Green Africa Ready To Tackle Manpower Shortage

Green Africa Airways has announced that it has commenced training for pilots, engineers, and cabin crew for the purpose of producing about 200 captains, 100 engineers, 500 cabin crew, and 500 professionals to boost Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Speaking during the launch of its Strategic Green Africa Initiative in Lagos, the founder, and CEO at Green Africa Airways, Mr. Babawande Afolabi, said the airline had commenced monthly training for pilots, and engineers in a bid to achieve this goal.
Afolabi though said the initiative would cost the airlines a huge sum, he described it as a win-win for the airline and the aviation sector even as he said Green Africa was looking to engage more Nigerian pilots.
His words: “If there is going to be a bond, there will be a bond in place. If you have a bond that would demand a pilot work for a particular period of time and for whatever reason, an opportunity comes up and the pilot needs to leave, it will be negotiated. It will not be a case where we have a bond and make the person a slave.
“We will go into a contractual agreement that after spending an amount on a pilot, he needs to work for Green Africa for a certain period of time. Now my hope is that actually, we can get to a certain scale like it is done in other parts of the world where someone comes in and says, ‘I like this platform, I’d like to join this platform and I’m willing to pay for all my training, so tell me how much I am to pay’. There is a module for that, we are not doing that yet but there is a module across the globe,” he explained.
Commenting on the cost implication of the training, Afolabi while saying it cost about $40,000 to train as a pilot and get type-rated; between $15,000 to $20,000 to train, also said it costs between $10,000 to $12,000 to train as a flight dispatcher.

“For every pilot we employ, from the first day, we start training them. We look at making them captains. Some people look for jobs after they have trained themselves, yet they do not get the jobs. But Green Africa trains them and gives them automatic employment”.

Adding his voice at the event, director, flight operations, Green Africa, Sunday Arome said some pilots now train themselves to get type-rated to enable them to work at an airline, adding that some candidates do not align themselves with the airlines.
Arome, explaining how many Nigerians who had gone out to do type-rating by themselves did not still get employed, added: “There are some airlines that mention specific places where they want pilots to get type-rated because of the standard of such places and yet that airline may still not accommodate all of them. It is already happening; it is just that the airlines are failing the people. Pilots spend their money to get type-rated and they still do not have employment.
“This is what Green Africa is trying to address. From day one, we are partnering with them. They are not paying 100 percent, they are paying something. Therefore, they will start to have a sense of belonging, and from day one, they are already a staff of the airline. We take care of them while they are on that training and they come back to a job”.

Emirates Skywards’ “Thanks A Million” Is Back

Emirates Skywards, the loyalty program of Emirates and flydubai, has announced the return of its annual charity drive “Thanks a Million”, offering three lucky winners in the UAE a chance to win a share of 1 Million Skywards Miles at the world’s richest race day, Dubai World Cup.

This year, the campaign will be run online, offering more than 1.9 million UAE-based Emirates Skywards members a chance to join the raffle.

According to the airline, “To enter the raffle draw, customers can donate online to the Emirates Airline Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children worldwide for a chance to win big this racing season. Winners will be announced on March 28, 2022.”

The raffle draw winner in third place will win 200,000 Skywards Miles; in second place, 300,000 Skywards Miles; and in the first place, a grand 500,000 Skywards Miles.

Emirates Skywards members and non-members can make a cash donation directly on the website using a valid credit card to receive the prize Skywards Miles, donors must be enrolled in the Emirates Skywards program.

Winners, the airline said, can redeem Miles for a wide range of rewards and privileges including flights on Emirates and partner airlines, flight upgrades, hotel stays, hospitality at sporting and cultural events, and money-can’t-buy experiences.

Why We Have Interest In Nigeria — Santos Aviation

The first aircraft interior maintenance company in West and Central Africa owned by Nigerians but based in the United States has attributed its main reason for coming into the country’s aviation sector since 2015 to its resolve to help transfer technology and grow manpower as well as create job opportunities in the sector.

The General Manager, Santos Aviation, Segun Adesanya, while speaking to some aviation journalists in Lagos, said the firm was in Nigeria to transfer some ideas and expertise gathered outside the country and use it to impart the sector as well as train Nigerians to the point of certification.

Santos Aviation is one of the four in Africa whose main function is to design the interior of aircraft with the refurbishment of aircraft seats, leather seats upgrade, cabin noise reduction, carpet biding, door panel repairs among others.

Santos, according to Adesanya, has a United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certification to maintain the interior of aircraft that are manufactured or registered in the United States ranging from Boeings to Gulfstream and Cessna.

While emphasizing the valuable importance of the firm to the aviation sector in Nigeria, Adesanya said it would be economically beneficial to both the airlines and the country to engage its services which he said would drastically reduce capital flight as well as keep aircraft on the ground (AOG) for long while waiting on queue for such services outside the country.

Russian Airspace Ban to Hit Europe-Asia Routes and Disrupt Cargo, Moody’s Says

Rising fuel costs to affect unhedged airlines, with increased costs leading to higher airfare, credit rating agency says

The ban on flying over Russian airspace as a result of Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine will hit routes from Europe to Asia the hardest, disrupting air cargo and stifling supply chains, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Finnair in Helsinki is the European airline most affected by the airspace ban, flying around 40 percent of capacity to the Asia-Pacific region, while the exposure for other long-haul airlines is about 10 percent to 20 percent, the credit rating agency said in a report.

For airports, exposure to Asia-Pacific routes varies with London Heathrow having the biggest exposure to the Asian market, which is expected to be affected by the closure of airspace, although current passenger volumes remain low, Moody’s said.

“Logistical challenges in rerouting will add costs, causing temporary cancellations and ongoing disruption,” it said. “Air cargo, which is a small component of traffic for most rated European airlines and airports, will also be disrupted, affecting supply chains for products including medical equipment, consumer electrical goods, and textiles.”

The global aviation industry is exposed to conflict-related sanctions on Russia given the size and integration of the country into the sector. Plane manufacturers, lessors, aircraft maintenance companies, and insurers serving Russian airlines such as Aeroflot are among those directly hit by the sanctions.

International airlines, meanwhile, are suffering from sharply rising oil prices and the additional cost of rerouting flights to avoid Russian airspace, which is expected to drive up ticket prices and air cargo rates.

“Ripple effect from the Russia-Ukraine war may trim air travel demand and pressure fare,” George Ferguson, senior aerospace analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said of intra-Europe travel in the second quarter of 2022.

The conflict has resulted in a steep increase in crude oil prices, so airlines’ fuel costs will increase although most European carriers are about 50 percent hedged for 2022, Moody’s said. Hedged airlines could typically see a 20 percent to 25 percent increase in fuel costs compared to expectations at the start of 2022 if current jet fuel prices are sustained.

Pressures will rise if jet fuel prices remain high through the rest of the year and into 2023 when the fuel hedging cover reduces.

Hungary-based Wizz Air has more limited hedging and is more immediately exposed, while Ryanair is the most hedged and at a competitive advantage, the report said.

“With fuel costs representing around 22 percent of revenue for the industry globally in 2019, the increased costs would need to be passed through to ticket prices to preserve profitability,” Moody’s said. Read more

United to Roll Back Unvaccinated Worker Policy

After being the first major U.S. airline to require workers to get inoculated against COVID-19, United Airlines will start allowing unvaccinated employees to return to the workplace.

Executives at United Airlines will reportedly change direction on their hardline COVID-19 vaccination policy, opening the door for those who have chosen not to get the shot.

The Wall Street Journal reports the airline will welcome back unvaccinated workers by the end of March 2021.

Changes Come After Court Orders Policy Review

The policy changes were revealed by unnamed sources within the company who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. According to their report, the small group of workers will be allowed to return to their original jobs before the policy went into effect. This includes those who applied to move into non-public facing roles due to their unvaccinated status.

This move comes after Reuters reports the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned a lawsuit filed by a group of unvaccinated employees back to the district court for a second review. The previous decision allowed the three percent of employees who had an approved medical or religious exemption to continue to get paid, costing the carrier nearly $3 million per month.

Approximately 2,000 workers were placed on unpaid leave after the October 2021 deadline to provide proof of vaccination status. Despite an estimated 593 firings over refusal to comply with the mandate, the Chicago-based airline only fired 200 employees for not getting the shot and not seeking an exemption. Those employees will not be eligible to be rehired, while all new employees will still be required to provide proof of vaccination prior to their start date.

United has not publicly commented on the report.

Policy Could Have Domino Effect for Employees of Other Airlines

With United’s reported move, employees who have not gotten vaccinated against the novel Coronavirus at other airlines may now have an avenue for reprieve. Southwest Airlines employees staged protests over vaccine mandates, while American Airlines joined partners Alaska Airlines and JetBlue to require their workers to get the shot.

It’s equally unclear if the change in policy will run afoul of a mandate set by The White House in January 2022. Through an executive order, President Joe Biden required federal contractors and subcontractors – including airlines – to implement a vaccine mandate for employees.

U.S. FAA Finalizes Boeing 777 Safety Directives After Fan Blade Failures

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it is finalizing three safety directives for some grounded Boeing 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines that will allow them to return to service.

The new final airworthiness directives cover Boeing 777s like a United Airlines 777 that failed shortly after takeoff from Denver in February 2021, showering debris over nearby cities. No one was injured and the plane safely returned to the airport.

The FAA said the new directives, which were proposed in December after three reported in-flight fan blade failures, require enhanced inspections and modifications that will allow Boeing 777-200 and -300 airplanes equipped with those Pratt & Whitney engines to resume flights after being grounded for more than a year.

One directive requires installing debris shields on the thrust reverser inner wall, inspecting fan cowl doors for moisture ingression and repetitive checks of the hydraulic pump shutoff valves. Another requires modifying the engine inlet to withstand fan blade failure events. A third requires specific corrective actions depending on inspection results.

The directives will be effective in mid-April.

In February 2021, the agency ordered immediate inspections of 777 planes with PW 4000 engines before further flights, after the National Transportation Safety Board found a cracked fan blade on the United engine.

United, which is the only U.S. operator of 777s with the PW4000 engine and has 52 of those planes, said the step “is a good and safe outcome for our industry and United customers.” Read more

Sources: Nigerian Tribune, Reuters, The National News, Flyer Talk