The Sunday Mail
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has licensed four budget airlines to service local and international routes in line with Government’s open- skies policy, which promotes tourism through increased air traffic in the country.
Two more airlines are scheduled to come on board before year-end.
Fastjet, Fly Africa, Victoria Falls Airways and Solenta Aviation were licensed recently, bringing the number of international airlines operating in Zimbabwe to 19.
At its peak, the country attracted 45 international airlines, a figure which plummeted to eight at the height of the stand-off with Western countries over the country’s revolutionary land reforms.
Fly Africa operates in 11 African countries and will this week begin servicing the Victoria Falls-Johannesburg route.
The airline flies on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, charging between US$60 and US$139 for a one-way ticket. London-based Fastjet will start plying the Harare-Dar es Salaam route next week at US$50 per one-way flight. The fare excludes Government charges and taxes.
Many Zimbabweans, mainly cross-border traders, take three days travelling to the Tanzanian city by bus and pay US$80 per trip.
The introduction of Fastjet’s twice-weekly flights could see most travellers taking to the skies. The airline already operates in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia and was recently said to be the world’s fifth-cheapest airline by World Airline.com, a reputed aviation publication.
Comparatively, a return Air Zimbabwe economy class Harare-Victoria Falls ticket costs US$270, while a return trip from the capital to Johannesburg, South Africa, costs US$380.
A Harare-Bulawayo Air Zimbabwe return ticket costs US$190.
Information regarding Victoria Falls Airways and South African-owned Solenta Aviation was not immediately available last week.
The open-skies policy dovetails with the continental Yamoussoukro Declaration which calls for the gradual liberalisation of African skies by granting access to air transport markets to all airlines without restrictions.
Zimbabwe’s first low-cost carrier, Fly Kumba, stopped flights in March 2011 after only a year in operation, citing viability problems. The airline charged half of Air Zimbabwe’s fares and only flew locally.
Analysts believe low-cost air travel will enable a significant number of civil servants to participate in domestic and regional tourism in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset), which advocates civil servant-driven tourism.
CAAZ general manager Mr David Chawota told The Sunday Mail that: “Budget airlines will not affect Air Zimbabwe as budget airlines target a new segment of the market and it will complement the national carrier.”
Harare-based economic analyst Mr Jacob Mapuranga added: “Low-cost air travel is the in-thing globally. Zimbabwe was lagging behind as a result of the country’s failure to attract such players in the aviation industry. Local tourism will now be boosted.
“Budget airlines will not offer any direct completion to the national carrier because they are not after the same market.
“However, the coming of new players into the aviation industry means Government needs to act with speed and recapitalise Air Zimbabwe.
“The national airliner needs to retire its debt, rehabilitate and procure a new fleet and get rid of non-essential human resource before it can operate profitably.”
