Aviadev Insight

Jim Belemu is a CEO on a mission. Mahogany Air is a private airline in Zambia that has big expansion plans. This episode covers the airline's route and fleet plans, his views on partnerships and collaboration and much more.  

Recruiting and retaining pilots globally and in Africa is a challenge, especially for smaller, regional carriers. In this episode, Laura and I discuss a new holistic approach to pilot recruitment that aims to deliver efficiency and cost-savings for the airlines and pilots.  To find out more, visit https://www.globalpilotsource.com/  

Meet Dikko Nwachukwu, a Nigerian with the ambition to deliver affordable air travel to the general population.  This candid interview offers a unique insight into the realities of the journey. We also discover the airline's unique value proposition, fleet plans and much more

This episode was recorded on July 17th 2019 in Maputo, Mozambique with the enigmatic and charismatic CEO of Aeroportos de Mozambique.  We speak to Dr Chaves about his rise to the top of the airports company, the renewed focus on tourism as an economic driver for Mozambique's development, airspace liberalisation and much more.

Recorded on 17th July in Maputo, Mozambique, this episode provides insight into the refreshing and pragmatic approach of the LAM operation. Specifically, we discuss the impact liberalization has had on the LAM operations, the fleet and network plans driving the growth of the airline and LAM's position on the SAATM

This episode was recorded 25th July 2019 in London.  We discuss the pace of tourism growth in Africa; how the tourism authorities can be more involved in attracting air services to their destination and the concept of "Brand Africa", and just how optimistic Anita is about Africa's future.  You can find out more about Anita at https://anitamendiratta.com/

This episode was recorded July 16th on location in Maputo, Mozambique.  Rampa discusses the continued rise of Lanseria, one of only a small number of private airports in Africa. Specifically, we discuss how it has positioned itself as a hub for low-cost carriers and how it plans to take the next step to international operations. There is also mention of a new route that has been developed as a result of a meeting at AviaDev and adopting a stakeholder approach to route development

This episode is accompanied by an exclusive report available to download now for free at www.aviationdevelop.com/africa produced by Watson Farley & Williams, a law firm specialising in transport and energy based in London. http://www.wfw.com/ We compare and contrast the European open skies initiative with the ambitions of Africa, to understand the differences between the two and why a more regionalised approach may be the route to success. 

Recorded on 15th July 2019 on location in Maputo, Mozambique, we spoke to Joep about how Airbus views the African opportunity, their current footprint and which aircraft are creating most interest in the market.  We also discuss the cost of aircraft acquisition and potential solutions for carriers.    

This episode discusses the numerous opportunities that exist between China and Africa, with one of China's foremost aviation experts.  We discuss the outbound tourism market; chinese investment, construction and concessioning of airports; the opportunity for Chinese aircraft manufacturers and the attractiveness of Africa to Chinese airlines. This episode is brought to you in conjunction with the 2019 China Aviation and Tourism Forum, https://atchinaforum.com/ taking place 24-25th October in Beijing. 

Ahead of the GHI (Ground Handling International) Conference taking place in Nairobi in September 2019, we spoke to Max about the unique aspects of ground handling in Africa along with challenges and opportunities on offer to airports, airlines and ground handling companies.  For more information on the conference and African Aviation Week, visit https://african.groundhandling.com/

In this episode, we travel to Uganda to ask Mathias how the average Ugandan views the national carrier project; how much the new project is politically motivated and motivated by what is happening elsewhere in East Africa and what the future holds for private airlines in the country and region.  You can connect with Mathias by searching "fly east Africa" on all platforms

Recorded on location in London on 2nd July 2019, we spoke to Tom about the perception of African aviation safety, area of improvement and how the AviAssist Foundation is upskilling and empowering Africa to ensure a safety culture is created and maintained. 

AviaDev is proud to support the next generation of aviators by giving them a platform and a voice. Jesse-Alex is a licensed flight operations officer and attended an Aviators Africa event in Lagos in 2018. He wrote a great thesis on ancillary revenue generation, which is why I invited him onto the podcast.  We discuss the Nigerian aviation market, the national carrier and much more.  If you would like to connect with Jesse-Alex, you can find him here: 

This episode was recorded on May 20th by Toni Ukachukwu, Aviation Development Director at AviaDev. It was recorded at a stakeholders forum in Lagos and the topics discussed included the revitalization of the national carrier project, privatization and concessioning of the country's airports and much more.

In this episode recorded 21st May 2019, I spoke with Nunurai Ndawana from the PR and communications team at the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe. We discussed how to change the narrative that aviation is the preserve of the rich in Africa and how to prevent and deal with reputational damage. We also took a look into the future. 

This episode was recorded on May 17th at the Sustainable Tourism Africa Summit. Guest presenting was Kojo Bentum-Williams, CEO of VoyagesAfriq Media based in Ghana.  Topics discussed included carbon offsetting, how using a growth paradigm in isolation is not the way to go and Judy explains her mantra of "sustainability is the new luxury"

In this episode, Jon Howell spoke to Linden Birns about exactly what defines a "crisis", the importance of having a plan in place that moves with today's new age of social media. We also discussed the respective Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing responses to the ET302 tragedy.  You can contact the team at info@crisiscommunications.com 

This episode was recorded on location in Lagos on 13th May 2019 by Toni Ukachukwu, Aviation Development Director, AviaDev. Tony and Alexander talk about SAATM, the west African, but specifically about the opportunity in Africa for Chinese aircraft manufacturers.

This episode was recorded during the recently concluded Africa tour of the Uganda Airlines CRJ900 and conducted by Toni Ukachukwu, Aviation Development Director. Topics discussed included Africa's importance to Bombardier, MRO support in Africa and the merits of the CRJ900.