When Airbus aims to start "Airtaxi"

European aerospace giant Airbus has quietly lifted the curtain on an ambitious Silicon Valley project called Vahana. It's a pilotless passenger aircraft that aims to someday add a vertical component to your commute. Think of Uber-like air taxis that can beat the traffic. Airbus recently posted its first conceptual renderings on a Medium blog. The drawings depict a helicopter-like craft that can take off and land vertically. There's room for a passenger under a canopy that retracts like a motorcycle helmet visor. Take a quick glance.

The conceptual design still looks science fiction like doesn't it? Like a modern mini version of Morpheus' hovercraft, Nebuchanezzar from "The Matrix" or one of those sci fi movies with futuristic small model airplanes. I hope it gets built pretty soon, so I can always board one on my way to work here in Cameroon and beat our eternal Douala traffic jams. Em, Vahana in Cameroon? Seriously! Lol.

Courtesy of CNN's "Quest Means Business" daily newsletter.

International Day of the Air Traffic Controller

During the 2016 Bloggers forum here in Douala, I was honoured to be one of the panelists. Towards the end of the event, someone met me and introduced himself as Touembou. He told me he works at the control tower at the Douala airport as an air traffic controller. He said he’d been impressed by my Question and answer session with the event moderator, Carol and to find an aviation blogger who'd just won Ethiopian Airlines' award at the event. His colleagues were working on starting Africa's first air traffic control website soon. I said I was impressed and would write about it. We exchanged contacts and started communicating. I was keen on learning about what they do at the control tower, since that’s a part of the airport I’ve never been to and know very little about. (I'm usually glued to the check in desks, boarding gates, arrival hall.) He then invited me to their fitness walk around Douala on Saturday, October 15^th 2016 to mark the beginning of activities for the International Day of the Air traffic controller on October 20^th. So they’ve also got their own day too! Okay, Touembou explained to me that, the purpose of their day and new website is to throw more light on their profession and share aviation opportunities, so that soceity will have greater awareness about them. Aviation is growing rapidly in Africa and more and more aviation workers will be needed in all sectors in the next couple of years but people aren't getting into it very much.

Key points: The control tower is that tall ice cream cone shaped part of an airfield from which air traffic is controlled and observed physically and by radar. Only well trained air traffic controllers (ATCs) control and observe air traffic at the control tower here at the Douala airport and generally around the world. However, the ATCs also receive technical support from other professionals like meteorologists who provide accurate weather forecasts and technicians of the electronic department. Have you ever landed at any airport at night and seen the runway all lit up in a line like glow, such that the darkness doesn’t impede the pilots from landing safely? Yes, that’s just part of the electronic department's job. The ATCs are all trained at an aviation school in Niger called ASECNA. The school also trains meteorologists and technicians of the electronic department. Schooling at ASECNA is quite an expensive affair, just like any other aviation training.

But due to the fact that aviation organisations around the world want to encourage talented young Africans to benefit from free training and a subsequent career in aviation, schools like ASECNA launch competitive examinations from time to time, where they choose the best candidates who travel to Niger and study for three years on a scholarship. The minimum educational background required to write the exam is two years of university experience, preferably with an empasis on Mathematics. Candidates are tested in Maths, Physics, English and French in the ASECNA competitive exam. Successful candidates then go on to study in Niger and are employed immediately upon graduation. Their exam dates are not fixed, so interested persons need some inside updates from an ATC working on the field. There's some good news because they just launched that much needed Africa's first ATC website to update the world about their activities. Check it out below, together with a pic of a few of the Douala ATCs and other aviation professionals, before our fitness walk around Douala some days ago.
  
www.newsaero.info

Meeting Ghanaian actor Majid Michel

I was working on an Asky Airlines flight the other day and guess who I met, Ghanaian actor, Majid! Aka Shaker.

Scenic views of Madagascar

The photos above are some scenic beach shots of Madagascar, the very beautiful archipelago nation situated off the southeast coast of Africa deep in the light blue Indian Ocean. It is certainly a hot spot tourist holiday destination for many visitors from around the world. The weather is warm and sunny all year round and their standard of living is not high. Though it is an affordable country, getting the best outdoor experience can be expensive! The roads are generally not in good shape, so transportation to some of the best tourist spots can be difficult. Antananarivo is the capital and largest city. The local currency is the Malagasy Ariary (MGA). (One US dollar is currently worth 2232 MGAs). Also, you don’t need to strain in order to obtain a visa from their embassy in your country before travelling there. All you need is just your onward and return flight ticket to Madagascar.

You can obtain a visa on arrival at the airport for a maximum stay of ninety days. The visa fee for a maximum visit of 30 days is 80.000 MGAs which is approximately 25 dollars. For a 60 day sojourn, you’ll pay 100.000 MGAs which is 32 dollars. To complete the whole 90 day tourist visa status allocated by immigration, your visa will cost you 140.000 MGAs (45 dollars). Vaccination against Yellow fever is required if arriving within six days after leaving or transiting countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Malaria prophylaxis is highly recommended because of a malaria risk there, with the highest threat being in the coastal regions. Want to try a christmas holiday trip to experience lemurs, baobabs, rainforest, desert, trekking and diving? Then you know better.       

Heathrow Airport Twitter Humour

@Tayo. The good news is a third terminal is going to be built, so hopefully there'll be no leaking roofs and buckets gathering water in that one!

Promotional fares on Ethiopian Airlines

Fly to all Ethiopian Airlines' destinations around the world, on the modern long haul widebody aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and enjoy the amazing promotional fares, mileage and baggage allowances until December 31st 2016. These include 64 kilograms for Economy class, that is, two checked-in bags of 32 kilograms each instead of 23 kilograms each and 96 kilograms for Business class, that is, three checked-in bags of 32 kilograms each instead of two checked-in bags of 32 kilograms each.

Also, travel from Douala and Yaounde to any ET destinations from November 1st to December 31st 2016 and enjoy bonus miles which are, 2500 miles per sector for all business class travels and 2000 miles per sector for all economy class travels.

On winning Ethiopian Airlines' blogging award and choosing an African nation as a holiday destination

You receive a message from Monique Yemeli of Fabafriq magazine that you write for, that you have won the Ethiopian Airlines Award for most consistent blogger. You are happy after waiting for so long for the announcement. Your Fabafriq boss Adeline Sede had told you all during the 70^th “birthday” hangout with ET that the prize is actually a two way ticket to any African country. So you head to the ET office in Bonanjo, the next Monday afternoon to meet the Area manager of ET Cameroon, Mr. Tesfaye Girma to talk about it. His assistant ushers you into boss’s ornate office. You greet him. Mr. Tesfaye looks up from his desk, peers at you through his reading glasses and responds to your greeting calmly.

He asks you what you want. You tell him you heard from Adeline Sede, that you won the ET best blogger award. He smiles and congratulates you. You say thank you. He asks you where you want to go. You halt and almost scratch your head. “Anywhere?” You ask, wondering. “Yes, just tell me where you want to go and we’ll issue your ticket.” You think about the 54 countries in Africa in an instant and you can’t decide. But you’ve always loved the Indian Ocean African island nations with their exquisite beaches and colourful waters, so you just instinctively say, “Seychelles?”

Mr. Tesfaye smiles again and asks, “You want to go to Seychelles?” “Yes”. He nods. “Seychelles is really nice and its visa free, so no problems trying to obtain a visa.” “Okay”. “But it’s a little expensive. So maybe you need to carry along your own food which you’ll eat. The food is quite different from the food here too.” Oops, when the country manager of ET, who is surely loaded, starts warning you that a country is expensive, maybe you need to think otherwise. “Do you have a family?” he asks. You think it’s a tricky question because he wants to know if you’ll travel with a “loved one(s)”.

Sure, you have a family that nurtured you. But you reason that, the word “family” means a wife and children along those aviation lines. You remember that ET had said, “the best blogger will win a ticket to an African country” and not “the best blogger and his family will win a…” You think of a witty answer to his question. “I’m not married but I have a girlfriend. No kids.” He tells you it’s best to travel the world when you’ve not had a family yet. And it’s not very cool when there is a wife and kids, and you take off, so now is the time to travel!

He asks if you have a passport. You tell him you have one and you even brought it. He laughs as if to say “this guy is serious about his travelling oh”. He photocopies your passport's biometric page and hands it back to you. You tell him you need to take a holiday and plan the trip. He tells you to take your time and choose a nation and travel dates. When you’re ready, they’ll issue your ticket. You tell him thanks and leave.

You remember that you had not discussed anything about accommodation with Mr. Tesfaye. Oops. You tell yourself you’ll ask him next time you’re there to get the ticket. You go to work and google up “top holiday destinations in Africa”. You see ocean options like your Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, Cape Verde and safari countries like Kenya, Namibia and Botswana. You discard the safari nations because you’re from a “forest country” and you’ve already visited the Kakum National Park in Ghana. You’ve seen lots of forests already. A lion or crocodile could even bite off your head in Botswana! No way. You relish the colourful pics of the Indian ocean nations, so you start checking immigration procedures from the Swissport Travel Information Manual (TIM).

Seychelles is visa free and you can obtain a visitor’s permit on arrival for a max stay of three months. But as you read the TIM further, you see a line that says you need to present 150 dollars a day for all the days you spend there to immigration, so 20 days equals 3000 dollars in cash, that's about 1.5 million francs. And it is just what you’ll declare to immigration, excluding food, accommodation, transportation –pricey boat rides among the different Seychellois islands of La Digue, Desroches, Praslin, Bird etc.

You shake your head no. You check other aforementioned island nations. and they seem pricey too. You express your worry to Adeline that your beloved Seychelles may be expensive. She just goes, “I’ve been there, it’s not a little expensive, it’s very expensive! Just one boat ride to 3 different islands cost 300 dollars! And the hotel bills are really high. Imagine a place where Prince William and Kate Middleton go to for holidays. Everybody there will hike up prices... But the place is really beautiful!" Your colleague Wasu, tells you its because it's so lovely, that's why it attracts so many people including really rich people and even celebrities.

She gives you a pep talk about going there as an eco-tourist and doing AIR BNP lodging. You look at her and just go, “Maybe I’ll only go there when I become a boss like you someday”. She laughs so hard. Next, she proposes beautiful Gambia. You shake your head no because you’ve read articles about its poor human rights record and that, it is the most difficult country in the world for journalists to work in and that, sometimes president Jammeh can be…weird! She proposes the archipelago of Zanzibar in Tanzania, saying it’s also really beautiful. You are already in refusal mode, so you also say no to that and you don't even know the reason why.

"Kenya? Great safari there. Botswana?” Hmmm, you're thinking about those lions eating you up all over again! Ok, you can easily travel to Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Zambia in the near future for writing stuff, literary festivals etc. “What about Ethiopia? Not just Addis. Kuriftu, Hawassa or another place?” You say, you've done two night stops in Addis, you don’t want to go there for this one again, somewhere completely new”. Simo Jandie proposes north Africa, Magrebian Sahara land. You say no because you don't like north Africa, although you know Tunisia is beautiful and prehistoric Egypt is legendary with its pyramids. Boss lady digresses to another discussion and you keep talking. You're still undecided.

You suddenly remember your dear cousin, Joseph Asong Anu who is a missionary and who’s studied and worked all over southern Africa. You ask his suggestion for an affordable beach country. He types back on Whatsapp, “Tanzania would be a good try. It is a regular destination for Nigerians, so I am sure Visa may not be a big deal. The touristic element there is simply awesome especially if you have a contact to show you around. Not to mention if you get a chance to hit Zanzibar…Life is evidently cheaper in Tanzania compared to several other countries in the region. Cape Town in South Africa could be considered but Visa could be an issue, plus in country expenses would obviously be higher.”

Okay, you'll grapple about Tanzania later. But South Africa! No! You recall how the lady at the SA high commission in Yaounde spoke to you harshly and abandoned you in 2014, when you wanted to apply for a South African transit visa, for only a two hour transit period in Jo'burg when you intended travelling to Mutare in Zimbabwe for a writers workshop. Mere transit visa! You imagine the procedure of getting a real SA visa this time and you shake your head no, once again.

On the contrary, Tanzania especially Zanzibar sounded like Aaliyah’s music to your ears after missionary Joe’s message. You wonder why you had rejected it when Adeline proposed it as you check the TIM again for more info. You read that you can obtain a visa on arrival for between 50-100 dollars. You google up Zanzibar pics online and they’re amazing. Persian empire feel, centuries old castles feel, diverse people feel, stunning beaches!

You tell your engineer friend who works for ET, Rahmet, the next day while you’re both working on the ramp and Rahmet informs you he’s been there. The visa cost him only 40 dollars. Oh! Cheap! You exclaim. He tells you the standard of living is like that of Cameroon. You nod. He tells you that it’s got so much iconic infrastructure and wonderful beaches. It sounds like what you’ve just read and seen online. You concur. And then you tell him, “My friend, I’ve finally made my choice. I’m going to Zanzibar!” “Oh, man, you will certainly enjoy it, congrats for your ET blogging award once again."