AIR TANZANIA RETURNS TO MWANZA
(Posted 16th August 2015)
Aviation industry observers have adopted a wait and see stand after Air Tanzania announced that they have resumed twice daily services from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, Tanzania’s second largest city located on the shores of Lake Victoria. The airline’s Acting CEO Mr. Johnson Mfinanga had made the declaration yesterday also confirming that a 50 seat all economy Bombardier CRJ200 will be used on the route.
Flights by Air Tanzania in recent years have, with respect, been more than a little erratic, often caused by the lack of aircraft when their owned Bombardier Q300 undergoes maintenance. ATCL presently operates flights to the Comoros eight times a week and also flies to Mtwara and Kigoma.
Earlier announcements by the company’s management about the acquisition of additional jets through leasing arrangements have also not materialized as yet as a result of which passengers have flocked to Fastjet which has just announced a significant upping of services on the route from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza (five times a day) and Kilimanjaro (four times a day) and last month attained a 95 percent on time departure record, important for travelers on a tight schedule.
Meanwhile has Tanzania’s second largest airline in terms of passenger numbers, Precision Air, maintained its recovery course, operating domestic routes with their fleet of ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft, giving them a competitive advantage into secondary airports and aerodromes which are not equipped for jet operations due to short runways and lack of handling equipment.
