FASTJET MAKES IT THREE INAUGURAL FLIGHTS IN TWO DAYS
(Posted 12th January 2016)
Yesterday did Fastjet Tanzania launch two new services, from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi and from Kilimanjaro to Nairobi amid much fanfare and media attention, that real low cost flights were finally coming to Kenya.
Today will the airline, which aims to become the first Pan-African LCC, launch yet another inaugural service, when the daily Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam flights are extended to the holiday island of Zanzibar.
Initially directed at the South African market, where the daily flights from Johannesburg will as of today, 12th of January 2016, continue directly to Zanzibar, has the service also triggered keen interest within Tanzania and across the other destinations Fastjet presently serves, even though only passengers from South Africa can currently travel on a through ticket while those for instance from Harare, Lusaka or Entebbe will require two tickets and check in afresh in Dar es Salaam for Zanzibar after clearing immigration and customs.
The new schedule of Fastjet confirms a total of 12 flights a week from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, seven of which will be a continuation of the flight from Johannesburg, leaving at 19.10 hrs from Dar as FN202 and arriving at 19.40 hrs, the shortest flight in the FN network. The additional five services, operating as FN951, will leave Dar at 08.30 hrs and operate for now every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The return flight at 09.30 hrs, FN 201, then connects seamlessly to the onward service to Johannesburg with customs and immigration cleared in Zanzibar. The daily evening return flights from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam are coded FN 952 and will also operate on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
A source close to Fastjet confirmed that the launch of flights to Zanzibar was a result of a market survey in South Africa where the Spice Island is in great demand with South African LCC Mango operating twice a week flights nonstop from Johannesburg. ‘The previous Zanzibar flights were not linked to any other inbound or outbound services and that posed a big challenge for Fastjet at the time. It is only the link with the flights from and to South Africa which has seen Zanzibar make a comeback. South Africans need no Visa to enter Tanzania, just like Tanzanians under a bilateral agreement need no Visa to enter South Africa. This will give Zanzibar a big boost in visitor numbers because people in South Africa have not forgotten the tit for tat the Kenyan government inflicted on them last year. [In a tug of war between the
two immigration departments did Kenya at one stage demand South Africans obtain
Visa, in person, at the High Commission in Pretoria with a processing period of
up to two weeks. This led to a complete collapse of South African visitor numbers
to Kenya and in particular the Kenyan beaches at the time, with traffic
diverting to Zanzibar in the process] Now with 12 flights a week not only South African travelers can reach Zanzibar on direct flights but also can Tanzanians and others use Fastjet to fly to the island at extremely low fares’.
A red carpet and water cannon welcome will be assured when Fastjet touches down at 09.00 hrs this morning from the maiden flight out of Dar es Salaam and a similar welcome will await the first flight from Johannesburg due to land at 19.40 hrs in the evening.
Hoteliers and DMC representatives, like Chris Modigell of Blue Bay Resorts and Doris Vielgut of ZanTours, expressed their delight over the new flight connections linking the important South African market with Zanzibar, a destination which has become increasingly popular with South Africans, especially during their winter months, providing an alternative to other Indian Ocean island destinations like Mauritius.
Happy Landings it is for Fastjet passengers and crews as destination eleven is added out of Dar es Salaam with Zanzibar joining a growing network.
