Accra, Ghana ? As the culmination of 12 months of extensive preparation work and with the assistance and support of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ghana Tourist Board and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Afra Airlines is delighted to announce it has been awarded its Air Carrier's License for cargo and passenger operations by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and an Air Tour Operators License from the Ghana Tourist Board.
The CEO of , Mr. Luke Butler stated ?Afra Airlines aims to fly 2,000 tourists into Accra weekly by the middle of the year. We are very committed to helping promote tourism into West Africa and Ghana in particular. Our sister company, Afra Resorts and Holdings Ltd. has accordingly been formed to develop significant additional hotel and resort room capacity for our target market of inbound tourists from the USA and Europe. In addition we have significant initiatives underway to develop Afra Air Cargo and Accra as a freight hub?.
?We would like to use this opportunity to thank all the of the licensing authorities and the relevant Governmental Agencies for their continued support in assisting with this initiative and helping to make operations a reality. is committed to punctuality, reliability, great value flights and delivery of our uniquely African hospitality? Mr. Butler said.
Afra Airlines operates from premises at the Airport Area of Accra where it currently employs 32 sales and administrative staff in its modern fully equipped offices. Afra Airlines flight operations are being handled with the assistance and technical support of Global Air Group which was recently reported as having purchased 100 of the new Utilicraft Aerospace Industries, Inc. feeder freighters valued at $1.2Billion USD for deliveries commencing in 2007.
Global Air Group and Afra Airlines joined forces to accommodate the formal engagement of the global investment and advisory firm of Babcock & Brown which will assist in structuring and arranging the financing of 100 FF-1080-300 aircraft that will be operated for strategic feed to the Afra Air Cargo operations in Africa and Europe. Luke Butler has been in discussions with Babcock & Brown on the $1.2 Billion program since mid 2004. Global Air Group owns and operates Boeing 747 passenger and freighter aircraft. Global Air Group Pty Ltd and Afra Airlines Ltd have recently merged. Luke and Simone Butler, the owners of Global Air Group, have moved to Accra to establish, Afra Resorts & Holdings and Afra Air Cargo.
Babcock & Brown is a global investment and advisory firm with longstanding capabilities in structured finance and the creation, syndication and management of asset and cash flow-based investments. Babcock & Brown was founded in 1977 and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and operates from 18 offices across Australia, the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa with has more than 440 employees worldwide. Babcock & Brown has five operating divisions including real estate, infrastructure and project finance, operating leasing, structured finance and corporate principal investment and funds management - website: www.babcockbrown.com
John Dupont, CEO and President of Utilicraft Aerospace Industries, the manufacturers of the FF-1080-300 aircraft which Afra has now purchased for $1.2 Billion said today: ?We congratulate and Global Air Group on their recent merger and their announcement to the market today of the launch of Afra Airlines following the issuing of the necessary certificates by the authorities in Ghana. This is the first step in what we are sure will become an important and prominent African initiative to establish integrated airline, resorts and cargo operations as a private enterprise initiative made possible with obvious support and assistance by the relevant authorities in the Government of Ghana.?
Utilicraft Aerospace Industries, Inc., was formed to target the significant problem of addressing the overnight express, supply chain, e-Commerce, and global third party logistics entities inability to provide effective ?containerised? fulfilment and distribution in the short haul (or feeder) route segments of air cargo. The Company?s new air vehicle, the FF-1080 Freight Feeder aircraft, is capable of carrying standard industry air cargo containers on short-to-medium range/medium density routes, and employs an integrated air cargo information system for the freight feeder market. It typically carries 10 tonnes to a range of 1,000 nautical miles ? website: www.utilicraft.com
Luke Butler said ?we shall be announcing individual routes, fares and schedules shortly.?
Contact info for Afra Airlines:
Afra Airlines & Global Air Group
Luke Butler -Director / CEO
7 Nortei Ababio Street
Airport Residential Area
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233 244 932 488 (+61 4 2383 0909)
lukebutler@afraairlines.com
