UGANDA (eTN) – It is understood that pre-operations surveys have been and are being carried out by Air France in Uganda, for the purpose of commencing flights between Paris and Entebbe sometime in 2011. Confirmation towards that end was also received from at least two hotels, which have received inquiries about the availability of crew accommodation, normally a key requisite to be secured well in advance, although apparently not from AF directly but “other parties” in Kampala.
There is speculation that the French national airline might start with anywhere between 3 to 5 flights and that both sectors might be daylight flights with the aircraft being parked overnight while the crew takes their minimum rest time before operating the return flight. Should this information turn out to be true, Uganda’s connectivity would once again grow substantially, and SkyTeam, one of the world’s top three airline alliances, would become the leading operator in and out of Entebbe, considering that other alliance members Kenya Airways and KLM are already having a substantial presence here.
In contrast, OneWorld has only 5 flights, operated by their member British Airways, while StarAlliance is doing better on that score with flights by Brussels Airlines, South African Airways, Egypt Air, and the soon to join Ethiopian Airlines, which flies twice between Addis and Entebbe at least 5 days a week now.
