ALL EYES ARE NOW ON THE NEW CEO AND HIS DECISIONS ON HQ LOCATION AND FLEET RENEWAL
(Posted 08th September 2016)
After completing his first month as CEO of Fastjet are all eyes now focusing on the decisions Nico Bezuidenhout will take, as far as the location of the airline’s new headquarters is concerned.
Presently based at London Gatwick is speculation rife if it will be Dar es Salaam, where Fastjet initially started operations from, or perhaps Nico’s home country of South Africa, to which Fastjet flies from Dar es Salaam, Harare and Victoria Falls.
The other major question will be that of a possible fleet renewal after comments attributed to Nico that the fleet of A319’s may be too large for some markets and routes.
While the A319’s are readily available on the pre-owned aircraft market at often very attractive prices or lease payments, are these aircraft with up to 156 seats thought to be too large for a number of Fastjet’s routes and, due to operating conditions at several airports in Tanzania for instance, unsuitable to launch flights to such destinations.
Also of interest to the new CEO will be the August punctuality figure which on the airline’s webpage was given as 84 percent and which he no doubt will want to see rise into the 90 percent range again as was the case for some time in the past.
Already was one decision taken to begin charging a booking fee when using the airline’s sales offices or call centres in Tanzania of 11.000 Tanzania Shillings, effective since the 22nd of August, although bookings on the web continue to be free of any such charge.
Domestic destinations offered in Tanzania by Fastjet continue to be Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Zanzibar, served out of Dar es Salaam, while regionally it is Nairobi and Entebbe, the latter three times a week from Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro.
Flights into Southern Africa serve Johannesburg, Lilongwe, Lusaka and Harare and from the Zimbabwean capital also Victoria Falls and Johannesburg.
Watch this space for upcoming announcements of the key decisions now being considered by CEO Nico Bezuidenhout and the Board of the airline, as and when made available.
