges and identify common solutions successful implementation of this import- training and capacity building in managerial
to pave way for a stronger Association for ant flagship project of the AUC,” he said. and technical fields.
its members. Other challenges faced by African airlines TAAG Angola has been an active member
AFRAA will further support its members of AFRAA since 1978. Q

The U Dream Global team pilot Megan Werner
and her co-pilot Adriaan van der Heever

AFRAA secretary
general
Abdérahmane
From left James Pitman from The Airplane Berthé met TAAG
From left: Hendrick Cotzer, Adriaan van der Heever, Factory and Gavin Kiggen vice president Africa Angola Airlines
Agnes Seemula(accompanying build team member), for Execujet with the UDream Global team chief executive
Megan Werner, Abel Dlamini and Calvin Bishop. officer Rui Carreira

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