TANZANIA: Air Tanzania To Commence Regional Flights

Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), is planning to start flying to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The airline’s managing director, Mr Ladislaus Matindi, revealed the company’s plans during the company workers’ congress, saying all routes would be active from the next financial year.

There is a significant improvement since the government started reviving ATCL and what we are currently targeting is to improve delivery of services and increase the number of routes, he said.

The workers congress’ chairman, Mr Emmanuel Koroso, said ATCL is an established airline, but it faced financial challenges that affected its overall business operations.

Initiatives by the government to revive ATCL are commendable, but we are facing some challenges that can only be resolved through dialogue, Mr Koroso said.

He mentioned some of the challenges as changing the working culture for some of the employees, which will help them compete with other foreign airlines.

Mr Koroso also said shortage of human and financial resources was also making it difficult for the airline to run efficiently, but he called on the employees to work hard.

Air Tanzania offers a sole international route to Moroni, Comoros and 12 domestic routes, including Bukoba, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Mtwara, Mbeya, Mwanza, Songea, Tabora and Zanzibar.

The carrier manages a fleet of four aircraft consisting of one Bombardier Q300 and three Q400 airliners.

Further, the company expects to add two more Bombardier CS300 and one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to its fleet.

They will arrive in the country later this year, according to the Tanzania's State house director of communication, Mr Gerson Msigwa.

Boeing reported recently on its official website that the United Republic of Tanzania has ordered one 787-8 Dreamliner, which is valued at $224.6 million.

I am pleased to welcome Air Tanzania as the newest member of the Dreamliner family, said Mr Van Rex Gallard, the Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president for Latin America, Africa & Caribbean.

Tanzania has received its third aircraft of the six that President John Magufuli administration plans to acquire in order to revive State-owned Air Tanzania.

On Monday, the third aircraft touched ground at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) on Monday.

The plane, a Bombardier Q-400, touched ground at 5.07 PM, with President Magufuli gracing the event to receive it.

The government has purchased the plane for $32 million from Canada's Bombardier Aerospace.

Two years ago, Tanzania developed a programme to revitalise its national carrier, Air Tanzania.

The programme included purchasing six new aircraft between 2016 and 2018, payment of debts and provision of start-up capital, improvement and modernisation of business systems.

We will receive three more aircrafts. This time, jets. We will have a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and two Bombardier C300 series. They will arrive before the end of this year, President Magufuli said.

On Monday, the president also laid a foundation stone for installation of four radar systems in the capital Dar es Salaam.

The radars are to be installed at the JNIA, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Songwe airports within 18 months. The project is part of the Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) strategy to improve civil aviation in the county.

The project will also facilitate search and rescue operations in case of emergency or air accidents.

This will enable the country meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)'s standards and guidelines, TCAA director-general Hamsa Johari said.

Air Tanzania was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) on September in 1977 after the collapse of the regional East African Airways.

Since then, the airline had been operating at a loss and depending on government subsidies.

The airline lost all its regional and international routes after grounding its aircraft which included Nairobi, Johannesburg, Jeddah, Milan, Frankfurt, London and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, A Tanzanian minister says women participating in the Miss Tanzania beauty pageant should be considered for employment at the State-run airline Air Tanzania (ATCL).

Information, Culture, Arts and Sports minister Harrison Mwakyembe argues that by recruiting them, the beauty competition will be seen as a bridge to success for Tanzania’s beautiful ladies.

Dr Mwakyembe spoke on Saturday while officiating this year’s Miss Tanzania's pageant.

He said he believes participants in the beauty contest have all the criteria to be recruited at Air Tanzania, insisting that he would push for their employment at the national carrier.

All they need is to undergo a three-month training at the National Institute of Transport before joining the ATCL team, he said.



Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: Marine Parks And Reserves

Not only is Tanzania the number one destination for safaris, its endless coral reefs in the crystalline waters of the Indian Ocean offer some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world.

The archipelago of islands off the coast of Tanzania and Zanzibar are surrounded by coral reefs and are home to an amazing array of wildlife and unique ecosystems, as well as providing shelter, sustenance and employment for local people.

From Mafia Island Marine Park, an unspoiled, uncommercialised island, where local people go about their traditional businesses in a way (as far as one can tell) they have done for centuries, to Maziwe Island Marine Reserve, which only appears during low tide, Tanzania’s marine parks and reserves are exceptionally rich in their diversity of cultural, coral, fish, bird and plant life.

In order to protect and manage these areas from over fishing, mangrove deforestation, and coral mining, the following marine parks and reserves have been established and can be visited for day trips and longer stays.

The Marine Parks and Reserves Authority was established under the Marine Parks an reserve Act Number 29 of 1994, to oversee the management and administration of marine parks and reserves to ensure sustainable use of the marine resources.

The Marine Parks and Reserves Authority currently manages: a. Dar Marine Reserves - located in Dar es Salaam region. Four marine DSM reserves, Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve Mbudya Island Marine Reserve Pangavini Island Marine Reserve Funguyasini Marine Reserve b. Maziwi Island Marine Reserves - located in Pangani district (Tanga region). c. Mafia Island Marine Park - located in Coast Region. d. Mnazi Bay - Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (MREMP) located in Mtwara Region. e.

Transfrontier Conservation Area encompassing (TFCA) Southern Regions and areas bordering Lake Nyasa in the countries like Malawi and Zambia.

Tanga City
Tanga was once another stopping point, in competition with Pangani and Bagamoyo, for caravans on their way to the hinterland of Central Africa searching for ivory and slaves.

Pangani Town
Pangani is a small town in East Africa’s coast that was 50 kms South of Tanga with long history culture the town has Arabic, German, Asian and British Colonial rules influence.

Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve
The Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve System (DMRS) is a group of marine wildlife reserves in Tanzania, situated off the coast of Dar es Salaam Region. The reserve system consists of Seven (7) islands of Bongoyo.

Mafia Island Marine Park
Mafia is renowned as an excellent world-class diving destination with some of the richest reefs in the world, The park covers the Southern part of Mafia Island .

Mikindani Bay Marine Reserve
Mikindani is a fascinating old town with winding streets and an exciting blend of African, Arabic and European architecture. The arms of the bay mouth contain old houses with doors which are carved.

Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park
Located in southern Tanzania, on the Mozambique border, is home to important populations of whales, dolphins, four species of turtle and numerous birds.

Maziwe Marine Reserve
Maziwe island is a very small unvegetated island surrounded by coral reefs located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south east of the town of Pangani off the northern coast of Tanzania.

Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park
Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park (TACMP) is located on the northern coastline of Tanzania. It extends for 100 km along the coastline from north of Pangani River estuary to Mafuriko village.

Chumbe Island Marine Sanctuary
Chumbe offers some of the most pristine and colourful coral reefs in the world, with over 200 species of coral providing a sanctuary for more than 400 species of colourful fish.

Mnemba Island Conservation Area
Mnemba Island is a single small island located about 3 km off the northeast coast of Unguja, the largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania, opposite Muyuni Beach.

UGANDA: Precision Air To Relaunch Entebbe Flights

Tanzania Precision Air services Plc, the only publicly quoted airline company in Tanzania listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, has announced their intention to relaunch flights to Uganda through the Entebbe International Airport.The scheduled flights are expected to start from 01st July 2017.

The announcement which was made an hour ago stated that Precision Air will operate four flights per week with two nonstop flights from Dar es Salaam and two services routing via Kilimanjaro.

Commenting on the relaunch, Precision Air’s commercial Director Mr. Robert Owusu, said that the decision to relaunch flights to Entebbe came after a market study which revealed that there was significant demand for flights between Tanzania and Uganda after rival Fastjet pulled out of the route in early December last year.

Apart from the business relationships Tanzania and Uganda have a very rich history and we are going to honor that history by connecting the two countries through our services. We will start with four flights per week every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Passengers between Tanzania and Uganda should expect affordable and reliable flights he said.

Precision Air suspended flights to Entebbe back in 2013 during the route rationalization process and network restructuring. Mr. Owusu said that after the company reviewed their decisions taken at the time they concluded that Entebbe was a worthy addition to Precision Air’s already established extensive network on domestic routes and to Nairobi.

'Tickets sale is expected to commence on the of 10th March 2017 and passengers can book either directly by visiting the our website, our sales offices or through their preferred travel agents. We encourage early booking for best fares and we remind our passengers to take advantage of our online booking for discounted fares' Mr.Owusu added in closing.

Precision Air is currently the only IATA member in Tanzania and has recently announced a codeshare agreement with Etihad allowing the airline to offer more connection for passengers. Operating from Dar es Salaam does Precision Air fly to Arusha, Bukoba, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Musoma, Mtwara, Mwanza, Tabora, Zanzibar and Nairobi and from July onwards also to Entebbe again.

Details about the opening of a Precision Air office in Uganda will be announced shortly here, so keep watching this space for breaking and regular aviation news from across the Eastern African region.

TANZANIA: Precision Air And Etihad Airways Pen Codeshare Agreement

In a move that extends its reach across East Africa, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, earlier today announced that it has entered into a codeshare agreement with Precision Air, Tanzania’s leading domestic airline.

Under the new codeshare agreement, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Precision Air flights between Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Mtwara, Nairobi, Zanzibar, Pemba and between Nairobi and Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

Precision Air will place its PW code on Etihad’s daily services between Dar es Salaam and Abu Dhabi, strengthening ties between East Africa and the United Arab Emirates, in turn expanding the reach of Precision Air all the way to Abu Dhabi.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: 'Precision Air is an innovative and award-winning airline and this new codeshare agreement demonstrates Etihad Airways’ growing ambitions to strengthen its operations across the East African region. This is a further example of our strategy of working with partners to extend our reach, and provide business and leisure travelers with more choice'.

Ms. Sauda Rajab, the Group Managing Director and CEO at Precision Air Services PLC, said in her response: 'This is a new dawn for Precision Air and we are delighted to be working with Etihad Airways in this way. We look forward to welcoming Etihad Airways’ passengers on board our flights, and are excited about exploring additional opportunities to expand the relationship in the future. With this new partnership we are making it easier for passengers from across our domestic network to travel to Abu Dhabi, with convenient onward access to over 110 destinations on Etihad’s network, in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas'.

Passengers will be able to book flights from tomorrow, the 21st of December 2016, via travel agents or through the airlines’ sales offices and contact centers, with travel starting from 11th of January 2017 when the codeshare arrangements are becoming operational.

Etihad Airways currently operates scheduled services to 10 destinations in Africa, including Nairobi, Entebbe and Dar es Salaam while Precision Air serves a number of domestic and regional destinations in East Africa. Notably is Kenya Airways a key shareholder in Precision Air and also codeshares on Etihad flights between Nairobi to Abu Dhabi.

TANZANIA: Precision Air To Fly To Pemba May 2016

Precision Air, Tanzania's only publicly quoted airline, has confirmed that Pemba, the second largest island of the Zanzibar archipelago, will be added to their domestic network come 24th of May, using an ATR turboprop aircraft.

The island will initially be served three times a week, in conjunction with flights to Unguja, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The flights are expected to boost both tourism and trade between the Tanzanian mainland and Pemba and also makes it easy to fly from Unguja to the sister island.

Precision currently flies from its hub in Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mwanza, Mtwara, Kigoma, Tabora, Musoma, Bukoba and Unguja / Zanzibar and Pemba will be the 11th destination across their domestic route network.

Precision Air is part owned by Kenya Airways and provides essential feeder services to flights then connecting passengers via Nairobi into the KQ network across Africa, Europe, the Gulf, India and the Far East.

TANZANIA: Precision Air Returns To Musoma

Precision Air just announced their imminent return to Musoma, after halting services two years ago due to the poor conditions of the runway and apron which led to damage to one of their ATR aircraft. Following major improvements made by the Tanzania Airport Authority has the airline, after assessing the status of the airport, agreed to resume flights with immediate effect.

The Dar es Salaam to Musoma flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the time being, joining 10 more Precision Air destinations across the country and beyond, those being Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Bukoba, Tabora, Kigoma, Mtwara, Nairobi and now Musoma.

Precision Air’s Commercial Director, Mr. Robert Owusu said that the move was triggered by the demand in the market. He stated that the flight has been positioned to cater for passengers who had to drive from Musoma to catch flights in Mwanza. ‘We had temporarily suspended the Musoma route due to the airport’s unfavorable conditions which had caused damage to the aircraft.

Since then, there have been some improvements made to the airport infrastructure that make it safe for our aircraft to land and take-off from there. As service providers, we also understand the inconveniences that passenger from Musoma had to go through by driving for about 4 hours to catch flights in Mwanza. We believe our flights to Musoma will not only stimulate trade in Musoma but also the tourism industry’.

Precision Air operates an all ATR aircraft fleet comprising both the ATR 42 and the larger ATR 72 models which are well suited to fly in and out of secondary and tertiary airports and aerodromes.

TANZANIA: Air Tanzania Resumes Flights On The Dar es Salaam-Mwanza Toute.

Giving a new option for Tanzanians and the business community to fly Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) has now resumed flights on the Dar es Salaam-Mwanza route.

“The Dar es Salaam-Mwanza route is a key to ATCL’s overall business strategy of addressing our clients’ diverse requirements, which includes among others, providing more seat capacity and a quick turnaround in our scheduled flights,” said the Acting Managing Director of the state owned firm, Mr. Johnson Mfinanga.

He said that with the resumption of our scheduled flight between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, Tanzanians will now have an option of flights.

ATCL’s 50-Seater Bombardier CRJ-200 will fly the route 14 times in a week. The CRJ 200 is touted for its efficient fuel consumption which translates into lower cost per trip.

ATCL operates the Bombardier Dash 8, The CRJ 200 and De-Havilland Dash 8 Q300 planes. The airline operates scheduled flights to Hahaya in the Comoros, and links the regional routes of Kigoma and Mtwara with Dar es Salaam.