FASTJET OUTPERFORMS JANUARY 2014 FIGURES BY A WIDE MARGIN
(Posted 10th February 2015)
With traffic, year on year, up by 78 percent in January 2015 and the loadfactor for January 2015 also up by 9 percent, can Fastjet be pleased, considering that January is normally a month of lower activity for many of the airlines in the region.
This was also apparently Ed Winter’s sentiment, when the CEO in his monthly notification to the London Stock Exchange – Fastjet PLC is a publicly quote company and subject to disclosure rules – yesterday morning said: ‘January is traditionally the month of the year when airlines see the lowest consumer demand. We are therefore very pleased with our trading figures as we build upon our market leading position in Tanzania. We have clearly demonstrated that our low-cost model is stimulating the market and encouraging more and more people to use our reliable and affordable flights rather than road transport’.
Based on a year-on-year comparison is the 78% increase in passengers carried in January substantially ahead of the 53% increase in number of seats flown, a key factor for the strong rise in load factor.
Fastjet also launched its spring schedule last week, at last featuring the commencement of a new domestic route which will now connect Kilimanjaro and Mwanza, following public demand that the two destinations be connected directly rather than through Dar es Salaam.
| Month ending | January 2015 | January 2014 | Change |
| Passengers Note 1 | 55,695 | 31,258 | 78% |
| Load Factor Note 2 | 69% | 60% | +9pp |
| Rolling 12 months ending | January 2015 | January 2014 | Change |
| Passengers Note 1 | 621,656 | 370,835 | 68% |
Notes:
1. "Passengers"are sold seats flown, excluding infants. Fastjet bookings are generally non-refundable.
2. "Load Factor"is the number of ‘passengers" as a percentage of the number of available seats flown.
3. "on time"– arrival earlier than or within 15 minutes of schedule
What continues to cause consternation though among the Tanzanian public is the continued delay in having landing rights approved for Fastjet by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for the Dar es Salaam to Nairobi route. Sentiments shared with this correspondent from a number of regular and one off sources from Tanzania indicate that patience is indeed running low, and the most recent spat between Kenya’s and Tanzania’s tourism ministries over access of Tanzanian registered tour vehicles to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, reported here with regular updates, has only further inflamed an already volatile situation. ‘Fastjet is properly registered in Tanzania. The airline meets the nationality requirements as demanded by regulations. 51 percent of the shares of Fastjet Tanzania are owned and held by Tanzanians. It is now completely evident that the Kenyans just want to keep Fastjet out of their skies because they fear competition. They accuse us over issues of access of tour vehicles to our parks and when it comes to aviation they do the same thing and think it is normal. Well it is not normal. They insulted us in Bali at ICAN last year and keep insulting us. We will now push for punitive measures against their airlines. How does the idea of regular ramp checks sound to them?’ let one of them fly, showing how deep rooted the differences between the two East African Community partners already are. Another source was equally swift to add: ‘I have seen so many comments that our Kenyan brothers envy our successes. They almost cry that Zanzibar has nonstop flights from South Africa and Mombasa does not. They almost cry about South Africans flocking to our beaches now because they need no Visa to come to Tanzania. The Kenyans made their own problems when last year they almost killed that market with stupid Visa requirements. You honestly think South Africans living in Cape Town or Durban fly to Pretoria to apply for a Visa in person and then repeat the process two weeks later to pick up the Visa before they are allowed to spend their money in Mombasa? Of course there is competition but the way our brothers across the border are conducting themselves, they have in many cases only themselves to blame’.
Fastjet’s direct application for an Air Service License, the pre-cursor to set up an airline in Kenya, have also seen several setbacks as a result of Kenyan airlines vehemently objecting to the setting up of a low cost airline, leading to further speculation that the aviation powers that be in Kenya have a stranglehold on their regulators, in the process trampling their government’s proclamation that Kenya welcomes foreign investment in to the dust.
Be sure you watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news from the Eastern African region and beyond to learn when this already volatile situation is finally going to erupt in everyone’s face.
