Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam) expects delivery of its first dedicated freighter by the end of March as well as four more passenger aircraft before the end of the year, says Managing Director Ladislaus Matindi.
He told a media briefing in Dar es Salaam on February 20 that Air Tanzania (known as ATCL) expects delivery of one B767-300F by March 31, as well as one DHC-8-Q400, two B737-9 MAX, and one more B787-8 by the end of the year, which would vastly improve the airline's capacity as several of its aircraft are currently grounded for various reasons.
Matindi did not respond to a request for more information from ch-aviation. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the B767-300F freighter was ordered by TGF - Tanzania Government Flight (Dar es Salaam) – the state-owned aircraft lessor – on July 29, 2021. All of ATCL's aircraft are owned by and leased from TGF.
The Tanzanian flag carrier currently has 12 passenger aircraft, including four A220-300s, two B787-8s, one DHC-8-Q300, and five DHC-8-Q400s. Matindi confirmed that only eight aircraft in the fleet are currently functional. The ch-aviation fleets module confirms that three A220-300s and the Dash 8-300 are out of service.
Matindi explained that two A220-300s are grounded due to technical problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1524G-3 engines, but he is hopeful they could be back in service in March. The airline needs four spare engines for the two aircraft whose power plants were sent to Frankfurt, Germany for maintenance. "We expect to receive more spare engines from March," Matindi told The Citizen newspaper.
He said that one A220-300 was in service after the engine manufacturer provided replacement power plants in December.
Matindi declined to disclose how much the carrier has lost due to the faulty engines but said ATCL was still negotiating compensation from the manufacturer. "The compensation being issued is small compared to the loss we have incurred after grounding our aircraft," he said.
Meanwhile, a third A220-300 remains attached in The Netherlands over a land rights dispute between Tanzania and two Swedish investors. As reported, EcoDevelopment in Europe AB and EcoEnergy Africa AB were awarded USD165 million in damages after Tanzania unilaterally revoked a land rights claim. The companies persuaded a Dutch court to uphold the attachment of 5H-TCH (msn 55047) owned by TGF. According to The Citizen, the matter is pending before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Tanzania argued the attachment was unlawful because it was obtained a day after the state petitioned the ICSID to annul EcoDevelopment's award.
Matindi said SATCL would consider wet-leasing aircraft to bridge the gap before the A220-300s are returned to service. "We are currently monitoring demand. We may consider leasing aircraft if demand exceeds the airline's capacity."
Meanwhile, he said, ATCL plans to increase its frequencies to Guangzhou, China, to twice weekly from March 2. The carrier also serves Mumbai International in India once weekly with the two B787-8s. In total, it serves 24 destinations, including 14 domestic routes.
