Turkish Airlines announces its passenger and cargo traffic results for October, with the airline reaching 83.4% load factor.

On top of the strong base effect of the last year, the growth in the number of passengers, revenue per kilometer and load factor, is an important indicator of the continued growing interest in Turkey and Turkish Airlines in the last quarter of the year as well.

According to the October 2018 Traffic Results; The passenger growth trend continued in October, thus total number of passengers carried went up by 5% reaching 6.5 million passengers, and Load Factor went up to 83.4%. In October 2018, Total Load Factor improved by 2 points, while international Load Factor increased by 3 points to 83.2%, and domestic Load Factor reached to 85.1%.

International-to-international transfer passengers (transit passengers) also went up by approximately 7%, while the number of international passengers excluding international-to-international transfer passengers (transit passengers) went up by 8%.

In October, cargo/mail volume continued the double digit growth trend and increased by 24%, compared to the same period of 2017. Main contributors to the growth in cargo/mail volume, are Domestic Lines with 42% increase, Africa with 35% increase, N. America with 30% increase, and Europe with 24% increase. Africa, N. America, Europe and Far East also showed load factor growth of 7 points, 4 points, 3 points, and 3 points respectively.

According to the January-October 2018 Traffic Results; there was also an increase in demand and total number of passengers was 10% and 11%, respectively, over the same period of last year. Total number of passengers exceeded 64 million.

Total Load Factor improved by 3 points up to 82.2%, while international Load Factor increased by 3 points reaching 82% and domestic Load Factor went up by 2 points reaching 86%. Excluding international-to-international transfer passengers (transit passengers), the number of international passengers went up significantly by 13%. Cargo/mail carried during the ten months increased by 25% and exceeded 1 million tons.

Jumia, Nigeria’s number one online shopping destination has revealed that lower price point Asian smartphones remained the most searched items by Nigerians across desktop and on the Jumia mobile App one week after the launch of its Black Friday campaign.

Mrs Juliet Anammah, Chief Executive Officer, Jumia Nigeria, explained that the lower price point smartphones continue to drive demand and purchase.

“We are not surprised by these trends because, in the last 3 years, we have observed an interesting trajectory of our mobile phones category.

“In 2014, the average price of smartphones was US$216. It dropped to US$117 in 2016, and dipped further to US$100 in 2017,” Anammah stated.

Earlier in 2018, Jumia had predicted in a mobile report that by the end of the year, the average price of smartphones will dip a bit further considering the fact that there are new smartphone brands entering the market.

“Asian mobile brands continue to build on their Africa-specific strategy by introducing lower price points’ smartphones adapted to the profiles of African users,” she added.

It would be recalled that Olubayo Adekanmbi, Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, predicted at the launch of the Jumia mobile report earlier in the year that the preponderance of low-cost smartphones and the drive towards aspirational self-enhancement, coupled with exciting mobile operator-led propositions will continue to drive smartphone penetration, with many first-timers finding a compelling reason to pick up low-priced smartphones or second-hand smartphones.

She added that on the mobile App, some of the most searched smartphone brands in chronological order includes Infinix hot 6, Tecno, iPhone, Gionee, and Samsung, while on desktop, in chronological order included: iPhone, iPhone 6, Gionee, iPhone X, Itel, Tecno, Infinix, iPhone 7, Infinix Note 4, and Samsung.

Other most searched items across desktop and the Jumia mobile App included refrigerators, washing machines, human hair, shoes, bags, sewing machines, Indomie, generators, PS4, blenders, gas cookers, wristwatches, rice, and rechargeable phones.

Arik Air has announced the launch of a new Mobile App.

A statement from the management said the new app is “Free to download on Google Play Store and IOS App Store,” adding that the App presents “consumers with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.”

The statement read, “The new mobile App makes booking, boarding, accessing products and services by Arik Air easy and convenient.

“Personalized to the customer, the app gives passengers instant access to the information they need, when they need it all the time.

“This user-friendly service allows the booking of tickets up to three hours before flight departure, and can accommodate any last minute travel plans.

“The features of the mobile app include: Book and pay for a flight; Manage your booking; Online check in; Access to frequent flyer program; Flight status and many other useful features.”