Air Tanzania is all set for international route expansion with prospective destinations like Ghana's capital Accra, Lilongwe in neighboring Malawi, the South Sudanese capital of Juba, and the economic powerhouse of Lagos, Nigeria, as well as the international hubs of London and Dubai.
The airline currently has a small fleet of 12 aircraft comprising of one Dash 8-Q300, five Dash8-Q400, four Airbus a 220-300 and two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners but hopes to commence service to the new destinations with new aircraft orders to be delivered this year.
THE Air Tanzania Company limited (ATCL) Managing Director, Ladislaus Matindi said: “The national carrier is also looking forward to reintroducing routes to Johannesburg in South Africa and increasing flights to Kinshasa in DRC. There is an increase in the number of passengers to a monthly average of 90,000 from 4,000 in 2016. Also, the volume of cargo that is being airlifted has increased to a monthly average of 300 tonnes from 5 tonnes that were recorded in 2016.”
ATCL has also signed strategic partnerships with other global airlines such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airline, Oman Air and Air India. The airline has increased its domestic destinations to 15 from just three in 2016 while the number of international destinations is 11 from just one in 2016.
The company’s market share as of today is 57% from 2.4% in 2016.
The airline has its own maintenance unit that services all the aircraft thus saving the Exchequer $16640.
By the end 2023, ATCL is expecting to add to its fleet one Dash8-Q400, two Boeing 737 Max -9, one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and one Boeing 767 Freighter.