Tag Archives: Kenya Airways

AFRICA: A different kind of Visa

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With a little imagination, a new Visa card being sponsored by an East African bank and Kenya’s national airline could serve as a model for promoting black American travel to Africa.

Kenya Airways Boeing 767

Kenya Airways Boeing 767

In Sunday’s IBIT Travel Digest, I mentioned the new Visa card from Kenya Airways, backed by Barclay’s Bank of Kenya.

That raises some intriguing possibilities.

On this side of the Atlantic, many black Americans would love to visit Africa if only they could afford it, and black-owned banks that could use an infusion of capital to invest in Black America.

On the other side, many of Africa’s 54 nations are eager to welcome black American visitors. There are credible African airlines that would love to bring us there. There also are some African banks that could benefit from building business relationships in North America.

What would happen if all these folks started talking to one another?

Maybe something wonderful.

Suppose those African airlines were to offer a credit card in this country, through a cooperative agreement between black-owned US banks and an African bank. The cardholder could choose between building mileage credit toward free flights on the sponsoring African airline, or a cash rebate.

But why stop there?

The airline could work with hoteliers and tour operators in the host country to put together an all-inclusive tour — lodging, meals, transport, tours, transfers to/from airports, everything.

Tours could be designed around different themes, keyed to a visitor’s interests:

  • EDUCATION — language, African history, Diaspora history and heritage, science, conservation
  • CULTURE — art, music, fashion, food, nightlife, religion
  • RECREATION — hiking, bicycling, boating, surfing, diving
  • BUSINESS — investment opportunities
  • NATURE — conservation, safaris

The possibilities are as varied as Africa itself.

But the card simply would be part of the bank’s package to its new customers. The principal feature of that package would be a savings account, to which you commit to making monthly deposits.

No minimum starting balance. Deposit as much or as little monthly as you want, as long as you deposit something. In effect, it would be a monthly bill, with one critical difference: You’re paying yourself.

Once you build up enough cash, you log onto the bank’s Web site and select your Africa tour package. Within seconds, your trip is paid for, your flights and hotels booked. Travel insurance would be included automatically as part of your credit card account &mdash just as it is with the Kenya Airways card.

The remaining money in your account becomes your spending money in Africa, cash you can withdraw from the ATM machines of the US bank’s partner in Africa.

Next stop: The Mother Continent.

Upon your trip, start saving for your next trip to Africa. Or South America. Or Europe. Or any other purpose. It’s your money.

Putting all this together definitely would be a challenge, and not just on the banking side.

Currently, only six Africa-based airlines make direct flights to the United States — Nigeria’s Arik Air, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Cape Verde Airlines, Egyptair and Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc. But all either have or are capable of making codeshare agreements with US or European airlines that fly between the US and Africa daily.

Ethiopian Airlines already is a member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of codesharing airlines.

This could work. The key to making this work is saving.

Consider the amount of money annually estimated to be floating around in Black America, — currently about $1.1 trillion. How do financial experts describe all this money we collectively have? “Black wealth?…”Black economic strength?”

No and no. It’s invariably referred to as “black purchasing power.”

And brother, do we ever purchase. We spend money as if it were about to evaporate, caught up in a society that pushes us 24/7 to BUY! BUY! BUY! The word “bling” used to represent the sound of a bicycle bell — until we got hold of it.

Now look at China. The country pays some of the world’s lowest wages, and yet Chinese tourists are fanning out across the globe. The Chinese are known as the world’s most ferocious savers.

Coincidence? I think not.

Some, like this long-winded financial wonk, say it’s a matter of government policy. The Chinese themselves say it’s a cultural thing. Either way, they put their money away.

Imagine what we could achieve if we did the same with just 1 percent — one penny on every dollar — of that $1.1 trillion. That would put $11 billion into banks that we own, money to invest on homes, on creating businesses and jobs, paying for education. Paying for travel.

You can do a lot with $11 billion.

Am I dreaming? Sure, but why not? Small dreams are a waste of sleep.

the IBIT Travel Digest 12.2.12

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The good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media

Catalina sunset

Sunset off Catalina Island | ©IBIT/G. Gross

ALL ABOARD — WORLDWIDE
If you love rail travel — or just loathe air travel — The Guardian newspaper in London has one of the best resources for planning a fantastic rail vacation.

It’s created its own Web page dedicated to great rail journeys around the world.

Stories about terrific train trips on almost every continent, planning advice, suggestions from readers, photo galleries, it’s all there.

One such trip that’s definitely on my list is aboard The Canadian, a train that travels across virtually the breadth of Canada, from Toronto in the east to Vancouver on the Pacific coast.

It’s not a high-speed train, but given the beauty of the land, including the Rocky Mountains, you won’t want to go that fast, anyway.

Even if you don’t actually use it to plan a train trip, you’ll probably learn some interesting things from it.

For example, thanks to the English Channel tunnel, it’s now possible to travel not merely from London to Moscow, but from London all the way across Europe, Russia and Siberia to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean — crossing ten time zones and nearly 8,000 miles — without ever stepping onto an airplane.

Not that you’d actually want to, but you could.

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STRETCHING OUT ON AMERICAN
There’s a truism in the fashion world that says if you wait long enough, everything comes back in style. That may be the case among the airlines, as well.

About a decade ago, I joined my first airline mileage program. The airline of choice was American. The reason? Back then, American touting the fact that it was removing seats from its aircraft to create more legroom between rows. When you stand 6’3,” you pay attention to things like that.

Sure enough, a few years later, the airline decided it needed the money, so it put all those seats back into all those planes. Bummer.

Fast-forward to November 2012. An email from American Airlines pops up in my inbox:

“Good things do come to those who wait.

Earlier this year, we mentioned that extra legroom in the Main Cabin was coming. We’re happy to tell you that Main Cabin Extra seats have arrived. You’ll enjoy the following benefits when you purchase a Main Cabin Extra seat:

• Extra space to stretch out
• Group 1 boarding to settle in early
• Seats near the front of the plane so you can get on and off the plane faster”

Legroom is back. Cue the Kool and the Gang music. “Ce-le-brate good times, come on!”

Well, not entirely. There are a couple of differences this time around.

A decade ago, the extra legroom was spread through the entire cabin. This time, it’s being limited to the Main Cabin Extra section at the front of a selected group of new jets.

The other difference is one you’ve probably come to expect by now. If you want a seat in Main Cabin Extra, and you don’t have elite status with American, you’ll have to pay for it, anywhere from $8 to $118 per flight, according to American’s Web site.

On the other hand, you won’t be paying hundreds or thousands of dollars extra for a First or Business Class seat.

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AFRICAN VISA
If I had a dollar for every unsolicited credit card application that turned up in my mailbox in the last five years (and went straight to the shredder), I could probably fly someplace nice… in Business Class. But here’s one Visa card I wouldn’t mind having.

It’s called the KQ Msafiri Visa credit card. It’s result of a joint venture between Barclay’s Bank of Kenya and Kenya Airways.

Not only do your purchases with the card earn miles toward free Kenya Airways flights, but you also get priority check-in and boarding, and up to $56,500 in travel insurance, free.

Cool. But what I’d really love to see would be for outfits like Kenya Airways, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines or Arik Air to partner up with some American banks — preferably some black-owned American banks — to create a credit card whose purchases would build miles toward travel to Africa.

That’s one credit card application I wouldn’t shred.

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AND FINALLY…
This last item sounds like a punchline, or maybe something from the satirical news Web site, The Onion…but it’s neither.

Starting this weekend on selected international flights, Japan Air Lines will be serving its passengers in-flight meals featuring…Kentucky Fried Chicken.

That’s right, JAL is hooking up with KFC. According to the JAL press release, it’s to be called “Air Kentucky.”

Greasy fried chicken at 35,000 feet? Neither I nor my bowels know quite what to make of this. Believe it or not, however, it does make a certain amount of sense, although perhaps not for the reason you’d expect.

It would be logical to presume that JAL is doing this to placate those Western passengers whose faces turn unnatural colors at the very thought of eating sushi. But you would be mistaken.

According to the press release, “KFC is widely popular in Japan, particularly during the Christmas season.” And according to CNN, it ties in with a JAL gimmick of partnering with restaurtant chains popular in Japan, such as “MOS Burgers, Yoshinoya beef bowls and Edosei pork buns.”

And there you have it. Pass me the sushi, please.

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And now, here’s The Digest:

AIR
from Smarter Travel
A holiday gift from your friends at ST, the ten airlines that give you the best legroom in Coach — or as I like to call it, Sardine Class. SLIDESHOW

from Travel Weekly
Flying to the Caribbean from anywhere in the world? No problem, mon. Flying among the Caribbean islands on regional airlines? Big problem, mon.

from Travel Weekly
Delta to begin flying between Seattle and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, which is closer to the city than its other airport, Narita. But Seattle’s gain will be Detroit’s loss.

LAND
from Smarter Travel
The ST crew highlights the cold-and-flu season by pointing out the 10 Germiest Places You Encounter While Traveling. Their title, not mine. Never mind that, just take their advice and stay healthy going into the New Year. SLIDESHOW

from CNN
First, the bad news. Hotels are now going the way of the airlines and hitting their guests with hidden “resort fees.” The good news? The feds have taken notice.

from Smarter Travel
Five off-season travel destinations that are really cool, and not just because it’s winter. SLIDESHOW

from Travel Weekly
Ridership isn’t the only thing growing at Amtrak. Look for a larger number of Amtrak Vacations packages in 2013.

SEA
from Travel Weekly
Houston has had a gleaming new cruise ship terminal since 2009, but no cruise ships ever made port calls there. Starting next November, that will change.

from Travel Weekly
More life preservers, better tie-downs for heavy equipment aboard ship and standardized procedures for bridge officers are among the safety changes being proposed within the cruise ship industry as a result of the Costa Concordia disaster.

from CNN
How do you “undiscover” an island?

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AFRICA
from Travel Weekly
British travelers recently declared Cape Town, South Africa to be their favorite city in the world — and it looks as if Europe’s international airlines are getting the message.

from the South African Government News Agency via allAfrica.com
A cultural, historical and anti-poverty industrial center dedicated to the memory of anti-apartheid martyr Steve Biko opens in South Africa. The Steve Biko Heritage Centre is expected to become a major tourist attraction.

from The Star (Kenya) va allAfrica.com
With foreign tourism starting to dry up, mainly over security fears as Kenyan forces tangle with Al Qaeda-aligned terrorists from neighboring Somalia, the government tries to boost domestic tourism to compensate.

AMERICAS
from CNN
The ravages of Superstorm Sandy are not preventing holiday visitors from pouring into New York City.

from CNN
Take a look at Detroit through the eyes of its mayor, former NBA superstar Dave Bing.

from SFGate.com
Up in the Napa Valley, you can find restaurants that design menus around the finest local wines. Not down in Monterey. This beautiful seaside-scenic town, a two-hour drive south from San Francisco, has gone nuts over local craft beers — so much so that several local restos now feature entire dinners built around local brews.

from the Los Angeles Times
Memories of the California gold rush live on in Yreka.

ASIA/PACIFIC
from China Daily
Have you ever seen any of those ancient Chinese paintings depicting incredibly beautiful landscapes, towering bullet-shaped limestone mountains that couldn’t possibly be real? Well, they’re real, all right, and Guilin is the place that inspired a lot of those paintings.

Travel Weekly
With cruise sales leveling off here and sailing over their own “fiscal cliff” in Europe, the cruise lines are turning to Asia to pick up the slack. Singapore has already built a new ocean terminal large enough to dock the world’s biggest liners, and more are coming.

from CNNgo
Paris? New York? San Francisco? Madrid? You can all sit down. The Michelin Guide to the world’s great restaurants has crowned the gourmet capital of the world — and it’s Tokyo…still.

from Travel Weekly
Canada’s Four Seasons becomes the latest luxury hotel chain to plant its flag in China with a new 313-room luxury tower in Beijing.

EUROPE
from The New Yorker
Paris, that gastronomic capital of haute cuisine, is going ga-ga over its newest craze. Brace yourself: It’s American hamburgers. We’re not talking Mickey D’s, either.

from Cisco
The next time you find yourself in one of those classic London cabs, whip out your smartphone or your iPad and see if its wifi is working. Cyberspace is coming to the hackney carriage.

from Reuters
It’s no big deal anymore to find a Muslim mosque in Paris. A gay-friendly Muslim mosque in Paris? That’s a very big deal.

Edited by P.A.Rice

AFRICA — The air game changes

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner of Ethiopian Airlines

Image courtesy of Boeing

Ethiopian Airlines is set to become the first airline to operate Boeing’s new cutting-edge 787 Dreamliner on the Mother Continent.

A week from today, about the middle of lunch hour, an Ethiopian Airlines flight will push back from its gate in the main terminal at Washington Dulles international Airport, taxi out to the runway and take off, bound for Ethiopia.

When it arrives at 9 o’clock the following morning at Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, it will have made history.

Because the aircraft making that flight will be one of Boeing’s new state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliners, the first to be operated in and from Africa.

That will be the flight that formally delivers the Dreamliner to EA. Regular service is set to begin some time in the fall.

It’s fitting that Ethiopian be the first African airline to fly the Dreamliner, since it claims the honor of being the first airline to bring jet airline service to Africa back in 1963.

The 787 may not be the biggest nor the fastest airliner coming into service, but it still figures to be a travel game changer, especially for the Mother Continent.

Where the now-retired Concorde supersonic transport was all about speed and the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet is all about size and passenger capacity, the Dreamliner is all about range, i.e., how far you can fly without needing refueling stops, which eat up both passenger time and airline profits.

Ethiopian already is flying the extended-range versions of Boeing’s 777 jumbo jet, enabling it to reach virtually any major city in the world on one tank of gas. The Dreamliner, made super-light with the wide-scale use of composites instead of aluminum, is designed to go farther still.

Like I said, game changer.

Airbus is furiously pushing ahead with its own ultra-light long-distance jet, the A350 XWB, but it’s not due to come online for another two years. Until then, Boeing will have the long-range airline field pretty much to itself, and Ethiopian will be the first African airline in the game.

That’s important, especially when you remember this week’s African visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which she pushed for more US-Africa trade.

Right now, the only African airline flying directly between the United States and the Mother Continent is South African Airways. On the other side of the Atlantic, only two US-based airlines are flying to Africa, Delta and United.

If the US and African nations are serious about stepping up trade between them, both business and leisure travelers need to be able to move more easily and cheaply back and forth.

As more major African airlines like Kenya Airways and Nigeria’s Arik Air acquire their own Dreamliners, African carriers will have a greater ability to connect with North America.

If America’s airlines aren’t willing to fly to the Mother Continent, Washington should encourage Ethiopian, KA and Arik to pick up the slack.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
A Dreamliner of Africa
Delta does Africa
Africa can’t wait
New wings over Africa, Part 1
New wings over Africa, Part 2

Edited by P.A.Rice

A Dreamliner of Africa

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner of Ethiopian Airlines

Image courtesy of Boeing

One of Africa’s premier airlines is the first on the Mother Continent to acquire Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner. The implications for African travel are enormous.

While US-based airlines wait to get their hands on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world’s newest jumbo jet is already changing the game in Africa.

Ethiopian Airlines is the first African carrier to put Boeing’s new state-of-the-art airplane into regular service on the Mother Continent. The first arrived last December and Ethiopian has nine more on order.

This comes as Ethiopian becomes the 26th member of the Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance.

Both of these developments carry huge implications for American travelers with an interest in Africa.

Let’s start with Boeing’s shiny new toy. The Dreamliner is likely to have a much greater impact on African tourism than the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet, at least in the near term.

Simply put, the 787 is more Africa-ready than the A380. Here’s why.

With the A380, Airbus took the position that “bigger is better,” creating the world’s first fully double-decked airliner, capable of flying as many as 800 travelers at a time.

Big plane equals more seats and (in theory, at least) cheaper seats.

Boeing chose range and fuel economy over size, limiting the Dreamliner to fewer than 300 passengers and marrying its two highly fuel-efficient engines to an aircraft made mostly of lightweight composites instead of metal.

That gives the Dreamliner a maximum range of nearly 9,500 miles, which puts virtually all of Africa within easy reach from virtually all of North America.

As an example, the 6,200 miles between Los Angeles and Dakar, Senegal would be nothing for this airplane.

This means that airlines like Ethiopian, Nigeria’s Arik Air and Kenya Airways, both of which have 787s on order, will be able to reach European and American destinations in one hop, without pilots nervously watching their fuel gauges.

Until more Africans start traveling by air, the 787′s extended range serves the Mother Continent better than the A380′s size. And with most of Africa’s international airports lacking the facilities or the runways to comfortably handle the massive A380, the Dreamliner literally is a better fit.

Where Africa-bound Americans are concerned, Ethiopian’s presence in the Star Alliance is just as important, especially if you happen to be a member of United Air Lines’ or US Airways’ frequent-flyer mileage program.

Star Alliance is now the only airline alliance in the world with three African airlines as members — Ethiopian, South African Airways and Egyptair. You now can put your United or USAir miles toward an Africa flight on any one of them.

Kenya Airways is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which means you can use your Delta frequent-flyer miles with them.

Meanwhile, Arik Air was accepted late last year as a member by the International Air Transport Association, which sets safety standards and represents most of the world’s airlines. That clears the way for Arik to join an alliance.

oneworld is now the only one of the Big Three alliances without an African partner. Arik Air membership in oneworld would enable travelers holding miles on American Airlines or British Airways to snag code-share flights to West Africa via Arik.

Don’t be surprised, then, if oneworld puts the moves on Arik Air to partner with them.

What’s more, international airlines can and do form code-sharing partnerships outside of the alliances. South African Airways, for instance, has already hooked up with JetBlue.

Expect to see more connections like this, and soon.

Without the 787′s ultra-long reach, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. With this new long-range airliner coming into African hands, a whole world of new opportunity now opens up for them — and for the world’s travelers who are increasingly turning their eyes to Africa.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
Know your alliance, Part 1 Part 2
New wings over Africa, Part 1 Part 2
Dreamliner sighting
Delta does Africa

the SUNDAY TRAVEL DIGEST 9.11.11

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media

Pirogues at the Banjul ferry crossing, the Gambia | ©Greg Gross

THE DOG DAYS OF TRAVEL?
The travel industry has conditioned us Americans to view the Labor Day weekend as the official end of the summer travel season. The folks at Lonely Planet would like to offer a dissenting view.

September, you see, is the start of the “shoulder season,” which just might be the traveler’s best friend. Lots of attractions, smaller crowds, lower prices at hotels, restaurants and the like.

The way they see it, in fact, September may be the best month of the entire year to get your travel on, worldwide.

For a region-by-region LP breakdown of the factors that make September a month to give your suitcase a workout, click here.

THE NORTHERN ROUTE
Back in the day, a little-known way of saving money on flights from North America to Europe was to go via national flag carriers from the northern reaches of the mid-Atlantic. The principal vehicle for this was Icelandair, the national airline of Iceland.

According to the Godfather of Travel, Arthur Frommer, this gambit still works today, but via a different airline.

The best way to save on airfares these days from the States to Europe, he says, to is to begin your journey in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, via the national Finnish airline, Finnair.

You may need to do a stopover in Helsinki to complete your onward journey, bt that’s not necessarily a disadvantage. If anything, it has the added benefit of introducing you to an intriguing part of Europe often overlooked by Americans.

For more details on this northern air route to European air bargains, click here.

WANT TO RAISE YOUR VOICE?
According to msnbc, recently concluded meeting of heavyweight policymakers in airport security, immigration and border control came to a conclusion that should not have required a meeting to reach:

When you travel, the quality of your experience matters.

I can hear your teeth gnashing already as you recall your most recent exercise in traveler’s frustration. I myself would love to have had the chance to introduce them to the blue-uniformed stone-faced Sphinx I recently encountered at the San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.

But I’d much rather hear from you.

What changes in immigration and customs procedures would you most like to see that would make for a better travel experience?

I’ll be collecting your thoughts, suggestions and ideas until Sept. 30. The best answers will be featured here on IBIT, and also compiled into a report which I will send personally those same policymakers.

Send your ideas and suggestions via email.

Meanwhile, you can read the short msnbc story on the meeting here.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST
And finally, no need to remind you what day this is, or what happened ten years ago.

9/11. The Twin Towers. Al Qaeda. All of that.

We’ve heard a lot of talk about how the world changed on that day. In a decade of traveling since then, I found the world generally to be the same mix of good and evil that it’s always been.

In that same time, I’ve watched us use our newfound fears to justify old-school discrimination and prejudice against anyone perceived as “different.” Seen us frisk little girls and search babies in their diapers at airports, decide that torturing people was okay.

The world didn’t change on 9/11. We did. Mostly for the worse.

So I’m thinking this is a good day to think about who we want to be as a nation. Because in truth, America is the world’s greatest ongoing experiment in nation-building — and the experiment is far from finished.

Those who died on this day weren’t soldiers fighting for a cause. They were largely regular folks like the rest of us — all races, and all religions, just trying to make it.

The best way we can honor them, I think, would be to live our own lives the best we can, treat one another the best we can, and try in our own lives to uphold all those high-sounding values we so often proclaim to the world.

Ultimately, history will judge us not on whether we remember what happened ten years ago today, but on what we do with the memory.



And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from USA Today
United Air Lines says it’s committed to maintaining its Denver hub. The size of that hub, however, is shrinking. That means fewer flights to and from the Mile High City.

from WhichBudget.com
ATRA, the Air Transport Rating Agency of Switzerland, lists the ten safest airlines in the world. Finally, a reason to feel good about US-based airlines.

from the Associated Press via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
On the other hand, is the rush to automate airline cockpits eroding the stick-and-rudder flying skills of airline pilots?

LAND
from Agence France Presse via France 24
Recession? Terrorism? Who cares? According to the UN’s World Tourism Organuization, international travel for the first half of 2011 is up nearly 5 percent, with South America and sub-Saharan Africa leading the way.

from the New York Times
For the last few years, some small but tech-savvy car-sharing services like Zipcar have been quietly taking a bite out of the rental car business. Now the big boys are firing back, and it’s the biggest of them all that’s leading the charge.

from The Economist (London UK)
Where are the world’s ten most liveable cities? According to The Economist, four are in Australia and a fifth is in New Zealand. Of the rest, three are in Canada and two in Europe. The United States? Dont ask.

from BBC Travel
I’ve said it before: There’s something about a train station. The BBC agrees, and offers proof. SLIDESHOW

SEA
from Atlas Cruises and Tours
Is there really such a thing as free activities aboard a cruise ship? Not only is the answer “yes,” but the list is varies, and rather long.

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AFRICA
from the Daily Champion (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
Kenya Airways is out to become Africa’s air connection to the rest of the world, with Nairobi as its hub. To that end, they’re looking to double the size of aircraft their fleet within five years.

from the News Junky Journal
According to South African research, African tourism grew by more than 10 percent in the first five months of this year. Leading the charge were Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana and Botswana.

from the ​Times of Oman
Kenya reaches out to — and into — wealthy Oman is search of tourists.

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from BBC Travel
Prohibition my be just a memory, but the underground drinking culture it inspired via the speakeasy still lives — in Philadephia.

from the New York Times
The Dose Market in Chicago is taking the flea market concept and running with it, uptown and upscale.

from the ​San Francisco Chronicle
Lots of tourists fly over or cruise past Hawaii’s active volcanoes. Not many get a look at one from the inside. But you can.

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ASIA/PACIFIC
from NHK World (Japan)
All but forgotten amid the global 9/11 hype, Japan pauses to mark the six-month anniversary of its devastating earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster.

from Gadling
There may be more than one Great Wall of China.

from The Guardian (London UK)
Would you take a kayak out into the ocean at night, just to look at the stars? You might if you were in New Zealand.

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EUROPE
​from Rick Steves via the Huffington Post
You’re in Paris for the first time, finally, and the Eiffel Tower is high on your list, even if it’s just to get it out of the way. You can wait in the long high-season lines with everyone else, or you can follow Rick’s advice here.

from Ma View Francaise/My French Life
An expat offers up a decidedly unromantic view of life in the City of Light. Prepare to have a few bubbles burst (or not).

from Nomadic Matt
One of my buds in the travel blogosphere recounts his experiences traveling through Ukraine.

from the New York Times
Catalonia — hiking in the shadow of Spanish volcanoes.

Africa can’t wait

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If there’s ever to be a true bridge of travel and tourism between America and Africa, it may be up to Africans to take the lead in building it.

Among many Americans, Africa has the image of being some sort of nether region — unknown, unsafe, unattractive and unappealing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing and nothing could be further from the truth.

Incredibly beautiful land and seascapes. Flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. Growing and vibrant urban scenes. Historical and cultural heritage. Almost every type of niche travel that exists. Wide-open business and investment opportunities. The Mother Continent has got a lot going for it.

And statistics would suggest that a growing number of Americans are starting to “get” all of that.

In 2008, while the number of Americans flying abroad dropped 1.4 percent overall, U.S. air traffic to Africa rose nearly 56 percent. In 2009, when the overall traffic dropped 2 percent, Africa-bound air traffic rose nearly 25 percent. In the first six months of 2010, the most recent numbers I’ve found so far, the number of Americans flying to Africa was up about 17 percent.

Add it all up and it means the flow of U.S. air travelers to the Mother Continent has risen nearly 40 percent in the last two and a half years. — and that was while we were in the middle of a recession.

There’s something else at work here, too.

A MARKET IN WAITING
A fair number of people in a good number of sub-Saharan African countries would love to see their their African-American brethren engaging with their ancestral homelands. That’s a market just waiting to be tapped.

What’s more, a lot of African peoples would love to see Americans in general more involved commercially across the continent, if only to provide a kind of counterweight to the financial clout of China.

A survey of African views of China by Aleksandra Gadzala and Marek Hanusch found that Africans in general may be equally skeptical of both of China and the West, but that:

“Africans who attach particular value to human rights and democracy are overall largely critical of the burgeoning Chinese presence across the continent.”

From shoddy products to indifference toward the health and safety of African workers, the views of many on the Mother Continent toward the Middle Kingdom are changing. A great many Africans view the Chinese as standoffish and condescending, with neither interest in nor respect for African cultures or peoples.


You can read the entire survey report in the form of a PDF file on the Afrobarometer site here. Click on the link marked WP117.

I’ve had it put to me pointblank — and in these words — by African diplomats, journalists and ordinary citizens:

“We see the Europeans here. We see the Chinese here. Where are the Americans?”

It’s a good question. You’d think that America’s travel industry, especially its hard-hit airlines, would be all over this.

If they are, they’ve done an excellent job of hiding their interest.

So far, Delta and United air lines are the only U.S.-based carriers providing direct flights from the continental United States to Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa — and even then, only to a relative handful of cities.

Let’s be real here. Obstacles abound.

BIG HURDLES
U.S.-based air carriers are justly dubious about airport infrastructure and security in many African capitals. Our own FAA has little confidence in their civil aviation counterparts in most African countries.

Once you get to Africa, the challenges don’t stop.

Whether from other continents or from within Africa herself, the international traveler needs safe and efficient air, rail and road links, and streamlined customs and immigration procedures to move smoothly and easily between countries. Right now, for the most part, they don’t exist.

When travelers find it easier, safer and at times even faster to travel to neighboring African countries by connecting through London or Paris, that’s a problem.

There are people taking on these challenges from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. But if the nations of Africa wait for the United States to take the lead in creating this market, they will be waiting in vain.

To be sure, the major players of the U.S. travel industry probably would love to see a thriving U.S.-Africa travel market, but they have little desire to do the heavy lifting needed to get this ball rolling.

AFRICAN INITIATIVE
If this great, lucrative bridge is ever to be built, its construction will have to start from the African side of the Atlantic.

But you know what? Africa can do this.

It’s going to take time, hard work, money. It will take peace and political stability within nations. But it also will take something else — an unprecedented level of trust and cooperation among African governments.

Most countries in the world would love to have their own national flag airline representing themaround the globe; reality says “no.” Running a trans-continental airline is forbiddingly expensive, even for countries that can actually afford it.

A regional approach to this could make a world of difference.

Take (or create) perhaps four African airlines — one each serving North, East, West and Southern Africa — and make them capable of true trans-continental operation, with airliners capable of connecting virtually any two major points on the globe in a single direct flight.

The nations of each region would contribute to flight crews, maintenance crews, airport operations. All would share the costs and the profits.

Not having to fly to Europe and connect to a second long flight to reach African destinations would make Africa travel a lot more attractive to a good many Americans, among others.

REGIONAL THINKING, GLOBAL REACH
Sound far-fetched? Not from the technical side. Airliners capable of flying non-stop between African and U.S. destinations already exist — and a handful of them are already in Africa.

Boeing has extended-range versions of its popular 767 and 777 jets. The “ER” stands for extended range. The 767 can fly nearly 7,000 miles, the 777 almost 8,000 miles non-stop, with 200 to nearly 400 passengers.

These African airlines already fly one or more of these aircraft:

  • Arik Air (Nigeria)
  • Ethiopian Airlines
  • Kenya Airways
  • TAAG (Angola)

Just this year, Ethiopian became the first African airline to take delivery on a new model, the 777-200LR. The “LR” stands for “Longer Range” and can fly nearly 9,000 miles non-stop.

Airbus also is in this mix with its own long-range airliners, like the A340 series. These African airlines already fly them:

  • Arik Air
  • Air Mauritius
  • Air Nambia
  • Egyptair
  • South African Airways

Once on African ground, smaller regional airlines, brought up to speed with the help of our FAA through efforts such as its Safe Skies for Africa program, could distribute foreign visitors through each African region. And a streamlined visa process similar to that of the European Union could enable them to move from country to country on a single tourist visa.

Those transcontinental African carriers, meanwhile, could use the long reach of their extended-range jumbo jets to tie all of Africa together.

Is all of this radical, even wishful thinking? Perhaps. But as I like to say, small dreams are a waste of sleep.

When your continent holds 12 percent of the world’s population but accounts for less than 1 percent of its air traffic, it’s time to start thinking — and doing things — differently.

Especially when 20 percent of all the tourism-related jobs in Africa are generated by travelers arriving by air.

Africa can overcome this challenge. But she cannot wait for outsiders to lead the way.

KLM touching down in Rwanda

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The Dutch airline component of Air France-KLM now flies a regular weekly schedule from Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport to the capital city, Kigali. It’s another step up for the Mother Continent, and another clear sign of Rwanda’s comeback.

The first KLM flight from AMS touched down Sunday at KGL, opening a regular schedule of five flights a week. Each flight will include a stop at Entebbe (EBB) airport in Uganda.

According to industry reports, KLM already had been sending passengers to Rwanda via Nairobi, Kenya (NBO) through a code-share agreement with Kenya Airways. Not only will that arrangement continue, but KLM’s relationship with KA is expected to expand.

Automatically, travel into eastern and central Africa becomes substantially easier.

But more than that, it raises Rwanda’s profile several notches as an attractive tourist destination, and it validates the country’s own approach for putting their horrific genocidal past behind them.

The Rwandan government is working hard at reconciliation, but by the Rwandan people are taking that process in their own hands with in their own version of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

You can read more about Rwanda’s road to national healing here.

FLY THE FLAGS, Part 2

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When it comes to national-flag carriers, you don’t have to be afraid — but you do need to be picky.

In Part 1 of this series, I told you why you seriously consider flying with a national-flag airline instead of automatically choosing a U.S.-based carrier when you travel abroad.

In this segment, I’m going to tell you why you need to be picky in choosing one, especially a small regional airline in a developing country.

All airlines are expected to be safe, but airlines that fly transcontinental or transoceanic routes are often held to a higher standard than those that just operate regionally, especially outside the United States and Europe.

Let’s face it, accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. But young airlines flying old, tired airplanes kept aloft with spotty maintenance are flirting with tragedy. If ever the wordscaveat emptor — “let the buyer beware” — applied to a purchase, it’s this one.

But you may be wondering, “How am I supposed to know which airlines are safe? I don’t have any way of checking out air carriers on the other side of the planet!”

On the Web, naturally!

When checking out national-flag airlines, especially smaller ones in developing countries, there are some red flags to watch for:

1) No Country for Old Planes
I’ll be blunt: Young nations and aging airplanes can be a bad mix.

For many developing countries, having a national airline is a matter of national pride, a sign that they’ve “arrived.” But older aircraft often are all they can afford at first, and studies have shown that a high percentage of crashes in Latin America, Asia and Africa involve airliners between 14 and 25 years old.

2) Russian Roulette
Two words to the wise: Tupolev and Ilyushin. Avoid them. These are Russian military transports from the Cold War, adapted to civilian use and given to developing countries by the former Soviet Union. Russian aircraft are often built to operate in rough conditions, but some developing counties are still flying these relics. Even planes built like tanks can take only so much.

Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, has but six Ilyushins in its current fleet of 91 planes — and no Tupolevs at all. Consider that a hint.

3)Bigger is better
Air disasters involving jumbo jets make for beaucoup shock factors, but when examined over time, the safety record for jumbos is markedly better than those of smaller passenger planes.

Why? In part because the bigger the airplane — and the more passengers it’s designed to carry — the more tightly its design and operation are regulated.

One site that breaks down air safety records by country is AirSafe.com.

Our own Federal Aviation Administration keeps track of airline safety, or the lack thereof, around the world. Their site can be hard to navigate, but if you’re planning overseas flights, it’s worth the headaches.

IATA — the International Air Transport Association — does a safety audit of airlines around the world. When I see that a Croatia Airlines in Eastern Europe or a Kenya Airways in East Africa has passed it, it makes me feel a lot better about maybe flying with them.

Speaking of Africa, the FAA runs a similar kind of safety audit for regional airlines on the African continent, trying to help them meet international safety standards. President Bill Clinton started it. It’s called Safe Skies for Africa. For some strange reason, however, their own web page doesn’t tell you which African airlines pass muster.

That’s all right. I can:

Afriqiyah (Libya)
Aigle Azur, French for “blue eagle (France, serves North Africa)
Air Botswana
Air Mali
Air Seychelles
Air Uganda
Daallo Airlines (Dubai, UAE)
Ghana International Airlines
Precision Air (Tanzania)
Tunisair (Tunisia)
TAAG (Angola)

Meanwhile, should you ever get the notion to check out the safety records of U.S.-based airlines, you can do that at sites like Airline Safety Records.

Armed with this kind of foreknowledge, you can go ahead with your trip in relaxed confidence. Doing this kind of homework may be a boring time vampire, but it beats having second thoughts at 39,000 feet.