FASTJET ANNOUNCES THE ADDITION OF A THIRD WEEKLY FLIGHT TO LUSAKA
(Posted 19th February 2014)
Less than three weeks into their new international route to Lusaka / Zambia has FastJet already announced the addition of a third frequency. The Tanzania based LCC, which also serves Johannesburg out of Dar es Salaam, presently flies every Thursday and Saturday to Lusaka and come 15th of April a Tuesday frequency will be added. Flights on this service can be booked through any of the CRS’ FastJet is present on with immediate effect.
Richard Bodin, COO of FastJet, confirmed the developments yesterday when he said in a media release: ‘We are thrilled with the response to the launch of our Dar es Salaam to Lusaka route. Our research suggested that this was going to be a successful route with high demand but initial passenger numbers and interest have exceeded expectations. We expect to add still more capacity on this route – our target is to operate daily’.
Richard Bodin went on to say that plans to launch FastJet Zambia are progressing as the airline is in ongoing talks with the Zambian government: ‘Additionally, our plans to establish a base in Zambia are progressing well. A company named "FastJet Zambia" is being incorporated and we have commenced the process of obtaining an Air Operator Certificate in Lusaka’. The arrival of FastJet in Zambia is seen as a potential game changer for Zambian aviation, which has seen national and private airlines falter in the past and will bring hope for cheaper fares on the domestic routes as well as regional routes out of Zambia to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and of course South Africa. One source from Livingstone in fact wrote: ‘Tourism this year is doing better in Zambia but when FastJet starts flights, there will be plenty of opportunities to bring more visitors at affordable fares to Zambia from the region. I hope our Zambia Tourism marketers are having an eye on that and will partner with FastJet to promote Zambia as a destination’.
Watch this space for regular and breaking news from the Eastern African aviation scene.
