Air Tanzania said on Friday it has resumed its Dar-Nairobi flights, which had stopped in over two decades.
The arrival of the new ultra-modern Airbus A220-300 Friday at 6:45 a.m. in Nairobi marked the start of the carrier’s double-daily flights on the route as part of its expansion plans in Africa.
The restart of this route is largely attributed to improved bilateral relations, increased trade between the two countries the need to connect the region with other markets.
“We at Air Tanzania are looking forward to bolstering the relations between Tanzania and Kenya, who have been trusted friends and sincere partners for decades, with this non-stop air service,” said Eng. Ladislaus Matindi, the Managing Director and CEO of Air Tanzania.
Air Tanzania will fly the Airbus A220-300, a 132-seater with 12 business class seats and 120 economy class seats.
Leo tunayofuraha kuanza rasmi safari zetu za DAR/NAIROBI zitakazokuwa zikifanya mara mbili kila siku.Tembelea tovuti yetu https://t.co/sH3RTTC575 au tupigie 0800 110045 kupata tiketi yako.#FlyAirTanzania#nairobi pic.twitter.com/fVOjbJ4qzI
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) November 26, 2021
The airline will depart Dar-es-Salaam at 5:30 a.m. to arrive in Nairobi at 6:45 a.m. and depart Nairobi at 7:45 a.m. to arrive in Dar at 9 a.m., at a cost of KSh37,525 ($334) for a round trip and roughly KSh23, 594 ($210) for one way travel on the new Dar-Nairobi route.
The evening flights will depart Julius Nyerere International Airport at 8 p.m. and arrive in Nairobi at 9:15 p.m., and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 10:15 p.m. to arrive in Tanzania at 11:30 p.m.
Apart from Nairobi, Air Tanzania has announced three new regional routes in November from Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura (Burundi), Ndola (Zambia), and Lubumbashi (DR Congo).
Mumbai (India), Hahaya (Comoros), Lusaka (Zambia), Harare (Zimbabwe), Entebbe (Uganda), and Guangzhou (China) are among the destinations served by Air Tanzania. It will add Johannesburg (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), and London (United Kingdom) to its destinations in the coming months.
Air Tanzania has eleven new modernized aircraft in its fleet, with eight of them joining in the last three years including five Bombardiers Q400’s, four Airbus A220-300’s, and two Boeing 787-800 Dreamliners. The airline has also made orders for additional six aircraft for $726 million, including a Bombadier Q 400, two Boeing 737-900s, two Boeing 787-800 Dreamliners, and one Boeing 767 Freighter, all of which are due to enter the fleet within the next two years.
Figures from Kenya’s statistics office indicate that Tanzanian exports to Kenya increased to KSh20.5 billion in the first six months of the year, up from KSh10.8 billion the previous year. The value of Kenyan exports sent to Tanzania grew to Sh17.8 billion from KSh14 billion.
