| Wed 29 Apr 2009, 8:06 | | LAF - Lonrho Plc - Air Services licence issued for fly540 Angola |
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LAF
LOLAF
LAF - Lonrho Plc - Air Services licence issued for fly540 Angola
Lonrho Plc
(Formerly Lonrho Africa Plc)
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales)
(Registration number 2805337)
(Share code: LAF; ISIN number: GB0002568813)
("Lonrho" or "the Company")
Air Services Licence Issued for Fly540 Angola
29 April 2009
Lonrho (AIM: LONR), the conglomerate with a structured portfolio of African
investments, is pleased to announce that it has been issued with an Air Services
Licence (ASL) in Angola for its regional African airline, Fly540. The licence
was issued on 28th April 2009 at a formal meeting in Luanda with His Excellency
Augusto da Silva Tomas, the Minister of Transport for Angola.
The ASL comes after a period of six months of preparation, training, office
development, systems implementation and approval for Fly540 to operate in
Angola. The ASL will be converted to an Air Operators Certificate ( AOC ) in the
coming weeks following which commercial passenger services will commence.
Following the issue of the AOC, the initial destinations for Fly540 Angola will
include Cabinda, Luanda; Soyo; Benguela, Huambo; and Malanje.
Lonrho will initially deploy two new ATR72 aircraft to Angola to establish the
primary routes, and in the second half of the year it is expected traffic
volumes will justify a further two new ATR 72`s to the Angolan fleet and an
expansion to fifteen destinations across the country. The aircraft are
configured with two classes, providing a business class to cater for the growing
number of corporate passengers travelling in Angola.
The ATR72 is a state of the art new generation turbo prop aircraft built by a
subsidiary of Airbus in Toulouse in France. The first two aircraft for Angola
are completed, configured for Angola and waiting dispatch from the manufacturer
to commence operations. These will now be inspected by INAVIC (The Angola Civil
Aviation Authority) at the manufacturers prior to delivery to Angola.
Fly540 is building the first international standard pan African airline, and
plans to be flying in fifteen countries by the end of 2010 with operating hubs
in East, West and South West Africa. The airline focuses on regional passenger
distribution, and prides itself on operating to international standards with a
modern fleet of aircraft.
David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of Lonrho commented :
`This is a significant step forward for Fly540`s expansion across Africa. Angola
remains a strong emerging economy showing positive GDP growth even during the
global recession. The speed of economic and social development is impressive,
and with this growing market the need for quality aviation services to connect
the country is clear.
Fly540 will provide a much needed scheduled airline service for Angola and as
rapidly as possible develop a network to service all the major population
centers in the country.`
Enquiries
Lonrho Plc -
David Lenigas, Executive Chairman +44 (0)20 7016 5105
Geoffrey White, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)20 7016 5105
David Armstrong, Finance Director +44 (0)20 7016 5105
Emma de Borchgrave, Executive Director +44 (0)20 7016 5105
Pelham PR
Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7337 1538
+44 (0) 7977 297903
James MacFarlane +44 (0) 20 7337 1527
+44 (0) 7841 672831
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nomad)
Rosalind Hill Abrahams +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Roland Cornish +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
South African sponsor to Lonrho Plc
Java Capital (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 29/04/2009 08:06:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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