Why new ATCL jetliners could turn Tanzania into a transport hub
www.ippmedia.com/en/news/why-new-atcl-jetliners-could-turn-tanzania-transport-hub
President John Magufuli announced last week that the government has already ordered two jetliners for the national flag carrier, including a Boeing aircraft and a Bombardier CS300 plane.
Magufuli said the government would buy another regional turboprop aircraft, the Bombardier Q400, to add to the two brand new Q400 planes that were delivered in September by the Canadian aircraft manufacturer.
"We have ordered three more planes ... one is a Bombardier Q400 and the other is the (Bombardier) CS300 plane with a capacity to carry between 137 and 150 passengers," said Magufuli when addressing journalists at State House.
"We will also order another plane, a Boeing aircraft with the capacity of seating 242 passengers ... we cannot promote tourism without having a vibrant national air carrier."
Aviation experts told The Guardian that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is likely the aircraft that President Magufuli referred to in his remarks to the media.
The planned fleet expansion over the next two years is expected to transform ATCL into the biggest airline in Tanzania ahead of the struggling Precision Air and Fastjet airlines, analysts said.
“The arrival of the new planes will obviously give us a competitive advantage in the market," ATCL Chief Executive Officer Eng Ladislaus Matindi told The Guardian in a telephone interview.
He said the jetliners would enable ATCL to introduce new international flights to the lucrative United Arab Emirates (UAE) market and elsewhere.
Matindi said several ATCL pilots were already undergoing training to enable them to fly the new planes.
Former cabinet minister and aviation business expert Anthony Diallo hailed the planned ATCL fleet expansion, saying it would significantly boost efforts to revive the airline.
“This is what I have always been saying ... ATC should add at least two Bombardier CS300 jet planes to its fleet to compliment the newly-acquired Q400 planes," he said.
"The addition of the new planes will make ATCL a strong regional airline in terms of competitiveness.”
Players in the tourism industry have similarly lauded the government's decision to purchase new planes for the national flag carrier.
The executive secretary of the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT), Richard Rugimbana, said a strong ATCL would help spur the country's $2 billion-a-year tourism industry.
Once the new jet planes become operational in 2018 as envisaged, they will help to increase the inflow of international flights to Tanzania hence bring in more foreign visitors, he said.
"Once these planes take to the skies, they will help boost our tourism sector and the county will be assured of more foreign exchange earnings," noted Rugimbana.
He however stressed the importance of running ATCL commercially to avoid a repeat of past mistakes that brought the once-thriving airline to its knees.
On his part, executive secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Sirili Akko, described the planned ATCL fleet expansion as a move aimed at repositioning the country in the global tourism industry.
"We highly welcome the move because it is clearly geared towards boosting the local tourism industry," he said.
However, tour operators warned that the growth of the industry would continue to be impaired if the country remains an expensive tourism destination compared to regional rival Kenya.
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