ATCL on fleet expansion to tap more destinations

DAR ES SALAAM: AIR Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) plans to increase its fleet size to 17 by early next year as it seeks to extend further its wings both domestically and internationally.

Currently, the government–owned airline has a fleet of 13 aircrafts including one Dash 8-Q300, five Dash8-Q400, four Airbus a 220-300, two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and one Boeing 767 Freighter.

Before the end of this year, ATCL Managing Director Ladislaus Matindi, said they are expecting to add to its fleet one Dash8-Q400, two Boeing 737 Max -9 and one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

“We are grateful to the government for its unwavering support to ensure that our airline operates efficiently,” he said recently, while inking a deal with NMB Bank to simplify air tickets payments.

The increase in the fleet is a significant milestone as the airline seeks to open new routes as well as improving its global frequencies.

“We are set to open new routes and improve frequencies for international routes including China and India,” he said.

The new local routes targeted are Pemba, Musoma and Nachingwea.

The regional routes that the flag carrier put into spotlight are Kinshasa in the DRC, Lagos in Nigeria and Johannesburg in South Africa.

The international routes are such as London in the United Kingdom (UK), Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Muscat in Oman.

So far, ATCL is operating 15 local destinations and 11 others outside Tanzania.

The airline flies to Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Mwanza, Mbeya, Mtwara, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Kigoma, Zanzibar, Bukoba, Mpanda, Songea, Iringa and Tabora.

While, the regional and international destinations are Lubumbashi (DRC), Ndola and Lusaka (Zambia), Nairobi (Kenya), Bujumbura (Burundi), Comoros, Harare (Zimbabwe) and Entebbe (Uganda), Guangzhou (China) and Mumbai in India.