Air Tanzania outlines early CS300 and 787 deployment plans

Air Tanzania chief executive officer and managing director, Ladislaus Matindi, has outlined the carrier's early CS300 and 787-8 deployment plans ahead of either type's delivery later this year, reports ch-aviation.
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The Tanzanian state-owned carrier expects to take delivery of its two CSeries jets from Bombardier in June this year to be followed by its maiden 787-8 from Boeing in July. All aircraft are being procured via state-owned lessor, TGF - Tanzanian Government Flight.

Speaking to African Aerospace in November last year, Matindi said the CS300s would be used to open up five or six regional routes in Southern and West Africa including Johannesburg O.R. Tambo , Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, and one or two destinations in the Middle East.

The 787, on the other hand, will be deployed on intercontinental routes to China and India initially, followed by Europe in a second phase. Talks are already underway to firm up an option for a second of the type, the CEO said.

To help boost the viability of its new services, Air Tanzania will undergo IOSA certification later this quarter. If secured, this will then allow the carrier to develop commercial partnerships with other, more large-scale operators.

“Our business plan tells us what to do. We have theories about how we will fill them [the aircraft]," he said. "We know it is not an easy plan and strategy, but we adopted it knowing we have that capacity. Tanzania is a country with enormous tourism potential – if we work hard and have a good plan, that number will be within reach without any problem.”