AFRICA: Taxify Operates In More African Cities Than Uber.

Ride-hailing company Taxify is taking the fight for market share in Africa with Uber to places where Uber isn’t.

The Estonian company which has grown to become Uber’s biggest rival in Africa is pursuing an expansion strategy that’s focused on not only operating in major cities across Africa, like Uber does.

Taxify has also been expanding to smaller cities and now operates in more African cities than Uber.

In Nigeria, in addition to Lagos and Abuja, the only two cities where Uber currently operates, Taxify has launched operations in Ibadan, Nigeria’s largest city by land size, and Owerri, a bustling commercial center in the southeast.

While neither city matches Lagos or Abuja as urban centers, they have sizable business districts and populations of over 1 million people each.

In Tanzania, while Uber has stuck only to Dar es Salaam, Taxify operates there as well as in Dodoma, the nation’s capital and in Mwanza, a tourism hotbed on the shore on Lake Victoria.

In South Africa, Taxify continues to compete with Uber in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth but has also expanded to Polokwane.

It is set to also launch in East London later this month—a move that will see it surpass Uber for the number of African cities operated in. It will also mean Taxify operates more cities in South Africa than anywhere else.

Much of Taxify’s expansion has been bankrolled by its recent $175 million capital raise—a funding round which valued the company at more than $1 billion.

Taxify’s backers include Daimler, the German car giant and Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing business in China which is also known for backing Uber’s rivals elsewhere.

As it continues to grow and attempt to win over riders, Taxify’s lower commissions on fares are also a tactic to win over drivers.

For its part, Uber, which has now operated in African cities for five years, is also eyeing more expansion with Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Mauritius among potential targets.

And showing a willingness to adapt to local markets, it has also introduced lower cost ride-hailing options with rickshaws in Kenya and motorcycles in Uganda.


Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: Air Tanzania Acquires 787 Dreamliner

Tanzania will finally take delivery of its first Dreamliner aircraft this coming Friday July 6, following two intense years of planning the revival of the national carrier Air Tanzania.

The aircraft, baptised Kilimanjaro-Hapa kazi tu, successfully underwent its maiden runway test flight at the Paine field in Seattle, Washington state.

It was seen at the Paine field undergoing pre-delivery tests on Monday.

The aircraft's delivery will signal a major shift in Tanzania's aviation sector that will see the national career start operating intercontinental flights later this September, with a maiden flight to Mumbai.

This is a major boost to the fortunes of the carrier, revived barely two years ago, as it seeks to play a bigger role in the regional aviation market dominated by Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda.

Last week, the airline's commercial and business development director Patrick Ndekana said that the Dreamliner aircraft will fly to Mumbai thrice a week starting September, its first route outside the continent.

In March, Air Tanzania announced that the 787 Dreamliner will be its flagship as it renews and grows its fleet.

The fleet improvement programme includes the purchasing of six aircraft. These include three Bombardier DASH8 Q400, two of which were delivered in September 2016, and now use for domestic routes between Dar es Salaam and the Comoros islands, Mwanza, Kigoma and Mtwara.

It also received one Bombardier DASH8 Q400 in June last year. The improvement plan shows that by July this year, Air Tanzania will be operating a fleet of seven aircraft as it has been operating one Bombardier DASH8 Q300 since 2011.

We aim to establish our long-haul capability by starting flights to Europe, Asia and the US in the short term and the 787 Dreamliner is the perfect aircraft to achieve this ambition, chief executive officer Ladislaus Matindi said.

The airline will also receive two more new Bombardier CS300 after the Tanzania Government Flight Agency finalised purchase agreements with US manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Canada's Bombardier Inc.

Two years ago Tanzania decided to develop a specific programme for revamping its national carrier which included purchasing of six new aircraft between 2016 and 2018, paying off debts, provision of startup capital, improvement and modernisation of business systems.

Mr Matindi said that the Bombardier C300s will be used to open up to six regional routes in southern and West Africa as the airline tries to capture a share of these markets.

We are looking at South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe and in the future expanding to West Africa with Ghana and Nigeria.

We will however use the Dreamliner for intercontinental routes to China and India initially, followed by Europe in the second phase.

We are already in talks with Boeing and the government to have a second delivery of the same aircraft in the near future, Mr Matindi said.

Air Tanzania is also expecting to undergo the Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification before the end of July, which will enable it enter into commercial partnerships with other operators as it seeks to grow its revenue via code share agreements.

The International Air Transport Association's IOSA is an evaluation system designed to test the operational management and control systems of an airline, putting it at par with the international aviation standards.

We already have a strong business plan and given that we are a great tourism destination, we believe that we will have the right mix of passenger numbers and capacity to support this plan, Mr Matindi said.

On Tanzania’s domestic routes, Air Tanzania will compete with Kenya Airways which partly owns Precision Air and the troubled Fastjet.

The latter two airlines operate domestic Tanzanian routes between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Zanzibar. Fastjet also flies to Southern Africa from Dar es Salaam with South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe featuring on its regional routes.


Tourism Observer

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

KENYA: X mass Holidays Attract More Travellers For Jambojet

Budget airline Jambojet has introduced additional flights to the coastal cities as it seeks to cash in on the high demand from holidaymakers.

The airline’s CEO Willem Hondius said there has been increased demand for air travel between Nairobi and the Coast forcing the company to increase frequency starting Tuesday (Dec 19).

Jambojet is now operating three flights to Malindi and Ukunda and four to Mombasa per week.

Yes we have added flights to Malindi (3 per week), Mombasa (4 per week), Ukunda (3 per week plus a third frequency per day between December 19 and 31),said Mr Hondius.

Mr Hondius said all routes that the airline plies have registered high demand. During the festive season we see demand going up sharply and there is always need to add flights,he said.

Last week the airline received one of two planes it purchased last month at Sh6.6 billion to cater for increased demand this Christmas season.

The addition brings Jambojet’s fleet to six – two Q400 planes that it acquired earlier in the year and two Boeing 737s leased from Kenya Airways KQ its parent company.

The airline said the remaining plane will arrive later this month. The two planes have been acquired from Danish firm Nordic Aviation Capital.

The cost of booking air tickets has significantly gone up as more passengers seek to travel by air. Those who have been booking from last week are paying almost double the price compared with travellers who booked in November.

It’s still quite last minute unfortunately. However for the festive season people tend to book a bit earlier, said the CEO.

The airline in May got regulatory approval to fly to 16 regional routes, including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

Meanwhile, Jambojet is set to start flights to Tanzania and Uganda by February next year, kicking off its regional expansion plan designed to see the low-cost carrier fly to 16 new routes.

The Transport ministry said it had applied for permission for the budget airline, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways is to fly to the countries.

Jambojet was in May granted regulatory approval to fly to 16 routes including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

The government has applied for designations on our behalf to allow us operate on six regional routes, Willem Hondius, Jambojet’s chief executive said.

For now, the application covers Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo. However, we intend to begin by flying to Tanzania and Uganda.

Jambojet also plans to start flying to Wajir by next February, adding to its existing flights between Nairobi and Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Lamu, Malindi and Ukunda (Diani).

The airline had earlier said it would make its international debut by the end of this year, but delays in receiving two Bombardier Q400 aircraft has seen them push their launch date forward.

These two planes are now expected before Christmas.

The extended electioneering period took a toll on the business, with total bookings for the four months to October dipping by around 16 per cent, Mr Hondius revealed.

The airline flies between 45,000 and 50,000 passengers per month.

In the weeks around the two general elections, he added, passenger numbers dropped by a quarter, highlighting the huge toll that the process had on Kenya’s aviation sector.

Kenya Airways’ latest annual report indicates that Jambojet reported a pre-tax loss of Sh25 million for the year to March, reversing a pre-tax profit of Sh126 million recorded the previous year.

The loss was attributable to last year’s peak season when insufficient aircraft messed us up. The elections affected us negatively this year. While business has rebounded, we shall assess the full impact with time, said Mr Hondius.

Jambojet is set to receive two new aircraft worth Sh6.6 billion before Christmas in anticipation of the high-season passenger demand and as the low-cost carrier prepares to start international flights.

The airline, a subsidiary of national carrier Kenya Airways is set to receive the first of two Bombardier Q400 on December 11. The second one is expected to touch down in Nairobi six days later.

Jambojet was in May granted regulatory approval to fly to 16 routes including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.

We are confident that the Q400 aircraft will allow us to implement our growth strategy as we strive to launch new routes and to respond to the anticipated increase in demand, Willem Hondius, Jambojet’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The budget carrier will lease the aircraft from Danish firm Nordic Aviation Capital which in turn signed a purchase order for the planes with Montreal-based Bombardier on Wednesday.

Jambojet, which has been operational since April 2014, currently operates four aircraft — two Q400 planes which were also acquired this year and two Boeing 737s leased from its parent firm.

The airline plies six routes in Kenya; between Nairobi and Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Malindi and Ukunda (Diani). We are looking at retiring our narrow body fleet (Boeing 737s) and transitioning to an all-Q400 fleet by end of this year, said Mr Hondius.

The carrier has already returned one of the Boeings to KQ with the national carrier now expected to put it up for sale.

Thousands of Jambojet passengers travelling to the Coast over Christmas were hit by flight delays and cancellations.

The airline said the delays resulted from technical problems on one Bombardier, which was compounded by the delayed arrival of the aircraft to handle higher passenger numbers during the holiday season.

Jambojet, which issued an apology for these delays, has since then set out to increase its fleet to avoid a repeat of this incident even as looks to expand regionally.

Jambojet has slashed baggage fees by up to 65 per cent in a bid to generate more non-passenger ticket revenue for the budget airline.

The low-cost carrier has announced that its highest luggage fee, charged on 32 kilogrammes of baggage, will drop to Sh5,500 for payments made at their airport and half that for bookings made through agents or online.

This marks a sharp fall from the Sh15,600 and Sh7,800 respectively which Jambojet, a Kenya Airways subsidiary, was charging its customers.

We have reduced the rates, allowing passengers to carry more for less, Jambojet chief executive Willem Hondius said. We have also reduced the baggage fee bands making it easier for passengers to choose.

Jambojet’s baggage policy review comes a few months after it hired Catherine Mwangi as its ancillary manager.

Ancillary services in the airline industry include entertainment, onboard shopping, Internet gaming, car hire, frequent flier programmes, hotel bookings, checked baggage and better cabin seating.

The extras normally add on to and sometimes exceed the budget ticket costs.

Ms Mwangi has previously held various marketing jobs at Qatar Airways, Air France-KLM as well as South African Airways.

Payments made at the airport will cost double across all bands.

Jambojet achieved a 90 per cent on-time-performance (OTP) in September and October mainly driven by a new fleet, records show.

The low-cost carrier recorded a six per cent higher average of OTP in the two months after recording 84 per cent in August.

OTP is an industry benchmark calculated based on flights taking off and landing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

We are well over our target of 80 per cent which is considerably better than the industry average. Without a doubt, this is a very good sign as we go into the peak festive season, said Jambojet chief executive Willem Hondius.

Our investment in the two new Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircrafts has enabled us to deliver a very reliable flight schedule across the country and live up to the expectation of customers.

The airline has maintained an average OTP of 85 per cent in the past seven months, Mr Hondius said.

Jambojet has in its nearly four years of operation in Kenya increased its routes from four to six, with increased frequency of flights due to fleet expansion.

It currently operates 75 flights per week on its domestic routes from Nairobi to Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Malindi and Ukunda.

The airline, which has a code-share agreement with Kenya Airways for domestic travel, expects delivery of two new aircraft later this year.




Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: You Can Help People With Albinisim

Zuwena and four of her precious girls, with a UTSS worker.

Zuwena is a single mother with five daughters who lives in Mwanza. Three of her young girls have albinism.

Abandoned by her husband, Zuwena had to work long hours as a seamstress to support her children.

She left her kids with a nanny who took care of them while she was at work.

When her neighbors noticed a strange man lurking outside of Zuwena’s home, where two of her girls – Fatuma and Rehema – played one day after school, they grew suspicious.

One neighbor hid nearby to keep an eye on the situation.

Another ran to get the community officer in charge of safety.

When the stranger noticed, he fled.

But he showed up later at a bar, asking questions about Zuwena and her girls and alarmingly, showing off a machete he carried with him.

There was little doubt that he intended to harm the little girls.

The police were called and immediately realized the danger.

That’s because they had attended Understanding Albinism seminars given by Under The Same Sun in the area.

They understood how vulnerable Zuwena’s children were, and became suspicious of the nanny.

They went to visit Zuwena at her work to alert her of the danger.

Zuwena sent her nanny away and her children survived this ordeal.

What we believe was intended to be an abduction or a direct attack was thwarted because of the vigilance and compassion of the neighbors and the police.

Today, Zuwena is part of our Mamas Group in Mwanza.

She and her children are receiving the support they need. And through training she is educating others to understand albinism.

Under The Same Sun sees it all the time: When people know better they do better!

When people learn the facts about albinism through our Understanding Albinism seminars they become informed and more compassionate, and often help fight to protect the girls and boys and women and men with albinism in their communities.

This kind of community action is what saves lives and discourages would-be criminals.

Would you consider making a gift for Giving Tuesday so more lives can be saved?

With your help, we will take our Understanding Albinism seminars to a new level and into many new communities in the coming months.

Here’s what your gift will make possible:

- Blanketing more towns and cities than ever before with the truth about albinism through Understanding Albinism seminars. It’s proven! They dispel the dehumanizing myths that lead to attacks.

- Live public theatre presentations, put on by local young people, that really work to educate people and increase compassion for people with albinism.

- Print ads, interactive radio programs and a new social media push to reach an even wider audience in Tanzania.

- And…for the first time, a National Albinism Hotline will be set up, so that anyone can anonymously call to report suspicious activity and get immediate help!

If you want to help save lives like Fatuma and Rehema’s please make a gift before midnight tomorrow – Giving Tuesday. Your generosity will be multiplied 9 times by a US government grant to make an ever greater impact!

CONTACT: info@underthesamesun.com


Under The Same Sun is a Registered Charity. All donations are deductible for income tax purposes in Canada and the USA. 100% of your donations go directly to programs in Tanzania. All administration costs are covered by a generous benefactor.
Canadian Charitable #: 851599860 RR0001
US: EIN 68-0680719



Tourism Observer

MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique's Tourism |Industry Welcomes Visa On Arrival, Dodoma Airport For 24 Hour Service

The government of Mozambique has now, for a significant number of nationalities, introduced Visa on Arrival, doing away with the cumbersome method of tourists having to apply in advance given the lack of global diplomatic representation.

44 border posts have been designated for the purpose including all the international airports such as Maputo but also Pemba, Nampula, Beira, Vilanculos and Inhambane.

In addition have key land border posts been designated for the purpose including land borders from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

Visa on Arrival are also available at the port of Maputo to encourage cruise ship stops and enable visitors to come on shore without the previous bureaucracy involved.

The cost of a Visa, which allows entry and one additional re-entry, was given as US Dollars 50 per person.

Mozambique's tourism industry has welcomed the move and is looking at vastly improved arrival figures for the years ahead even though language challenges remain a factor as the penetration of English remains relatively low.

Runway lights at Dodoma Airport has been completed. This will enable the airport, which currently handles only about 10 flights a day, to operate around the clock.

Night landings are now possible but presently not likely to happen. Right now do our flights operate during day times only and so do all other airlines flying charter or schedule to DOD.

But this is progress for the aviation industry and for instance urgent medical evacuations can now take place even at night after the lights were installed.

Airlines even begin to offer flights into and out of Dodoma at night to make better use of their fleet but that is still under plan .

The airport is served by Air Tanzania, Auric Air and Flightlink among other airlines flying daily or multiple times a week to Tanzania's political capital.

Dodoma one of Tanzania's airports earmarked for expansion and modernization and with the new lighting system in place has this objective been fulfilled.

The IATA code for Dodoma is DOD while the ICAO four letter code is HTDO. The runway length was given at 8.038 feet length or 2.450 metres, all tarmac.

In 1973, Dodoma was designated as the new political capital of Tanzania. New Parliament buildings were erected and plans were drafted to shift all government Ministry offices to Dodoma by the early 1980's.

However, due to limited water supplies and other environmental factors, this proved impossible and the plan was all but forgotten.

Most ministries and all embassies are still in Dar Es Salaam. Although Dodoma retains the title of capital city of Tanzania, government officials only travel to Dodoma for a few weeks each June when the government is in session.

There are many daily buses from Dar es Salaam. Driving time is seven to eight hours with a stop in Morogoro. Luxury buses leave from Ubungo. Around 11 AM buses from Dar and Dodoma leave which are air conditioned and have more leg space.

There are buses to and from Arusha via Kondoa to the north. The road is not paved, and can be bad in the rainy season. The highway is known as the Great Northern Highway.

Travel time is often in excess of 12 hours, and breakdowns are common. The best plan would be to use Kondoa as an intermediate overnight point and continue north or south the next day.

There are also buses to and from Iringa. Travel time is about six hours on a winding gravel road of varying quality. The road passes right over the Mtera Dam which is worth a look.

Dodoma is situated on the Central Railway Line which goes from Dar Es Salaam to Mwanza or Kigoma. However, the train currently (March 2010) only operates between Dar Es Salaam and Dodoma due to damage near Tabora.

If you are in a hurry the better choice is by bus. If the train service is running again and you are heading west, train is better, especially in the rainy season.

Air Zara flies daily with the exception of Saturday between Dodoma and Dar es Salam for 250.000 TSH on Monday and Thursday, also to Mbeya.

Tickets can be bought at the New Dodoma Hotel. Mission Aviation Fellowships' MAF) small planes fly throughout the country; they have a regular shuttle between Dodoma and Arusha every Monday and also fly regularly to Nairobi and Mbeya.

It is also possible to join other flights, for more information see their website and subscribe to their Joiner List.

There are many minibuses (dala dala) in Dodoma and getting around is easy. Taxis are plentiful too. There are three bus stations: city, at a place called Jamatini; medium distance, at the Saba Saba bus stand, to moderate-distance places such as Mpwapwa and Mvumi.

Long-distance buses leave from the main stand near the Parliament buildings. Some companies, eg. Scandinavia, maintain their own bus stands.

Another way to get around is by bike. There are several places in town which sell or rent (5.000 TSH/day) bikes.

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: Uber Goes To Tanzania

Dar es Salaam has now joined the UBER revolution in East Africa as the latest city after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kampala, where the service was launched just three weeks ago.

This makes good of the promise the company made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum for Africa, held in Kigali last month, evidence that the local transport industry needs shaking up.

Alon Lits, UBER's General Manager for Sub Saharan Africa, expressed his delight over the latest addition when he said that he was proud to see the company expand so rapidly and so successfully.

It remains to be seen if the web based transport hailing service will also expand to Arusha or Mwanza, Tanzania's second and third largest cities, as in particular Arusha is commonly referred to as East Africa's safari capital and visited by tens of thousands of foreign tourists as they embark on their safaris.

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.

ZANZIBAR: Fastjet Wins At World Travel Awards In Zanzibar

Fastjet, the low-cost pan-African airline, has won Africa's Leading Low-Cost Airline Award at the 23rd Annual World Travel Awards held in Zanzibar, Tanzania last Saturday night at a Gala Dinner Award Ceremony held at the Diamonds La Gemma dell' Est.

The globally recognised World Travel Awards reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism & hospitality industry.

Africa's Leading Low-Cost Airline Award, which is voted for by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide, is in recognition of fastjet’s services of making air travel more affordable, safe and reliable across its pan-African network.

'Being recognised and accepting this award not only reflects our commitment to air-travel excellence, but the impact we endeavour to make on the African continent' said Jai Gilbert, Head of Marketing at fastjet. 'We are immensely proud to receive such high industry recognition and fastjet will continue to make low-cost air-travel accessible to more people on the African continent'.

The low-cost airline was launched in November 2012 and operates five domestic routes in Tanzania from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro and since early this year also twice a day to Zanzibar. Fastjet’s growing network also services routes between international destinations such as Johannesburg, Harare, Victoria Falls, Entebbe, Nairobi and Lusaka.

fastjet expects many of its passengers on the routes it services to be first time flyers who, because of prohibitively high fares, could previously not afford to travel by air.

Supporting this statement is recent research undertaken by the airline, showing that up to 40% of passengers on all routes were first time flyers able to afford air travel for the first time, thanks to fastjet’s low fares.

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: FastJet Accepts Vodacom M-PESA Payment

Pan-African low-cost airline FastJet started accepting mobile payments via Tanzania’s leading mobile telecommunications company Vodacom.

The announcement was made in Dar Es Salaam by the Head of Branding and Communication for Vodacom Tanzania, Mr Kelvin Twissa and FastJet Commercial Manager for Tanzania, Mrs Jean Uku.

FastJet passengers can now buy their tickets using the M-PESA (M for mobile, Pesa for money in Swahili) Vodacom money transfer system.

The Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) permits to deposit or withdraw cash and send money without the need of a bank account hence allowing non-banking population to execute non cash payments.

FastJet expects to accept credit and debit card in the next months, providing a further easy payment option. Since its launch at the end of November 2012, FastJet has flown over 30,000 passengers between Dar es Salaam and its two current destinations of Kilimanjaro and Mwanza, in the North of Tanzania.

The air carrier will be announcing new international routes in the coming weeks. MMT, which was introduced in 2008 in Tanzania, is being used by 9 Million mobile phone subscribers out of 25.8 Million. According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Governor, Prof Benno Ndulu, at the moment only 35% of the total money in circulation is in the formal sector. Monthly money mobile transactions in Tanzania reached USD 700 Millions in December 2012.

TANZANIA: Fastjet Grows With Arrival Of Fourth A319;

fastjet’s most recent route launch was from Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe in Malawi on 27 July. The route is currently served twice-weekly, though frequency will increase to four flights per week from mid-September. The LCC now operates to nine airports, four in Tanzania and five others in five different African countries.

The idea of a pan-African LCC is very appealing, but the lack of liberalisation across much of the continent has made it impossible (so far) in practice. fastjet was established to try and be such a carrier, but at present it has been confined to operating domestically and internationally from Tanzania, with its main base at Dar es Salaam. The airline’s first flight was on 29 November 2012 when domestic services were introduced. International flights started on 18 October 2013 with the airline’s first service to Johannesburg. fastjet now operates in four further countries; Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In Dar es Salaam fastjet is by far the leading carrier with over 11,000 weekly departing seats on its fleet of three A319s. This represents over one quarter of all seat capacity at the airport. The airline’s most recently published traffic statistics indicate that it carried 71,763 passengers in July (a new monthly record), an increase of 36% on the same month in 2014. Load factor was 72%. In 2014, fastjet carried almost 600,000 passengers. In the 12 months ending July 2015 that has increased to almost 750,000.
Domestic network currently accounts for 75% of ASKs

fastjet operates to five destinations non-stop in both directions from Dar es Salaam. These are Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Mwanza in Tanzania, Johannesburg (South Africa) and Lilongwe (Malawi). Entebbe in Uganda is served from Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro, while Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia) are served using a triangular routing; Dar es Salaam-Lusaka-Harare-Dar es Salaam, resulting in both routes having a stop in one direction.

The airline’s domestic routes (shown in dark green) currently account for 75% of total weekly ASKs (Available Seat Kilometres), with the route to Mwanza alone accounting for over 42% of the carrier’s ASKs.
4th aircraft from mid-September

From mid-September fastjet’s fleet will increase to four A319s. No new routes are being added at this time but there will be frequency increases (especially on international routes) and schedule quality will improve with the return flight from Johannesburg no longer operating during the night. Frequency on the Johannesburg route will also increase from three flights per week to seven. The arrival of the fourth aircraft will see weekly flights across the network increase from 167 to 217, with international sectors almost doubling from 25 to 49. As a result, the proportion of ASKs coming from domestic flights will fall from the current 75% to around 61%.

fastjet’s network currently comprises nine airports, including four in Tanzania. The airline’s longest route is to Johannesburg in South Africa, which was also the carrier’s first international destination. The addition of a fourth A319 in mid-September will help allow frequency increases on international routes, but will not see any new routes launched.

TANZANIA: Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe Stream National Park

An excited whoop erupts from deep in the forest, boosted immediately by a dozen other voices, rising in volume and tempo and pitch to a frenzied shrieking crescendo. It is the famous ‘pant-hoot’ call: a bonding ritual that allows the participants to identify each other through their individual vocal stylisations. To the human listener, walking through the ancient forests of Gombe Stream, this spine-chilling outburst is also an indicator of imminent visual contact with man’s closest genetic relative: the chimpanzee.

Gombe is the smallest of Tanzania's national parks: a fragile strip of chimpanzee habitat straddling the steep slopes and river valleys that hem in the sandy northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Its chimpanzees – habituated to human visitors – were made famous by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall, who in 1960 founded a behavioural research program that now stands as the longest-running study of its kind in the world. The matriarch Fifi, the last surviving member of the original community, only three-years old when Goodall first set foot in Gombe, is still regularly seen by visitors.

Chimpanzees share about 98% of their genes with humans, and no scientific expertise is required to distinguish between the individual repertoires of pants, hoots and screams that define the celebrities, the power brokers, and the supporting characters. Perhaps you will see a flicker of understanding when you look into a chimp's eyes, assessing you in return - a look of apparent recognition across the narrowest of species barriers.

The most visible of Gombe’s other mammals are also primates. A troop of beachcomber olive baboons, under study since the 1960s, is exceptionally habituated, while red-tailed and red colobus monkeys - the latter regularly hunted by chimps – stick to the forest canopy.

The park’s 200-odd bird species range from the iconic fish eagle to the jewel-like Peter’s twinspots that hop tamely around the visitors’ centre.

After dusk, a dazzling night sky is complemented by the lanterns of hundreds of small wooden boats, bobbing on the lake like a sprawling city.

About Gombe Stream National Park
Size: 52 sq km (20 sq miles), Tanzania's smallest park.
Location: 16 km (10 miles) north of Kigoma on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania.

Getting there
Kigoma is connected to Dar and Arusha by scheduled flights, to Dar and Mwanza by a slow rail service, to Mwanza, Dar and Mbeya by rough dirt roads, and to Mpulungu in Zambia by a weekly ferry.
From Kigoma, local lake-taxis take up to three hours to reach Gombe, or motorboats can be chartered, taking less than one hour.

What to do
Chimpanzee trekking; hiking, swimming and snorkelling;
visit the site of Henry Stanley's famous “Dr Livingstone I presume” at Ujiji near Kigoma, and watch the renowned dhow builders at work. .

When to go
The chimps don't roam as far in the wet season (February-June, November-mid December) so may be easier to find;
better picture opportunities in the dry (July-October and late December).

Accommodation
1 new luxury tented lodge, as well a self-catering hostel, guest house and campsites on the lakeshore.

NOTE
Strict rules are in place to safeguard you and the chimps. Allow at least 2 days to see them - this is not a zoo so there are no guarantees where they'll be each day.