Tag Archives: Malawi Airlines

Lifestyle

Malawi Airlines supports local film industry

Chisomo Phiri

By Chisomo Phiri

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost )-Malawi Airlines on Saturday partnered with 4Kaya Films Inc, producers of the film ‘Welcome to Maula Prison’, by sponsoring six return tickets to the film’s premiere in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In an interview with journalists,the airline’s Marketing Officer, Only Taulo, said the sponsorship reflects their commitment to promoting Malawi’s creative industry.

“We are committed to supporting Malawi’s creative talent,” said Taulo.

On her part,4Kaya Films Inc spokesperson Desiree Namachotsa expressed gratitude for the support, highlighting its impact on the creative sector.

“This recognition will boost filmmakers’ confidence in their work,” she said.

The film’s premiere is scheduled for June 7 in Johannesburg.

Malawi

CDEDI demands forensic audit on Malawi Airlines amid Ethiopian Airlines’ questionable shares

Maravi Post Reporter

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) is demanding a forensic audit on Malawi Airlines amid questionable 51% shares of Ethiopian Airlines in the flagship.

The grouping therefore wants an Attorney General (AG) Chakaka Thabo Nyirenda to explain to the nation on contractual agreement between Ethiopian Airlines and Malawi Airlines.

Addressing the news conference in the capital Lilongwe on Friday, January 12, 2024, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa observes that his organization’s independent investigations show that Ethiopian Airlines deliberately failed to register the airline code for Malawi, instead opting to use ET as the boarding code for Malawian Airlines.

Namiwa wants forensic audit on Malawi Airlines

“The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), writes you, Sir, concerning the above-stated subject matter. Building on the remarkable progress recorded thus far in the recovery of public funds that were invested in Salima Sugar Company Limited (SSCL) through the Greenbelt Authority (GBA), which started in earnest through the bold decision to make public the contents of the forensic audit the Malawi Government sanctioned on SSCL, CDEDI intends to draw your kind attention to a public-private partnership agreement that led to the establishment of Malawi Airlines.

“The Government of Malawi has 49 percent stakes in Malawi Airlines, while Ethiopian Airlines has 51 percent shares. This, therefore, as expected, means that its dividends ought to be declared and made public. Failure to declare dividends alone, begs the question as to how Malawians are benefiting from this arrangement,” said Namiwa.

He adds, “Given the above, CDEDI on behalf of Malawian taxpayers and voters, and in line with the Access to Information (ATI) Act, is imploring you, Hon. AG, to help Malawians exercise their right to know by doing the following; Make public how much Ethiopian Airlines brought on the table as their equity contribution. Thus far how much in profits have been declared? Explain with evidence what Malawi has benefited apart from the prestige of having a purported own airline when in reality it is not”.

Namiwa observes, “CDEDI’s independent investigations show that Ethiopian Airlines deliberately failed to register the airline code for Malawi, instead opting to use ET as the boarding code for Malawian Airlines. This systematic ‘anomaly’ allows Ethiopian Airlines to receive all air ticket money realised from travel agents across the globe who sales tickets on behalf of Malawian Airlines. Consequently, Malawi Airlines does not have any idea of the amount realized every month.

“Further, it should also be noted that once that money is obtained by Ethiopian Airlines, it is subject to a 10% collection fee. Something that would not be the case if Malawi Airlines had its own boarding Code, say MWW. All the money would come through to the Malawi Airlines account”.

Namiwa explains, “Another interesting aspect of the contract is that all aircraft belong to Ethiopian Airlines and operate as Malawi Airlines on lease. The lease fees are determined by ET itself. Thus, ET deployed an engineering team into Malawi that services the aircraft at very exorbitant monthly fees paid to ET.

“Ethiopian Airlines also receives management fees for operating the airline. The rate was determined by Ethiopian Airlines itself at the start of the Company in 2014 and this rate keeps changing every year. The Management fee, just like the Engineering fees paid in US dollars is no small money”.

He explains further, “In short, if there is a termination of the contract, Malawi will be left without any aircraft. The money realised over the period would have allowed Malawi Airlines to acquire more than two of its aircraft.

“However, Ethiopian Airlines would not in any way wilfully do this as it will cut significantly the colossal money it realizes through Aircraft Leasing. If the above findings are anything to go by, then Hon. AG you will agree with us that just like SSCL, there is an urgent need for a forensic audit of Malawi Airlines. We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Malawi

Malawi govt quells Airlines employees’ strike as President Chakwera leaves tomorrow for Mozambique

Maneno Chimulala
Malawi govt quells Airlines employees’ strike to allow President Chakwera travel to Mozambique

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)–In a clever move, the Malawi government, through the Ministry of Labour, has suppressed the Airlines employees’ strike which was slated for tomorrow 27th May to allow President Lazarus Chakwera to travel to Mozambique without hurdles.

The employees were from tomorrow expected to embark on a strike to force management to meet their demands on the need for salary restructuring.

But the Ministry of Labour has told media today that the strike might not take place as the deputy Minister Vera Kamtukule has intervened to have the employees’ grievances addressed after meeting with the company’s management led by its chief executive officer.

In a statement, the Ministry said during the meeting, Management of Malawi Airlines confirmed that they have addressed the concerns raised by Transport and General Workers Union in their notice to go on strike.

“Since the employer has already addressed the concerns, there is no reason for the workers to go on strike and if they proceed to withdraw Labour, it will be deemed illegal. Whenever a strike is illegal, the employer is justified to take appropriate disciplinary measures,” reads the statement.

However, the Union’s central regional organizer Mcdonald Chuma said what the Ministry was saying on behalf of the management was untrue as the Union was not involved in any meeting mediated by the Ministry.

He said there was no way the Ministry and management would resolve the issues on their own without the involvement of the aggrieved workers, hence the strike will proceed tomorrow.

In the notice addressed to management, the Union is calling for salary restructuring to be at least closer to what fellow airlines are offering in terms of their salary grades.

If the employees snub the deputy minister’s plea, all Malawi Airlines planes will be grounded and likely paralyze President Lazarus Chakwera’s trip to Mozambique slated for tomorrow.

Chakwera will be traveling to attend the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) extraordinary double Troika meeting in seeking to resolve conflicts between insurgents and the Military in that country.

Opinion

Sundays with Cedrick: SELL THE MALAWI AIRLINES

Cedrick Ngalande
Malawian Airlines gets bad Reviews from Travelers

Malawi Airlines has lost money many times; it has had to be bailed out many times. Even under majority ownership of another carrier, it still lost money. Who is to blame for this mess? Nobody. Malawi Airlines keeps losing money because it has to. The current move by government to bail out the airline, one more time, will simply result in wastage of taxpayers’ resources.

Malawi Airline is not the only national carrier to lose money. National airlines have generally become a thing of the past. There was a time when almost all nations had “flag carriers”. A lot of these national airlines became bankrupt; the wise nations privatized theirs before going down.

The airline industry has changed a lot over the past few decades. Cost of maintenance have become high even as passengers demand higher quality of services and lower prices. To ensure these lower prices, airlines have to ferry more people to longer distances every day, and also minimize ground time. To be profitable, a plane generally has to spend most of its time in the skies. Even with all these qualities met, an airline is still not guaranteed to remain competitive.

If you list the largest national airlines in the world, you will notice something very fascinating. The top six airlines are Turkish Airlines (Turkey), Air France (France), British Airways (United Kingdom), Ethiopia Airlines (Ethiopia), Emirates (United Arab Emirates) and Qatar Airlines (Qatar).

Did notice anything about this list?

I ask because most Malawian politicians seem to believe that, if managed properly, Malawi Airlines will become just as big and prosperous, as Ethiopian Airlines. This is more like saying that when Prince Harry grows up, he will become an heir to the British throne just like Prince William.

If you look at the list of the largest national airlines above, you will notice that British Airways and Air France are the two odd ones out.  The rest are all in about the same location on the planet. Perhaps one can argue that Europe is not too far from the Middle East.  And that’s the point.

It turns out that given globalization and interconnectivity, airlines located in places that makes it easy for them to serve the whole world have a very unfair advantage over the others. Ethiopia, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE are all in the Middle East, the proverbial Center of the World, where they can easily get a lot of customers from one part of the world to another and vice versa. Ethiopian Airlines can easily ferry passengers from Africa to Europe or America and vice versa at a much lower cost than an airline located in, say, Lilongwe. A Malawian or Zambian Airline is at a disadvantage right from the beginning. Location, location, location!

Of course, there are other models that can help an airline make money. But they are not easy. Southwest Airlines, for instance, has become prosperous by hopping from one city to another carrying passengers with little to no luggage thereby reducing ground time. The seating plan is not even assigned. Passengers just line up and get into the plane as soon as it arrives. Again, the key here is to use as less resources on the ground as possible and stay in the air as much as possible ferrying passengers.  None of any workable airline models suit Malawi Airlines. Malawi Airlines will keep on losing money regardless of management and investment. Two great HBR articles, “Emirates Airline: Connecting the Unconnected” by Juan Alcacer and John Clayton, and “Southwest Airlines” by Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang, give valuable insight into the airline industry.

When you talk to Malawian politicians, most think we need to keep the airline for the sake of national pride. It is a bad idea to put our national pride in giant money sinkholes. Our priorities on national pride tend to be misplaced and not aligned with our strength. Take a look at the national sports teams, for instance.

We have men’s national football team that never wins. They almost always get eliminated in preliminary rounds. Yet, year after year, we pump a lot of money into football hoping it will raise the national flag for the sake of the national pride.

On the other hand, we have a women’s netball team that is ranked in the top 10 of the world’s best national netball teams. Our netball team is poorly funded, does not have a world class coaching team, and does not have an academy to train upcoming players. Yet, they win big most of the time.

Why don’t we take all the money from the jokers who never win and put it in the netball team that is obviously naturally talented? If we do that, before long, Malawi will be winning the netball world cup consistently. That is how you fund projects for national pride.

A lot of things happening in Malawi these days are quite interesting. By the way, have you seen the report on the civil service? You did not. Because it has been impounded. A few months ago, the president tasked his vice to conduct a civil service review following the embezzlement and misuse of coronavirus funds.

The commission finally handed the report to the president last week. Initially, the handover ceremony was heavily publicized, but at the last minute, it was decided that the report will be handed to the president out of the public’s view. We do not know the reason for the secrecy.

Thanks to social media we have seen at least one page from the report as they were presenting it to the president. The title of the page is “EXODUS” (I am not making this up!). The last paragraph of the page reads,

“Ordinarily on Valentine’s day people exchange gifts in the form of flowers, chocolates and dinner dates but we got this gift for the Love of country.”

 Ladies and gentlemen, these philosophical words and page are part of the report prepared on your behalf for His Excellent President of the Republic!

Is anybody serious anymore?

Send me an email: cedrick.goliati.ngalande@gmail.com

Business, Malawi

Malawi Airlines in Financial crisis: Accumulates MK13.83bn debt

Maravi Post Reporter

By Thandie Chadzandiyani

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Airlines is in financial crisis with accumulation of MK13.83 billion (US$17.54 million) debt which has prompted the company’s board of directors to dissolve the airlines.

The Malawi flag carrier’s board has therefore recommended an “orderly winding up” of the company, saying the airline is technically insolvent.

The resolution to dissolve the company was duly passed on March 25 2021 by the board in accordance with the memorandum or by-laws and articles of incorporation of the company.

Malawi Airlines is yet to post a profit since it took to the skies

An orderly winding up would leave at least 71 locals, currently in the employ of the airline, jobless.

According to the resolutions signed by the company’s board chairperson George Partridge, the company is in a cumulative loss position of MK14.09 billion (US$17.86 million) as at February 2021 and has accumulated debts of up to MK13.83 billion (US$17.54 million).

“The directors have assessed the company and found it technically insolvent and not a going concern if shareholders do not inject equity into the company. Directors are of the opinion that the directors cannot continue the company to trade in the current state without a rescue package, while there is still a significant gap between costs and revenue,” reads the resolutions.

While the company’s revenue has been dwindling, the resolutions say its costs of operations remained high and cannot be covered by revenues when the environment remains hostile as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In the absence of any injection of capital and with all the requested cost reduction relief measures not being approved, it is, therefore, resolved that under the circumstances, where shareholders of Malawi Airlines have not committed recapitalisation of the business or approve the requested relief measures and that the going concern is uncertain, the Board of Directors recommend an orderly winding up of the company and further recommend the appointment of a liquidator to discharge obligations and minimise further liabilities,” the resolutions further say.

According to the resolutions, the two shareholders will inform the board whether the winding up of the company will be pursued while the company is operating or by suspending operations.

Weekend Nation has also learnt that between October 2020 and February 2021, the company recorded a loss of MK285 million (US$361 000). While the demand for travel was better between November and December 2020, such demand started to decline following the measures taken by both Malawi and South Africa to control the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Malawi Airlines spokesperson Joseph Josiah confirmed the several board meetings that have taken place recently, but said he was not aware of agenda and resolutions.

The efforts to talk to Patridge as well as Malawi Airlines (MA) chief executive officer Laeke Tadesse also yielded no results yesterday as they both did not pick up our calls after several attempts.

While saying he was unaware of the resolutions, Civil Aviation director James Chakwera,said it would be “unfortunate” if the company would be liquidated as recommended by the board as it will inconvenience travellers outside the country, especially those that go to destinations where Malawi Airlines plies its trade.

“Already, we have had problems with Malawi Airlines as some cases passengers had to be re-routed to other countries, which is not what the traveller or the ministry [of Transport] wants.

“So, if the company will be liquidated, that will definitely not be a good thing as passengers will have to pay more as other airlines will take advantage of the situation, and that is our fear. We would like to see [continued] provision of its [Malawi Airlines] services,” he said.

Malawi Airlines has two aircraft, namely Bombardier Q400-Dash 8 and Boeing 737-700. But sources in the aviation sector yesterday said the two planes have been “technically withdrawn’ by the minority shareholder, Ethiopian Airlines following recent disagreements with the Malawi Government, over the reluctance by the latter to inject more capital in the deal.

According to other minutes of a meeting which took place last August, Ethiopian Airlines wanted Malawi Government to inject MK7 billion as recapitalisation.

“ET [Ethiopian Airlines] suggested that the Board should inform the shareholders that the company has no money and cannot resume operations and should consider looking for dissolution,” reads part of the minutes.

Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda said the ministry would only be in a better position to comment after seeing the recommendations by the Malawi Airlines board.

“We will wait to see the said resolutions and that’s when we can substantially comment on the matter,” said Banda.

A source at Ministry of Transport yesterday said following the recommendations by the MA board, the final decision on the matter now rests in the hands Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

Said the source: “The ultimate decision to liquidate the company now is in the hands of Cabinet. It is just a matter of when that decision can be made.”

While also expressing ignorance on the matter, acting clerk to the Cabinet Marjorie Shema said if the recommendations were sent to OPC, then it follows that the decision on the way forward is “in the pipeline”.

However In December last year, Weekend Nation exposed that Malawi Airlines has been posting zero-profits in five years but, paid over MK41 billion for aircraft sub-leases, management fees and other payments to its strategic partner—Ethiopian Airlines.

Partridge confirmed, then that the airline had made no profits since it started operating in 2014.

“Since the airline started, I can confirm it has not made any profits. The major return and primary  objective of the investment was the general economic returns on the investment due to the connectivity that the airline is providing in the most efficient and effective way.

“This objective has largely been achieved compared to the time we had no national airline,” said Patridge.

Public Accounts Committee chairperson Shadreck Namalomba—an audit advisory expert himself—described Malawi Airline’s payments to Ethiopian Airlines as a typical example of transfer pricing and suggested Malawi Revenue Authority  should assess them for possible tax evasion.

Malawi Airlines is a registered partnership company with shareholding between the Malawi Government (51 percent) and Ethiopian Airlines (49 percent).

Business, Malawi

Malawi Airlines suspend flights over operations challenges

Maravi Post Reporter

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Airlines has suspended all flights for six days starting today, March 26, 2021 over operational reasons”.

In a statement, Spokesperson for the Airline Joseph Josiah said that there will be no flight from March 26 to March 31 over the suspension is due to “operational reasons” without giving details.

Josiah did not reveal the number of flights affected by the suspension but said passengers who already booked will be provided alternative options.

“All affected passengers will be provided with available protection options agreeable between the passengers and the airline,” said Josiah.

Passengers have been advised to contact their travel agent or the airline to understand the travel options available.

Malawi Airlines is owned by Malawi Government and Ethiopian Airlines. The company offers flights from Lilongwe to Johannesburg and another from Lilongwe to Nairobi via Addis Ababa, among other flights.

Development

Malawi Airlines to suspend flights due to Covid-19

Malawi News Agency (MANA)
Malawian Airlines gets bad Reviews from Travelers

Written by  Yamikani Yapuwa

Blantyre, March 27,2020:The Malawi Airlines has temporarily suspended all flights between Lilongwe or Blantyre and Johannesburg effective Friday 27 March, 2020 until Thursday 16 April 2020.

According to a Flight advisory by Malawi Airlines issued on Tuesday, the suspension was as a result of national lockdown announced by South African government.

“The Government of the Republic of South Africa has announced national lockdown from midnight on Thursday 26 March 2020 until midnight on Thursday 16 April 2020.

“This means our last operation to Johannesburg will be on Thursday 26 March 2020,”reads the advisory.

The airline has also further suspended some of its flights to Nairobi, Dares Salaam, Lusaka and Harare in response to the travel restrictions due to COVID-19 situation.

“Effective Wednesday 25 March 2020 until further notice, all flights to Nairobi are suspended.

“Effective Wednesday 01 April 2020 to Thursday 30 April 2020, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday flights from Lilongwe or Blantyre to Dare Salaam are suspended. Wednesday, Friday and Sunday flights from Dare Salaam to Blantyre or Lilongwe are also suspended.

“Further, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday flights from Lilongwe to Lusaka and Harare are suspended,” further advised Malawi Airlines.

COVID-19, which is now a global issue, was first discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan City in China. It is believed that the disease originated from animals such as bats and it has now affected humans.

In January, 2020, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic as it has spread to all over the world with all continents registering cases of the disease.

As of Monday COVID-19 updates 43 African countries reported a total of 1,436 positive cases with Egypt topping the list with 327 cases seconded by South Africa with 274.

President Peter Mutharika on Friday 20 March declared a State of Disaster which has seen closure of all schools by Monday, 23rd March, suspension of hosting of international meetings, restriction on public meetings such as weddings, church congregations and rallies among others, to less than 100 people and banning travel of foreign nationals from countries highly affected by the disease among others.

Business

Malawi Airlines hailed for on-time departure at OR Tambo

Malawi News Agency (MANA)

Malawi Airlines has been hailed for delivering excellent departure on-time performance at OR Tambo International Airport in 2017 thereby contributing to the airport’s operational efficiency.

According to Airports Company South Africa Malawi Airlines’ departure on-time performance at OR Tambo in 2017 averaged 92.33% surpassing the airport’s target of 87%.

“Congratulations on delivering excellent departure on-time performance in 2017. Note that you performed well over the airport target of 87%. Thank you for contributing to ensuring that Johannesburg is an effective and on-time hub airport,” said Airports Company South Africa’s manager Bradley Stalls.

Reacting to the development, Malawi Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer Hailemelekot Mamo described it as great news saying the Airline strives to deliver excellent service to its customers and that the recognition by Airports Company South Africa was a vote of confidence for the company.

Airport operational efficiency is measured through different measures, with On-Time Performance being the primary internationally accepted standard. On-Time Performance is measured by comparing the actual off-block time (when aircraft pushes back) against the airline schedule time for a departing flight.

The measurement is done in accordance with the IATA (International Airlines Transport Association) universal standard benchmark which considers a 15 minute deviation from the scheduled time as an on-time departure.

The On-Time Performance of the airlines is averaged for a specific airport to produce On-Time Performance for the airport. This is bench marked against a target which is agreed upon by the airport stakeholders.

Malawi Airlines operates daily flights between Lilongwe/Blantyre and Johannesburg.

Business, Lifestyle

Malawian Airlines all-female flight land in Dar es Salaam

Maravi Post correspondent

Women who operated Malawian Airlines flight to Tanzania

A Malawian Airlines flight exclusively operated and supported by women has landed in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam from Blantyre, as shown in these shots taken by a BBC Swahili colleague Munira Hussein.

Women were in charge of every single aspect of the flight operation, from cockpit to cabin, check-in to customer care, and air traffic control to ground handling.

The aim of the flight, the first of its kind for the for the national carrier, was to encourage young girls and women who aspire to pursue careers in aviation but are under the impression that it is a male-dominated industry.

Malawian Airlines is owned by the Malawi Government (51%) and Ethiopian Airlines (49%).

Captain Yolanda Kaunda (L) and co-pilot Mwenifumbo Lusekelo (R)

Meanwhile in other East Africa aviation news, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was snapped by the BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza getting to grips with an Ethiopian Airlines flight simulator on a visit to Addis Ababa:

Lifestyle, Regional

Michael Usi says Malawi economy is still colonized, ‘ Mutharika should fire crooked Cabinet’

MaraviPost 1 Comment

Michael Usi (aka Dr Manganya)
Michael Usi (aka Dr Manganya) ia a Malawian movie actor, playwright, and musician. As an actor, he is most famously known for his role as “Dr. Manga”

KARONGA(MaraviPost): The renowned Malawi actor Michael (aka Dr Manganya) Usi has on Friday said the country economy is still colonized despite celebrating its 52 years of independent.

According to Usi, this is because of the failed leadership of the country. Continue reading Michael Usi says Malawi economy is still colonized, ‘ Mutharika should fire crooked Cabinet’ →