ECAir launches flights in Congo by LH & Privatair

[BrusselsAirlines]

http://www.african-aviation.com/index.p ... =16:africa

Is this bad or good news for SN? Or just bizarre??

Would SN mngmt know this?

[DeltaWiskey]

It's the "other" Congo... What has this to do with SN? I fail to see the relation.

Also they are operating on the route Pointe-Noir - Brazaville, not really in the interest of Korongo I suppose, as the SN daughter is based in Lubumbashi, some 1500km away.

[jan_olieslagers]

Is there really a market demand for 21 flights per week on that route?

[LJ]

Is there really a market demand for 21 flights per week on that route?

It's an oil route, thus probably yes

Is this bad or good news for SN? Or just bizarre??

As mentioned before, when it's oil related, LH will do it themselves.

[DeltaWiskey]

Is there really a market demand for 21 flights per week on that route?

In both Brazzaville (capital) and Pointe Noire (trading/financial capital) are living more than 1 million people, so I think they should do fine filling those 360 daily seats...

[jan_olieslagers]

Well, sorry, but I remain highly skeptical, while allowing I am far from an expert on air travel anywhere, let alone in Congo-Brazzaville. But I cannot believe in the economic feasibility of such a high frequency:

-) true, both cities served are densely populated. But the vast majority of these people must be poor blighters who can only dream of ever affording an airline ticket.
-) True, Pointe Noire sees a lot of oil-related passengers. But few of these have any need to visit the capital: it is only there to take their money and has little added value to them. Oil-related travellers, either managers or engineers, will travel as straight as possible from Pointe Noire to their destination, and that will rarely be Brazzaville. The one exception being an explicit need to discuss with government officials - which they'll avoid as much as possible anyway.

[regi]

Oil...hm...makes me think about Aberdeen, the most important city of the UK related to the oil industry.
If we look at the international connections, we see ( besides of some holiday destinations ) just some major airports ( Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt ). And some odd ones ( Groningen (probably gass related ), Baku ( yes Azerbedjan!) and ...Stavanger ( the Norwegian equivalent of Aberdeen, centre of the Norwegian oil industry with Statoil's headquarter )
But no US connection for example. No Hamburg or Bremen ( ship building for the oil rigs ). No Japan, Moscow or Arabian connections. And no Brussels.

Anyway, good that there is now this modern connection between Brazzaville and PN.

[rwandan-flyer]

I think that LH & PrivatAir want to create a feeder reliable airline, in the region, because all airlines in Central Africa are blacklisted. With this airline, LH will able to carry passengers from Brazzaville to Malabo and then connect with LH flight.

[Air Key West]

ECAir took off on 24 SEP and Korongo is still on the ground, of course....

[sn26567]

ECAir took off on 24 SEP and Korongo is still on the ground, of course....

That's the difference between Congo (Brazza) and Congo (D R)!

[Air Key West]

Indeed, that's why I've always been against the Air DC and Korongo projects. I sincerely hope I will be proven wrong in the end, but things don't seem to be moving for Korongo, which is very bad news.

[sn26567]

Two days ago, I read in the (D R) Congolese press about "the aborted Korongo project"! And all this after the expensive construction of a hangar in Lubjumbashi?

Sorry for being out of topic...

[TCAS_climb]

Aren't both projects (Korongo and ECAir) piloted by LH Consulting?