Zimpapers Logo

Assistant Business Editor
THE national airline, Air Zimbabwe will next week re-introduce flights between Harare and the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam.

The airline will be flying to Dar-es-Salaam twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturday starting on May 14 using its medium range aircraft.

Public relations manager Mrs Shingai Dhliwayo said that the reintroduction of flights on the route, which were discontinued in 2009, was part of the airline’s strategy to integrate the region and also reclaim its former routes.

“This is part of our strategic intent to integrate the Southern African region by linking Harare and other regional cities via air travel.

“We have just been to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair where there was emphasis on integration and I am happy that we played a part in integrating our visitors and local business people by ferrying them to and from Bulawayo,” she said.

Mrs Dhliwayo said that the re-introduction of flights between Harare and Dar-es-Salaam was expected to give visitors a convenient way of travelling and doing business.

“We are offering a fast, reliable, convenient and cost effective way for people to travel for business and leisure at very reasonable prices because our return ticket costs $400.

“For those travelling for business we have enough cargo capacity, we are offering generous baggage allowance of 40kg which is a lot,” she said.

The re-introduction of the route comes at a time when Air Zimbabwe has also reintroduced flights between Harare, Johannesburg and Lusaka in addition to its local routes, while also planning to re-introduce international routes starting with the Harare-London route.

Last week Air Zimbabwe introduced additional flights on the Harare-Johannesburg route. The second frequency are servicing the route every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Early this year Air Zimbabwe’s acting chief executive Mr Edmund Makona told journalists during the unveiling of the logo for the 48th African Airlines Association (AFRAA) annual general assembly in Victoria Falls in November that was geared to growing its route network ahead of the AGM, where it will be the host airline.

“We really are geared to grow our route network, so as we grow that route network I do not want to pre-empt but other than just to confess that it cannot be an airline without the attendant issues of growth otherwise there is no need for the management at Air Zimbabwe to preside over a still birth airline.” he said.