Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Delta Set to Launch Direct Atlanta-Monrovia Flights Sept 4th

Delta Set to Launch Direct Atlanta-Monrovia Flights Sept 4th
Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10939&z=3

Delta Set to Launch Direct Atlanta-Monrovia Flights Sept 4th

05/25/2010 - Delta Airlines Press Release

Delta Air Lines Tuesday announced new service between Atlanta and Monrovia, Liberia, expanding the airline’s position as the leading U.S. carrier operating flights to Africa.

The announcement comes on the eve of a Wednesday meeting between President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security to give update on the progress of clearing Liberia for Delta Airlines Direct service to Monrovia which is set to begin in September.

The new service, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 4, will connect Delta’s hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Roberts International Airport in Monrovia with a stop in Accra, Ghana. The flight will be operated on 215-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, equipped with 34 BusinessElite seats and 181 seats in Economy.

Delta has received approval from the Liberian Civil Aviation Authority, and preliminary approval from the U.S. government, to sell seats for the new flight for the planned launch in September. Final U.S. government approvals are expected before the flight begins.

“As the No. 1 U.S. carrier serving Africa, Delta remains committed to expanding our presence into fast-growing African markets,” said Perry Cantarutti, Delta’s senior vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Our new service between our Atlanta hub and Monrovia will provide convenient connections between Liberia and cities across the United States.”

Delta had previously intended to begin service to Monrovia in June 2009, but was delayed while Roberts International Airport implemented measures to ensure its compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Delta has worked closely with the United States and Liberian governments while the airport facilities in Monrovia were properly equipped and prepared for the new service.

"The government is enthusiastic about the prospect of Delta providing a direct flight between Monrovia and the United States, which would be the first such service in many years,” said Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. “The government is working earnestly to ensure that all the necessary requirements are met so that the flights will commence as scheduled."

Added U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security: “I have been pleased to work with Delta and the Office of Global Strategies at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensure that security continues to be a priority on all international aviation partnerships. As Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I support TSA's international aviation security programs. Facilitating commerce without compromising security remains a reasonable approach. Today, we are one step closer to offering direct service flights from the United States to Liberia – strengthening our partnership with Africa.”

Delta, which has operated in Africa since 2006, has announced its intention to serve up to 10 African destinations from the United States, with aircraft ready to begin service pending U.S. and foreign government approvals.

Delta’s service between Atlanta and Monrovia via Accra will operate once weekly as follows:

Flight

Departs

Arrives

Effective

Frequency

134

Atlanta at 7 p.m.

Monrovia at 2:25 p.m. (next day)

Sept. 4, 2010

Once weekly

135

Monrovia at 5:30 p.m.

Atlanta at 5:30 a.m. (next day)

Sept. 5, 2010

Once weekly

Bob Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, which owns significant development projects in Liberia, said: “A few years ago while attending the Clinton Global Initiative and after hearing President Sirleaf appeal to the American private sector for support, I made a commitment to mobilize $30 million for Liberia. In June 2009, we opened the RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas, a 78-room villa style hotel. I applaud Delta Air Lines for making the commitment to provide direct air service to Liberia which will provide economic growth opportunities to Liberia from a variety of business sectors around the world.”

Delta also is preparing to begin new year-round service between Atlanta and Accra. This service, announced in 2009, will begin on June 1 with three weekly flights, expanding to four weekly flights on June 14, and complement existing five-times weekly service between New York-JFK and Accra.

On June 2, Delta will also begin nonstop seasonal service between New York-JFK and Abjua, Nigeria, and in June and July will add two additional weekly nonstop flights between Atlanta and Johannesburg to support travel to and from the 2010 World Cup.

This summer, Delta will operate flights to seven African destinations. In addition to Monrovia, Delta will offer service to Accra, Ghana; Abuja, Nigeria; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Lagos, Nigeria. Delta also intends to serve Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Nairobi, Kenya; and Luanda, Angola once government approvals are received.

As the first carrier serving Africa nonstop from the United States, Delta has grown from 22 weekly departures to and from Africa in July 2007 to nearly 80 planned for July 2010, saving customers a significant amount of time on flights. Customers traveling between Atlanta and Johannesburg, for example, save an average of six hours each direction compared with connecting in Europe.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With its unsurpassed global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 367 destinations in 66 countries on six continents. Delta employs more than 70,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of nearly 800 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France KLM. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 16,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truthBernard Gbayee Goah

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