Regional airlines scramble for Tanzania’s airspace

As competition over the Tanzanian airspace between regional and local airlines takes a tough going, Zambian registered Proflight had expressed its position of no worry in its Lusaka to Dar es Salaam route after the United Kingdom registered FastJet, announced its plans to take over this route.

Proflight Zambia said Friday that it will compete over the lucrative Lusaka to Dar es Salaam route though Fast Jet had set out a plan to capture the route through its cheaper flights.

Without more details, Proflight Zambia said it has welcomed news of a planned new air service from Dar-es-Salaam to Lusaka by Tanzania-based no-frills airline Fastjet.

FastJet which operates domestic flights in Tanzania with cheaper airfares more than ordinary country buses, had changed the mindsets of most travelers in Tanzania, taking this airline as a remedy to air transport in this country, though aviation experts said it is a short-lived scenario.

While the two airlines will both fly the same route, Proflight said its services offer a different market with high-quality service to business travelers on its three-times-a-week service from Lusaka to Dar-es-Salaam, as well as a boutique leisure service through to the Indian beach tourist island of Zanzibar.

The new service from Tanzania domestic operator, Fastjet, will bring additional traffic in and out of Zambia, helping to feed Proflight Zambia’s domestic network, Proflight Zambia said.

“The Fastjet business model is very different from the Proflight model and we feel there is demand for the affordable prices that a low-cost carrier such as Fastjet can offer,” said Proflight Zambia Director of Government and Industry Affairs Captain Philip Lemba.

Proflight Zambia, which launched its service to Dar in October last year, further said will continue to offer a fully inclusive service to business travelers, and with its interline agreement with Precisionair, Tanzania’s leading airline, with special fares to Zanzibar, Tanzania’s northern tourist city of Arusha and other destinations in Tanzania.

“Competition in any industry is good as it forces standards to be kept high in products and services. We respect FastJet’s move to provide a
cheap service for budget travelers, and their affordable fares should be good news for the Zambian travelling public,” said Capt. Lemba.

Proflight’s fares include airport taxes and are fully inclusive of the booking service, a free baggage allowance of 23kgs checked baggage and five kilos hand baggage, snacks and refreshments on board, and the airline’s popular Mbasela frequent flier program.

Proflight also offers a much-needed service for unaccompanied minors as well as child discounts. The airline operates its 29-seater Jetstream 41 aircraft on the Lusaka to Dar es Salaam route, enabling fast turnarounds, disembarkation and immigration procedures onarrival.

“Our pledge to our customers is to continue offering a high level of service with safety, reliability, efficiency and friendly service as our guiding values. The service we offer allows for ease of booking using a number of distribution channels and interline partners as well as Airtel money, and a comprehensive website,” added Capt. Lemba.

Established in 1991 and Zambia’s only scheduled airline, Proflight operates domestic routes include, Livingstone, Mfuwe, Lower Zambezi, Ndola, Solwezi, Chipata, Mansa, Kasama and Mongu. Its regional routes are Lilongwe in Malawi and Dar es Salaam.

FastJet had said this week that was expected to launch flights into Lusaka, Zambia next month. The cheap airline’s Manager for Africa, Kyle Haywood said the planned flights to Lusaka would boost the growing trade between Tanzania and Zambia.

SOURCE;By Apolinary Tairo, eTN Tanzania