Air Tanzania Chief Executive Officer, Paul Chizi

Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) plans to increase domestic and regional routes in the next six months, the airline’s Acting Managing Director, Mr Paul Chizi, said in Dar es Salaam recently.

“We are doing very well since we resumed flights after registering impressive performance, particularly during the last three months,” Mr Chizi said and expressed optimism on the airline’s future prospects. Mr Chizi said that the airline is currently operating on a single Dash-8 aircraft, flying everyday on the Dar es Salaam – Kigoma – Tabora – Dar es Salaam route.

He said within the next six months the airline’s fleet is expected to grow to three aircrafts.  “Another 50-seater Dash8-Q300 and a Boeing jet with at least 100 seats are expected to be added during the period.

After the arrival of the two aircraft you will see us in many domestic, regional and international destinations,” Mr Chizi said. He listed Dar es Salaam – Kilimanjaro – Mwanza – Dar es Salaam; Dar es Salaam – Mtwara – Dar es Salaam; Dar es Salaam – Arusha – Zanzibar; Dar es Salaam – Lusaka – Harare – Dar es Salaam; Dar es Salaam – Johannesburg – Dar es Salaam; Dar es Salaam – Nairobi – Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam – Hahaya (the Comores) – Dar es Salaam among the priorities.

Mr Chizi said other destinations the airline has lined up for the future include Muscat, Dubai and Mumbai. He said the firm has conducted a thorough market research to establish public response and loyalty of the clientele after a significant hiatus that allowed some competitors to dominate the market.

“We are still commanding respectable loyalty from people who regard us as a national carrier and are very proud to see us in the skies. We are not going to let them down,” Mr Chizi stressed. He also said that the airline was aware of various challenges including poor infrastructure in some places, competition by local and foreign supported aviation airlines.

He said ATCL has recently conducted a market researching order to assess the level of ATCL acceptability in the proposed routes.
“The findings were ATCL still enjoys customer loyalty ahead of her competitors. The challenge that remains, therefore, is to introduce the proposed routes as soon as possible,” he said. Many l interviewed expressed enthusiasm to start using the national flag bearer airline, Mr Chizi also noted.

Source Tanzania Daily News

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