TIDMLONR TIDMRUBI
RNS Number : 7350G
Lonrho PLC
03 July 2012
3 July 2012
Lonrho Plc
("Lonrho")
FastJet chooses Airbus A319 to launch low cost African
airline
Lonrho advises that Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc has
today made the following news/media release:
"Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc
("Rubicon" or the "Company" or "FastJet"; AIM: RUBI)
FastJet chooses Airbus A319 to launch low cost African
airline
Rubicon today announces it has chosen the Airbus A319 aircraft
to launch its new low cost carrier, FastJet, across Africa, with
the first aircraft expected to carry passengers by October. FastJet
will operate under a brand licence agreement with easyGroup
Holdings Limited ("easyGroup") and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou,
founder of leading low cost airline, easyJet.
Commenting on the announcement, Rubicon Chief Executive Ed
Winter, said:
"The decision to launch FastJet with the Airbus A319 enables us
to expand rapidly with each aircraft potentially carrying around
250,000 passengers a year. Rubicon expects passenger numbers to
double from current levels within six months of the introduction of
the A319 fleet.
"We plan to add at least five leased Airbus A319 aircraft to the
fleet within six months of launch and up to 15 within a year."
John Leahy, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Customers,
added:
"We are delighted that FastJet has chosen the A319 as the basis
for its fleet, a further endorsement for the efficiency and
reliability of Airbus' market leading single aisle family of
aircraft.
"FastJet will open up low cost travel to the African market, and
the Airbus A319 will bring new levels of comfort to air passengers
across Africa. It is a great combination."
The Airbus A319 has proven itself an ideal aircraft for the low
cost airline model in other parts of the world. The 156 seat A319
was initially chosen after an extensive evaluation of a wide range
of options and is ideally suited to the Company's expansion plans.
Leasing aircraft on operating leases enables the airline to match
its rate of growth closely to market requirements.
The first aircraft will be leased from Nomura Babcock Brown Co.,
Ltd. (BBAM Aircraft Management LLC), and is scheduled for delivery
in September/October. BBAM is the world's third largest aircraft
lessor, managing a portfolio of over 450 aircraft. Negotiations on
further aircraft deliveries later in the year are underway.
Rubicon announced on 29 June the successful completion of its
deal with Lonrho Aviation and its airline Fly540, providing the
merged group with existing aviation platforms in Ghana, Kenya,
Tanzania and Angola. Lonrho Plc owns 74.9% of the London-listed
aviation business and Stelios' easyGroup will own 5%.
David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of Rubicon and of Lonrho Plc,
stated:
"FastJet has already stated its intent to raise the bar on air
safety in Africa by operating its aircraft under the same strict
rules that apply to European carriers. To this end, we expect to
sign an agreement with a major European MRO (Maintenance, Repair
and Overhaul) company for the maintenance of its new A319 fleet in
the coming months."
"Our management team has been actively engaged in detailed
discussions with a number of Governments to lobby for incentives
and reduced passenger taxes, factors that will affect our final
decision on where to deploy the first A319s."
For further information please contact:
Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7887
1421
Ed Winter
David Lenigas
Geoffrey White
Richard Blakesley
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (on behalf of Rubicon and FastJet) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7638 9571
Angharad Couch
Sally Marshak
Eleni Menikou
W.H. Ireland Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7220 1666
James Joyce
Nick Field
Airbus Tel: +33562118642
Susie Crowley
NOTES TO EDITORS
Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc
Rubicon was incorporated on 8 February 2006 and admitted to AIM
on 6 September 2006, originally as a software company.
At a General Meeting on 21 December 2011, a new investing policy
was adopted of seeking an acquisition or acquisitions in the global
aviation and aviation services sector with a particular focus on
Africa. Following the meeting David Lenigas and Geoffrey White,
Chairman and CEO respectively of Lonrho Plc, joined the Rubicon
Board and a share placing was undertaken raising GBP400,000.
On 5 December 2011, Rubicon entered into a conditional letter of
intent with easyGroup, under which easyGroup would become a
shareholder in Rubicon and that the Company would use the
consulting services of Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and easyGroup's
experienced aviation management team to provide general advice on
the feasibility of implementing a low-cost, point-to-point, no
frills, all jet airline business model for Africa. The Company then
raised a further GBP9,000,000 in December 2011 by way of a placing
of 225,000,000 ordinary shares at 4p per share.
For further information, please see www.rubicondiv.co.uk
Lonrho Aviation and Fly540
Lonrho entered the regional air travel market in Africa in
October 2005 with the acquisition of 49% of Five Forty Aviation
Limited ("Fly540"). Fly540 commenced operations in Kenya in
November 2006 on its inaugural route, Nairobi to Mombasa.
Operations from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania started in 2007,
operations in Angola began from Cabinda the third hub airport in
January 2011 and Ghanaian services began from the Company's fourth
regional hub in Accra in December 2011. This roll-out has
established four strategic pan-African hubs, giving Fly540 a
network spanning West, East and South-West Africa. The route
network can be seen at www.fly540.com and www.fly540africa.com.
Lonrho Aviation owns four and leases a further six aircraft, six
of which operate from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya
and neighbouring Tanzania, three serve the Angola International
Airport hub in Luanda, and one services routes in Ghana between
Kotoka International Airport in Accra and Tamale, Kumasi and
Takoradi. The East Africa hubs carry approximately 40,000
passengers per month, and the Angola and Ghana hubs carry
approximately 13,000 and 9,000 passengers per month
respectively.
The Low-cost Airline Model
The low-cost airline model seeks to attract large numbers of
additional passengers by offering significantly lower fares. The
fares need to be low enough to persuade people who did not
previously travel by air to do so, and others to travel more often.
The global experience of launching a low-cost carrier is that it
creates a completely new market rather than simply driving down
prices in the existing market.
Significant African Aviation Market Potential
Africa is a growth aviation market with regional and
intercontinental traffic both growing rapidly as a result of the
continent's continued economic expansion. With over one billion
people, Africa is hampered by poor infrastructure, a lack of roads
and railways and long distances between urban populations. The
African aviation market is significantly underserved with air
travel spending as a percentage of GDP a fraction of that of other
emerging markets. With rapid economic growth and, as a result, the
growing wealth of African citizens, more and more people will be
able to benefit from aviation and fly for the first time. Airbus
forecasts total passenger traffic in Africa will grow at an average
yearly rate of 5.7% between 2010 and 2030, well above the 4.8 per
cent world average growth rate and expects to deliver more than
1,100 new passenger aircraft, 4% of world deliveries, in the next
20 years to satisfy growing demand. Seven of the top 10 fastest
growing global economies are now in Africa with consumer spending
for the continent forecast to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2020. A
recent McKinsey report (June 2010) forecast that 128 million
households in Africa are expected to have discretionary income to
spend by 2020, while 50% of Africans are expected to live in cities
by the same date with urban jobs bringing rising incomes. The
McKinsey report concluded that today the rate of return on foreign
investment in Africa is higher than in any other developing region
and that early entry into African economies provides opportunities
to create markets, establish brands, shape industry structure,
influence consumer preferences and establish long-term
relationships."
For further information on Lonrho Plc please contact:
Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 20 7016 5105
David Lenigas
Geoffrey White
David Armstrong
FTI Consulting +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Edward Westropp
Georgina Bonham
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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