Coastal Travels Ltd., the parent of safari specialist Coastal Aviation (CQ, Dar es Salaam), has announced a new majority investor, self-made Tanzanian billionaire Rostam Aziz, through his company Taifa Aviation Limited, effective September 1, 2022.
In a statement shared with ch-aviation, the company said previous sole owner Carolina Colangelo remained in partnership with minority shares.
The management team of the airline has also remained unchanged. Chief Executive Officer Maynard Mkumbwa would "drive the delivery of Coastal’s business strategy and steer the company to new heights".
He told ch-aviation Coastal Aviation has already bought a new Cessna (single turboprop) C208 Grand Caravan from US-based lessor Africair, to be delivered early next year to increase capacity.
The Citizen newspaper reports that Aziz bought 51% and planned to take over the rest of the shares strategically to increase his investments in Tanzania's aviation sector.
According to Forbes Magazine, Aziz was the first Tanzanian dollar billionaire in 2013. He owns part of cell phone company Vodacom Tanzania; telecommunications provider MIC Tanzania Plc, Taifa Gas Group, and mining contractor Caspian Mining.
Aziz declined to immediately comment to The Citizen as he was out of the country.
Coastal Aviation was founded in 1987 as an inbound operator offering personalised safaris and air charters for the tourism market. The original fleet comprised one Cessna (single piston) 206T and three Dhows‚ East African sailing boats.
According to the company website, the aircraft fleet comprises ten Cessna Grand Caravan 208B and five PC-12s. In 2019, it carried more than 150‚000 passengers operating into 100 airstrips‚ some of them located in the most isolated pockets of East Africa. Alongside its operations‚ the company has grown with offices and bases in major Tanzanian hubs like Dar es Salaam‚ Zanzibar‚ Arusha‚ Mwanza‚ employing more than 300 staff.
