ROUTES / FLEET - AlpAvia (Slovenia) lost its AOC. It operated two ERJ145 jets and one B737-700 on charters out of Ljubljana.

Photo: AlpAvia
 

SPECIAL COLOURS - JetSuiteX / Embraer ERJ-145 / N247JX - "This is how we fly"

 

Photo: Duncan Stewart - LAX

AIRLINE - Mwant Jet Regains AOC

On Friday 16, 2025, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued a new Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to private carrier Mwant Jet, paving the way for the company’s return to the skies after more than two years of inactivity.

newsaero.
 

FLEET - Nigeria's NG Eagle acquires two E145s

NG Eagle (2N, Lagos) has bought two E145s from fellow-Nigerian operator Xejet (4U, Lagos), with the aircraft currently being prepared for their induction, ch-aviation research shows.

According to a well-placed source, the aircraft in question are 20.5-year-old 5N-BZM (msn 14500842), which is currently in C-check maintenance in Lagos, while 5N-NGE (msn 145360) has just been repainted in NG Eagle livery. The latter is 24.3 years old and was previously registered as D2-FFW as it was owned by Angolan business charter carrier Diexim Expresso Aviaçao, which went out of business in 2018, according to ch-aviation fleets history data.

Last year, NG Eagle acquired 27.6-year-old B737-300 5N-DNB (msn 27721), formerly operated by Dana Air (DAN, Lagos). This aircraft is leased from Aerolux, according to the ch-aviation fleets module.

Three B737-700s were to be acquired from Arik Air (W3, Lagos), but the transfer was put on hold on March 31, 2023, when the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that these and other assets should be returned to Arik Air, which remains under receivership of the state-owned Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

NG Eagle was set up by AMCON in 2019 to succeed Arik Air. Arik's viable assets were placed with newco Super Bravo Limited including the three B737s, but the transfer of the assets to NG Eagle was stopped through a lawsuit filed by Arik Air co-founders Johnson Arumemi Ikhide and Mary Arumemi Ikhide.

In October 2023, AMCON sold NG Eagle to a consortium backed by Nigerian aviation services company Galactic Aviation, which restarted its certification drive in early November. It began commercial flight operations on December 10, 2023, using an A320-200 briefly wet-leased from Heston Airlines (HN, Vilnius). The airline currently serves four domestic destinations, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt Awolowo, and Sokoto, using its single B737-300.

AMCON still intends to liquidate Arik Air to recover debts of NGN228 billion naira (USD150 million).

 

FLEET - India's Star Air looks to add five aircraft by early 2Q25

Star Air (India) (S5, Belgaum) has reiterated that it intends to grow its fleet and network over the coming months. It will also enter into the MRO business via a joint venture, according to CEO Simran Singh Tiwana.

"As we enter our next phase, growth, expansion, and consolidation will be at the core of our strategy," he told local reporters. "By the end of this financial year, we aim to operate a fleet of 14 aircraft, consolidating our network with over 100 flights across our 23-station network to maximise efficiency, aircraft utilisation, and service reliability."

India's financial year runs from April to March. Currently, Star Air operates a fleet of nine Embraer aircraft, including five E145s and four E175s. The aircraft operate around 44 flights per day to 22 destinations within India.

Star Air specialises in connecting tier II and tier III cities. Tiwana says the airline has started services on over 90% of all routes allocated to it by the Indian government through its UDAN regional connectivity scheme. He says the carrier plans to add another five destinations this year, a mix of commercial and subsidised routes.

Tiwana also said it was looking at a joint venture to set up an MRO facility focusing on the line and major maintenance needs of business and regional jets. While he did not disclose specific details regarding investment and potential partners, he said Star Air had already established an engineering subsidiary to manage the process and had identified a site for the facility.
CH Aviation

NEW AIRLINE - Air Sierra Leone commences operations with Freetown-Lagos service

Air Sierra Leone, via its official Facebook account, announced (22-Jan-2025) the commencement of operations with the launch of three times weekly Freetown-Lagos service. According to OAG, no other carriers operate the route.

Sierra Leone government unveils new carrier with plans to operate in London

Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Transport has unveiled a new carrier for the West African state, which is set to begin services to several cities – including London – before the end of this year.
Air Sierra Leone will operate under a UK air operator certificate, according to Transport Minister Fanday Turay, while it seeks local authorisation.
“Air Sierra Leone will operate as a private entity and not as a national carrier,” says Turay.


The airline plans to launch its first services, a three-weekly rotation from Freetown to London Gatwick, on December 2.
Its initial fleet will consist of a 189-seat Boeing 737 Max 8, with which it will serve Gatwick, as well as a 149-seat 737-400 and a 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145.


The airline's initial network will also feature key African cities including Abidjan, Accra, Monrovia, Banjul, Dakar and Conakry.

FLEET - AirJet Angola took delivery of one ERJ145, serial 145456, powered by AE3007A1 engines.

 

FLEET - Heron Aviation expands its charter fleet with an Embraer ERJ-145

Heron Aviation expands its charter fleet with an Embraer ERJ-145

Heron Aviation is proud to announce the expansion of its fleet with a worldwide unique semi-private jet from Travelcoup, an Embraer ERJ-145.

This aircraft with the registration D-AMME will fly under the AOC of Heron Aviation in accordance with EASA OPS and has already been flying under this designation since the beginning of October.

After a complete refurbishment, this aircraft has been fitted with 22 luxurious comfortable leather seats with plenty of legroom. According to the flight schedule, this ERJ-145 operates commercially twice a week between Munich, Zurich and the popular Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza. To fly semi-private, individual seats in the luxurious jet can be booked through the Travelcoup company. This Embraer can also be chartered as a complete aircraft outside the fixed scheduled Balearic flights. Thus the ERJ-145 opens up possibilities in the charter segment of Heron Aviation with its large number of seats, which could not be taken advantage of so far. 

The home base of Munich EDDM offers the ideal opportunity for exclusive group travel combined with time savings, exceptional VIP service and stylish comfort.

Managing Director of Heron Aviation, Martin Helbling, clarifies: “With the expansion of our fleet, Heron, as a long-time experienced expert in charter flights, can dedicate itself to this additional customer segment for exclusive once-in-a-lifetime premium experiences in cooperation with Travelcoup. We look forward to offering this aircraft to our existing and expanded audience in partnership with Travelcoup.”

Heron Aviation is a private aviation company specialising in aircraft management, as well as the professional operation of charter flights. Particular emphasis continues to be placed on the highest standards of safety, discretion and reliability.

To support our customers, Heron has this year recruited additional qualified staff in the areas of sales/dispatch and maintenance.

For further information, charter and management enquiries, please contact Heron at the following 

Heron Aviation
 

Nigeria's Rano Air secures permission to start ops

Nigerian startup Rano Air has secured federal government approval to operate domestic flights, according to an announcement from a government spokesman.

Bashir Ahmad, special social media assistant to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, announced on Twitter that the airline had received the official nod for flights to/from Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Kaduna Int'l, Sokoto, Gombe, Yola, Maiduguri, and Asaba.

Neither the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) nor Rano Air was immediately available for comment.

The airline announced last month that it had secured four EMB-145LRs to start commercial operations before year-end while finalising its air operator’s certificate (AOC).

Founded in 2019, Rano Air re-applied for an air transport licence in January 2022, following its initial application in mid-2020 for permission to operate scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo services within and outside of Nigeria.

Rano Air is owned by Kano-born oil billionaire Alhaji Auwalu Abdullahi Rano, the executive chairman and CEO of holding company A.A.Rano Group.

Ch Aviation

GLOBAL AIR / ERJ145 / 5A-GAB

José Ramon Valero - MAD
 

Aha! (US) launched its inaugural flight, with the route from Reno to Pasco/Tri-Cities on 24 October 2021 with ERJ145.

 

ExpressJet outlines Q3 restart

 Final approval has been given for the resumption of the regional airline's commercial operations.

US regional carrier ExpressJet plans to resume service before the end of September, the Atlanta-based airline has announced.

The move follows the US Transportation Department’s (DOT) decision to issue a final order that permits the carrier to restart flights—almost a year after the former United Airlines affiliate was forced to wind down operations.

As previously reported by Routes, the DOT issued a show cause order in July, proposing that ExpressJet is “fit, willing, and able to conduct interstate air transportation” as a US-certificated air carrier. That tentative decision has now been made final.

ExpressJet has been a scheduled airline for 33 years and has operated as Delta Connection and American Eagle, as well as United Express. However, after United consolidated Embraer ERJ-145 flying with CommutAir, the airline halted commercial operations in September 2020.

Following the final DOT approval, a statement issued by the carrier said it expects to unveil its detailed flying plans “in the coming weeks.”

The airline added it intends to provide service in “small and abandoned markets with unmet customer needs.” It will also avoid “needless overlap” with the major airlines and ULCCs.

“Resumption of service will allow ExpressJet to begin recalling and reinstating furloughed employees,” the airline said.

“A majority will be covered by collective bargaining agreements with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).”

Before the COVID-19 crisis, ExpressJet conducted 3,300 weekly flights for United from bases in Chicago (ORD), Cleveland (CLE), Houston (IAH), Knoxville (TYS) and Newark (EWR). The airline, majority owned by ManaAir, employed 2,800 staff and served more than 100 airports across North America.



Photo credit: ExpressJet

Routes Online

Fly Angola resumes flights after completing certification

Privately-owned Fly Angola (FLA, Luanda) has used the COVID-19 downturn to overhaul its aircraft and secure its own Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), reports Forbes.

The company previously marketed flights as a virtual carrier by sub-contracting operations to local partner, AeroJet (Angola) (TEJ, Luanda), to operate a domestic network with one E145 D2-FDF (msn 145221) linking the capital Luanda with Dundo and Saurimo in the east, and Benguela and Lubango in the west.

However, when COVID-19 travel restrictions forced the suspension of its operations in March 2020, management used the downtime to complete a six-month certification process, resulting in the granting of its AOC from Angola’s civil aviation authority (Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil - INAVIC) on December 21, 2020.

The airline resumed domestic flights on December 23. Although initial demand was low because of travel restrictions and COVID health protocols, traffic was starting to pick up, said General Manager Belarnício Muangala. “Our reduced service schedule has now been revised twice due to increasing demand,” he said.

Meanwhile, the carrier’s wholly-owned E145 has been re-painted in the company’s livery and has undergone heavy maintenance checks in Europe. Earlier fleet growth plans for a second E145 plus a smaller E120 have been put on hold, although they were still considered viable. “The biggest challenge is access to financing at reasonable costs in Angola rather than demand,” Muangala noted.

Expansion of the network to oil-rich Cabinda was also derailed by COVID-19 just days before the inaugural flight.

Muangala said the lockdown revealed opportunities for secondary hubs in the future. “During the state-of-emergency, Luanda province was isolated, but all mobility between the other 17 provinces was unrestricted. Buses and minivans continued their commercial services. Is this not an obvious opportunity for a hub outside of Luanda?” he asked.

Scheduled domestic traffic in Angola is dominated by flag carrier TAAG Angola Airlines (DT, Luanda), which currently uses two of its three new DHC-8-Q400s - D2-TFA (msn 4616) and D2-TFB (msn 4619) - on domestic routes to Cabinda, Huambo, Namibe, Saurimo, Ongiva, Dundo, Catumbela, Luena, and Lubango, according to FlightRadar24 ADS-B data. It also uses its three bigger B737-700s - D2-TBF (msn 34559), D2-TBG (msn 34560), and D2-TBH (msn 34561) - on domestic and regional routes.

ch aviation

Zambia's Royal Air Charters details E145 plans

Royal Air Charters (Lusaka) will deploy its sole E145 on trunk Zambian domestic routes, Business Development Consultant Joseph Mulenga has said. The Zambian passenger charter specialist took delivery of 9J-TST, formerly N271SK (msn 145305), in Lusaka on Saturday, October 5.

Speaking to the Zambian Business Times newspaper, Mulenga said the nearly 20-year-old Embarrass jet would be used to serve Zambia’s major towns and cities including Lusaka, Solwezi, and Ndola. He did not disclose any service entry dates.

HOP - ERJ145 - G-HRGD

Alain Charpentier - TLS

LOGANAIR - ERJ 145 - G-RJXH

Alain Charpentier - TLS

Air Peace’s latest aircraft, Chinonye Ezeani (Nee Onyema), at the apron of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos

Air Peace

TOUCAN AVIATION - ERJ 145 - F-HAFS

Alain Charpentier - TLS

Namibia's Westair Aviation acquires four ERJ-135s from HOP!

Namibian passenger charter/ACMI specialist Westair Aviation (Windhoek Eros) has acquired four ERJ-135s from Air France subsidiary HOP!-Régional (YS, Clermont-Ferrand), the first of the type to feature in its growing fleet inventory.

According to The Namibian newspaper, the aircraft in question are those which Air Namibia (SW, Windhoek Int'l) had been leasing from the French regional operator namely msn 145243, 145335, 145347, and 145252. They collectively average almost 17 years of age and are used on flights from Windhoek Int'l to Luderitz, Oranjemund, and Walvis Bay domestically as well as Harare Int'l and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Lusaka in Zambia. They are also used on services from Walvis Bay to Cape Town and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo in South Africa as well as from Windhoek Eros to Mpacha, Ondangwa, and Rundu.

As such, given the change in ownership, Westair Aviation has directed Air Namibia that henceforth its leasing payments are to be made to them. Air Namibia's contract with HOP! was reportedly set at NAD35 million Namibian dollars (USD2.68 million) per annum and was to have expired next year.
Despite recent denials by Air Namibia that it has any designs on the SSJ 100-95, Russia's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Georgy Kalamanov, reiterated last week that Namibia was one of four African states in talks with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Ramenskoye) over the proposed lease of SuperJets.
"Active negotiations on the delivery of SSJ100s are being carried out with many African countries. First of all with Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, and Namibia," he told Sputnik.

To that end, the establishment of a joint leasing company in Africa is currently being considered.

ch aviation

ViaAir commenced flights between Shenandoah (SDH) and Charlotte Douglas (CLT) on 30 November

The 385-kilometre connection will be served by the carrier 12 times weekly on its ERJ 145s. According to OAG schedules, the city pair is not served by any other carrier, with ViaAir becoming Shenandoah’s only scheduled airline. Silver Airways did serve Shenandoah until 29 November, the day on which it ended its twice-daily service from Washington Dulles. From 11 December, ViaAir will begin a one-stop service to Orlando that will operate twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Sundays) via Charlotte Douglas. According to OAG schedules, ViaAir now offers six routes non-stop routes from Charlotte Douglas, including Beckley, St Augustine, Lewisburg and Parkersberg, as well as Shenandoah and Orlando. According to ch-aviation, ViaAir has nine aircraft in its fleet: four EMB 120s and five ERJ 145s

Aenna