Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam) is set to enter the Nigerian market following the signing of an agreement with Red 1 Xpress (Lagos). The memorandum of understanding will see the creation of ‘Fastjet Nigeria’, which will be funded by Red 1 (a start-up that had previously failed to get off the ground by itself). fastjet will have a minority shareholding in the new venture. Meanwhile, the airline's planned South African venture launch with Federal Air (7V, Durban Virginia) has been indefinitely postponed following the announcement that the airline's Tanzanian subsidiary has been granted rights to serve Dar-es-Salaam to Kigali, Lusaka and most lucratively of all, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo. fastjet says it will now focus its resources on developing its regional footprint using financing from a new three year equity financing agreement for USD23.52million signed with Darwin, a subsidiary of Henderson Global Investors Volantis Capital.

Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam) chairman, David Lenigas, has resigned from the airline with immediate effect and has been replaced by CEO Ed Winter in the interim while a replacement is sought. His resignation represents a shift in the corporate paradigm at fastjet PLC whose parent, Lonrho, were bought out by Swiss investment group, FS Africa, for GBP175million in May. fastjet's shareprice continued its downward trend trading at 0.925p.

Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam) has reportedly resolved its outstanding issues with Fly540 (5H, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) paving the way for the airline to begin its much sought after Kenyan operation. However, the deal now pours cold water on any prospect of a deal with JetLink Express (J0, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta), who have now announced a proposal to creditors in which a 51% tranche would be shared between the equity investor, the creditors and a debt-management agency. In return, USD4.23million of Jetlink's debt would be expunged with the rest (USD2.25million) converted into shares, which it would buy back after five years. Should creditors come on board the plan, Jetlink would see finance come from CFC Stanbic Bank which would therefore allow it to resume flights.

Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam) has announced it will reduce its current 90% equity shareholding in Fly540 Tanzania (FTZ, Dar-es-Salaam) and is in initial discussions with a number of Tanzanian investors. The move comes after the fledgling LCC announced USD34.9million in losses for its first year of operations. fastjet has further stated that its other subsidiaries, Fly540 Angola (F5, Luanda), Fly540 Ghana (5G, Accra) and Kenya's Fly540 (5H, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) had not performed to its expectations and blamed losses incurred on a lack of international traffic rights, restrictive government bureaucracy and exchange controls as well as ongoing legal disputes over contracts. As a result, fastjet’s auditors have issued a warning about the airline's ability to continue trading, though the company remains positive about its future, hedging its bets on a nascent South African operation due to commence flights in June, and operated in conjunction with Federal Air (7V, Durban Virginia).

SkyWise (SWZ, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) are planning to launch operations from August 1, ch-aviation can exclusively report. The carrier, founded by various ex-1time airline (T6, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) board members, is eyeing a five times daily Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Cape Town service to be plied with two B737-300s; one based in each city. According to CEO, Rodney James, the airline plans to exploit the "huge demand" in the South African market by bringing in "much needed competition". Fellow débutant, Fastjet (FN, Dar-es-Salaam), are also due to enter the South African market in the next few weeks with a tentative launch date set for July 1.