Air Tanzania outlines Q400 plans; to add a CS300 as well?

Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam) has outlined its operational plans for its maiden pair of Dash 8-400s due for delivery during the second half of next month.

The order, placed by the Tanzanian government, was already alluded to in June by Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Phillip Mpango during a presentation to parliament on the State of the Tanzanian economy.

“The government will buy three aircrafts [sic]: One Bombardier A220-300 with capacity to carry up to 150 passengers and two Bombardier Q aircrafts [sic] — with carrying capacity of up to 80 passengers,” he was quoted by The Daily News.

No delivery date for the C Series, or any confirmation that it would be placed with Air Tanzania, was given.

As such, acting managing director Patrick Itule says the Q400s' arrival will herald a dramatic expansion in the state-owned carrier's network which currently consists of Kigoma, Mtwara, and Mwanza locally and Moroni International in the Comores regionally.

According to Itule, alongside Air Tanzania's only aircraft, an eighteen year-old Dash 8-300, the two Q400s will be used to gradually roll out service to: Dodoma; Mwanza; Arusha; Mbeya; Tabora; Mpanda; Kilimanjaro; Zanzibar; Pemba Wawi; and Bukoba.

A revamped Air Tanzania's longevity is, however, also dependent on a restructuring of not only its debt portfolio, which reportedly stands at TZS93billion (USD50.8 million), but also its bloated workforce of 200 personnel for one aircraft. President John Magufuli's administration has reportedly appointed a panel of experts to devise a suitable turnaround plan for the struggling airline.

In a sign of his seriousness about returning Air Tanzania to its former glory, Tanzanian Minister for Work, Transport and Communications, Prof. Makame Mbarawa, suspended Air Tanzania’s previous CEO, Johnson Mfinanga, as well as Director of Operations, Sadick Muze, for having chosen an unqualified pilot to go to Canada and train at Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) for Q400 type-rating.

The post of CEO has since been advertised for suggesting Mfinanga has now been permanently removed.