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.
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.
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