Sunday, December 2, 2012

Kampala Aero Club To Fly Schedule Flights to Uganda National Parks and Serengeti

Kampala Aero Club (Fly Uganda) To Fly Schedule Flights to Uganda National Parks and Serengeti after Partnering with Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation

Fly Uganda now offers seat rates to all Uganda's National Parks. This long awaited service from Uganda’s leading Flying Safari Company will open up destinations to a much wider client base and make Uganda a more attractive destination. Operations commence on December 1st 2012. Uganda has seen many aviation companies come and go over the years, but only Fly Uganda has sustainably built the safari market in Uganda to become the largest domestic operator.

Per seat fares from Kajjansi to the main Ugandan national parks, start from US Dollars 270 to any of the three fields in Murchisons Falls, i.e. Pakuba, Chobe or Bugungu.Seats to Kasese, Fort Portal and Semliki will cost US D 290, the same as a seat to Mweya, Ishasha or the Kayonza Tea Estate field, closest to (14 km from) Bwindi National Park. Kidepo fares will start at US D 550, finally offering per seat options for air safaris across Uganda instead of forcing tourists to use expensive charter flights with the almost inevitable ‘empty legs’ which in the past often put the overall cost of a safari by air beyond the means of tourists.

Linking Uganda's National Parks with the Serengeti on Same Day Flying Safaris

Fly Uganda has joined hands with Coastal Aviation in Tanzania to provide a same day link between Uganda’s National Parks and The Serengeti.
The morning East-bound Fly Uganda flights will pick passengers from our Ugandan National parks to Kajjansi and then fly out of Entebbe with Coastal Aviation to The Serengeti. The morning West-bound Coastal Aviation flight will pick up passengers from Kilimanjaro, Manyara and The Serengeti arriving in Entebbe at midday to clear customs and immigration. They then continue with Fly Uganda to Uganda’s National Parks.

Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation and Uganda’s Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, aka Fly Uganda, will effective 15th December offer a unique link, connecting the great migration of Tanzania’s Serengeti with the prized mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park. The flights will route via Entebbe where visitors clear immigration and customs before continuing to their final destination. The cooperation between the two airlines resolves a thorn in the side of air travel, prompted by Tanzania’s insistence to retain non tariff barriers and treating airlines from fellow EAC countries like foreign carriers in clear violation of the spirit of the East African Community and belying the full mouthed speeches made at the just concluded summit in Nairobi, where notably Tanzania’s president called for the removal of such restrictive practices.

This long awaited change will undoubtedly promote air safaris to a much greater extend, more so as key lodges and tented safari camps now have custom build 4x4 vehicles available in the parks, providing airstrip transfers and game drives on location. Flying with the Kampala Aeroclub has also been certified as 100 percent carbon neutral, the second such airline after Kenya’s Safarilink, underscoring East Africa’s trend to remain green by going green.

Visit www.flyuganda.com for more details, including the option to do some acrobatic flying with Capt. Howard Davenport, using a classic ‘Great Lakes’ two seater biplane for adrenaline pumping action in the skies over Kajjansi.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

ENTEBBE AIRSHOW SET FOR DECEMBER 15/16 (written by ETN)

Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority is partnering to put together a show case aviation event on the weekend of December 15th and 16th, bringing together the aviation industry to give Ugandans a hands on experience.

Air Uganda has already offered to fly disabled children on a special flight on their MD 87 aircraft while the general aviation community from Kajjansi, the Kampala Aero Club, MAF aka Mission Aviation Fellowship and Ndege Juu will join hands with their colleagues from Entebbe such as Eagle Air and AirServ.

Also on board is the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force and the East African Civil Aviation Academy from Soroti, the latter probably also doing a spot or two of career guidance when talking about the courses available at what is often referred to as the Flying School.

Capt. Howard Davenport from the Kampala Aero Club will be performing some of his stunning aerial aerobics displays while other aircraft like air force Sukois and a C130 will be doing fly pasts and low overflights to thrill the crowds, while sky divers will aim to hit the centre point on the ground as they come circling down from the skies above.

This is the second such airshow this year after the Kampala Aero Club, on a smaller and invitation only basis, celebrated their 15th anniversary at the Kajjansi airfield, drawing hundreds of spectators to the perimeter fence, but this time it is an open for all event at the Entebbe International Airport, celebrating not just 50 years of Uganda’s Independence but also 50 years of post independence aviation in the Pearl of Africa.

Source - ETN