Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

29 Apr 2009 07:00



29 April 2009

LONRHO PLC

("Lonrho" or the "Company")

Air Services Licence Issued for Fly540 Angola

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 Tomás, 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.'

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