With ambitious plans to create Africa’s first pan-continental airline, fastjet will bring
international standards of safety, quality, security and reliability.

Low-cost is quite simply the avoidance of costly frills, offering customers the lowest possible
fares in addition to pay-as-you travel extras. This affords passengers the flexibility to pay for
additional services such as a bag or refreshment rather than having to pay for it regardless
whether you want it or not.

Importantly fastjet low-cost definitely does not mean low quality. Despite the many challenges
that exist outside our control we will be open, honest, transparent and communicative to
ensure that your travel arrangements remain with the least amount of interruption.

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Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet, is set to launch a low-cost airline in Africa this year after taking a 5% stake in a new venture FASTJET PLC.

The easyGroup tycoon, who is embroiled in a long-running boardroom battle with easyJet, is backing a carrier that will operate under his Fastjet airline and be run by former easyJet executives.

Fastjet will operate from Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola. The ambition is to carry more than 12 million passengers a year, from the 500,000 at present, by cashing in on demand for regional travel from a burgeoning African middle-class.

Haji-Ioannou said the move would help bring low-cost air travel to more Africans. "This is another small but significant step in bringing the dream of low-cost air travel to millions of people in Africa – the aviation industry's last frontier. Past experience shows that by halving fares, a successful low-cost carrier can encourage those people, who have never previously travelled by air, to fly."

Article in Huffington post today

By Charlie Thomas

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/29/sir-stelios-fastjet-successfully-launches-first-flight_n_2209924.html

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's Fastjet - the low-cost African Airline - has successfully completed its first two commercial flights, launching the new airline on schedule.The first Fastjet A319 left Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere airport at 6 am Central Africa Time at almost full capacity with more than half the passengers on board paying USD$20 (excluding taxes and charges) for their seat.A second A319 carrying more customers on the airline’s second route from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania set off later the same morning.The flights mark the culmination of more than a year's worth of planning for Sir Stelios's team; FastJet recently raided European low-cost rivals Ryanair, EasyJet and African airline Air Uganda to expand its executive team with Rob Bishton joining as operations director from EasyJet, Kyle Haywood, former chief executive of Air Uganda, joining as general manager of Africa, and former Ryanair executive Harun Cordan assuming the role of group chief pilot and head of flight operations.

Chief commercial officer Richard Bodin commented: "Today's flights to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza mark the start of a new, revolutionary, smart way to travel for African people, and our first steps towards becoming a low cost, reliable pan-African airline."Fastjet is said to be happy with the sales of tickets since it launched them two weeks ago, with flights currently booked into February 2013 already.

Earlier in the week, the launch of Fastjet was celebrated at an industry event at Julius Nyerere airport, during which the deputy minister of transport for Tanzania Charles Tizeba said: "The government recognises the need for the low cost air operations and its immense contribution to the development of the air transport industry in the country and the overall development of our economy."Sir Stelios’s easyGroup Holdings owns 5% of FastJet and has the option to acquire another 10% at a price of 5.2p per share until 2 August 2014. Sir Stelios is also a director of the airline.

Airbus forecasts that total passenger traffic in Africa will grow at an average yearly rate of 5.7% between 2010 and 2030, well above the 4.8% world average growth rate.It also expects Africa to deliver more than 1,100 new passenger aircraft and 4% of world deliveries in the next 20 years to satisfy growing demand.

RNS:

Fastjet takes off, achieving a 78% load factor on first day

fastjet, Africa's first low-cost airline, commenced commercial flight operations yesterday, with its first aircraft flying passengers from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, and Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Eight sectors were flown, carrying more than 900 paying passengers and achieving an average booked load factor of 78%. Three of the eight sectors flown exceeded a load factor of 90%.

Future demand for seats on these two initial routes is currently far outstripping supply. Additional flights to these destinations are already being considered, and the Company also intends to expand its route network regionally over the coming weeks as the fleet grows to three Airbus A319s.

Commenting on the success of the first day, fastjet Chief Executive Ed Winter said:

"fastjet is delighted to see how the people of Tanzania are embracing the Low Cost Carrier model. Yesterday was a huge success and a great way to start operations. We are pleased to see reservations and bookings continuing to grow. The demand for this type of air travel has far exceeded the Company's expectations. Yesterday's passengers ranged from business people through to many first time flyers who were using fastjet as an economic alternative to conventional bus transport. Clearly, as predicted, our low cost model is stimulating a whole new market of people to fly."

Dont know if anyone seen this on proactive yesterday ? they think fastjet will have
a very good 12 months ahead

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/50949/update-fastjet-destined-for-profit-in-2013-broker-speculates-50949.html

jackson55, yes it was spotted here yesterday but a good read !

I have had three buys here this week and all shown as sells,i think this is being
carefully held by the mm,s while someone being loaded.Lots of delayed large
buys popping up since monday.

jackson55,the article in proactive investors looks rather positive to me


A new era of low cost travel dawned in Africa as Fastjet’s (LON:FAST) inaugural flight took off from left Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere airport earlier today.

The airbus A319, bound for Mwanza in Tanzania, was almost full to capacity, with over half the passengers paying fares of US$20 a head before taxes and charges.

The maiden flight marks the official start of Fastjet's commercial operations in Africa. A second A319, bound for Kilimanjaro, set off later the same morning.

Fastjet’s chief commercial officer, Richard Bodin, said: "Today's flights to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza mark the start of a new, revolutionary, smart way to travel for African people, and our first steps towards becoming a low cost, reliable pan-African airline."

Ticket sales for flights on Fastjet's first two routes have been very strong since they started just over two weeks ago. Seats are being secured well in advance by passengers with bookings into February 2013, the company reported.

Broker Daniel Stewart says that the airline has left it a bit late to show a profit for the current year, but it could be quids in next year.

"If the operator hits its target of having more than 10 A319s in operation in 2013 and is able to achieve a load factor rate of between 70% - 75% we expect the business should show a healthy profit for 2013 which would imply the stock is currently trading on an attractive multiple in our view," Daniel Stewart analyst Michael Campbell said.

An early move into profit would be great news for Lonrho (LON:LONR), which owns around two-thirds of Fastjet, Campbell notes.Daniel Stewart has a 'buy' rating on Lonrho, with a 20p price target.

Been a few articles in last few days stating that fastjet will be adding more routes
shortly,could be some announcements this week.

darshini, yes i have seen some stuff on this too and found this over weekend too

"FastJet, which began flying on Tuesday, plans to extend services from Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda next month, and Kenya by the first quarter, as part of a push to become Africa’s first pan-continental discount airline.

"The paperwork is ongoing and we hope to start flying from Entebbe before Christmas," FastJet CEO Ed Winter said in an interview on an inaugural flight over Dar es Salaam. "We might begin services from Nairobi in February or March," he said.

FastJet is also targeting flights to Kigali in Rwanda and Juba in South Sudan in the first six months, Mr Winter said.

The London-based carrier will operate twice daily from Dar es Salaam to the tourist hub of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania and Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria starting on Thursday. FastJet also plans to add bases in Ghana and Angola and to fly to Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 bookings had been taken daily since tickets went on sale two weeks ago, Mr Winter said aboard the company’s first Airbus SAS A319 single-aisle aircraft. He said demand was "overwhelming".

FastJet’s second leased A319 should arrive in Dar es Salaam today, and the third next week, with the fleet likely to be expanded to as many as 15 aircraft by the end of next year. Airbus vice-president for African sales Hadi Akoum said in an interview in Dar es Salaam that FastJet — backed by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of the UK’s biggest discount airline, easyJet — has plans for a fleet of 40 aircraft.

Tanzanian Deputy Transport Minister Charles Tizeba said FastJet’s presence would aid plans to transform Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere Airport into a regional hub, while a new terminal and runway extension were planned at Mwanza."

Some interesting news last few days,possible deal with emirates coming and fastjet
in discussions to take over 1time in south africa.Start of a big airline here IMO

Some large volume once again as is rising. Breaking previous highs after the last retracement

Sovereign Investor tips Fastjet ( FJET )

'Inexpensive Play on African Growth'

When people progress from subsistence living to consumerism, investment profits explode. That’s because it’s not just a single person here or there who has a few extra dollars to spend … it’s tens of millions of people with extra dollars to spend. And they’re all spending on the same things: better food, better housing, better education for their kids, and a host of consumer items ranging from TVs and refrigerators to cars, cellphones and vacations.

While Western investors don’t see this, numerous Western companies do. They’re rushing in to grab their piece of the burgeoning African consumer market … and you would be wise to the do the same.

EasyJet is the latest example of a Western company that sees the huge potential in Africa. The company built its name as a leader among Europe’s low-cost air carriers, and today shuttles some 55 million passengers all around the Continent every year.

Now its brand of low-cost travel is invading Africa. The company’s founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has helped launch FastJet, an easyJet knock-off that begins its life in Tanzania, and aims to spread across East Africa and then into Ghana and other markets where a consumer class is quickly emerging. The company recently agreed to buy a South African low-cost airline out of liquidation, giving the company additional routes.

The low-cost model promises to revolutionize Africa the way cellphones did. Planes will be a leapfrogging technology in that the continent’s roads are often undrivable and rail infrastructure is rudimentary at best – assuming it even exists.

As FastJet expands, economies will ramp up at even faster-than-expected growth rates. Businessmen in Dar es Salaam along Tanzania’s east coast, for instance, will be able to get to Mwanza in the north in just 90 minutes and for as little as $125 roundtrip. Prior to FastJet, the trip was roughly 15 hours one way, on a bus, across questionable roads.

Linking the two cities with low-cost air service means businessmen can fly back and forth in a single day. Economic activity will pick up, which begets increasing prosperity for locals, which begets a larger and larger consumer class … which ultimately means profits for investors who understand the trend that FastJet is exploiting.

An Inexpensive Play on African Growth … Through London

America has had its day in the sun. Before that, Europe did. Asia is still basking in the early glow of sunrise … and in Africa, dawn’s faintest rays are only now coloring the still-dark horizon.

But early investors here will make very large sums of money – the kind of money you bequeath to heirs through your estate. The path will certainly be bumpy at times, but when you follow investors like Sir Stelios and his low-cost airline model, you are following in the footsteps of some of the smartest money around.

This is money that understands the changes that are reshaping a continent that most Westerners still associate with Sally Struthers and her incessant pleas to wipe out famine. They think of political corruption, kleptocracies, genocides and war. What they miss out on is that a lot of that has died away, and in its place are emerging more-stable governments, capitalist economies, new stock markets, and a rash of companies that are serving the growing middle class.

For investors who have the patience and can accept the inherent risks, FastJet is publicly traded in London, under the symbol FJET. The stock currently trades at about £0.038 (US$0.06), and it’s a long-term, speculative buy.

If the company hits its 2013 mark of operating 10 to 15 Airbus A319s (the workhorse, 737 of the Airbus fleet), if it can manage to fill between 70% and 75% of its aircraft, and if it inks a partnership with Dubai’s fast-growing Emirates Airline that wants to expand into Kenya and other parts of Africa, then FastJet will prove to be a fantastic way for investors to play consumer growth in Africa.

Looks interesting.
New era in Africa with lots of money being spent around.

Share price is going places again today, after the late mark down on Friday, most likely the MMs play the usual game.... trying to shake a few nervy holders to square their book but with no much success, so this morning mark up again. from the 4.15p close to 4.225p, price before the games.

BREAKOUT

And that was it a SPIKE to 4.475p, looks like a record volume is on the cards today, already over 21M on 2 hours of trading

up to 4.675p now as volume has reached 25m on 3 hours of trading

risky! lol

I have reached the conclution that as many over here, you have no idea of shares or business or strategies

not sure how you gleaned so much from one line but heyho - i know africa very well that is how i know there is very high risk apart from far from world class business and political scene out there - sensible peeps will cash in now - wait for the drop and buy back if they want to continue this high risk play - at least they will have more shares for their buck if this ever lives to potential being hyped for it - at keast there is no corruption in africa LOL!

are you a woman?

there is risk in India nowdays say the news, but people goes there.

there is risk in crossing the road, but many do every day.

in order to make money one have to research and take risk some times, not seating by the PC and say nonesence.

What are you doing here if you do not want to take risk?

The stock market is a risky business, we all know ( except you ), but one can get better return than just buy for the dividend or in a deposit account.

it seems you bore and just postting, the "facebook" maybe is much better for you

I think the reward by far overweights the risk. Fjet cleared the floating price which is a very good sign.

I think the risk for this company is little given the experience of the management and that little, if any, competition. The population is young ....etc.