The regional airliner, Fly540 will start operating as a proper low costs carrier before the end
of this year. This follows a move by easyJet of the UK which has bought a stake
in the parent company that owns regional airliner.
Fly540 General Manager, Mr Brown Francis told the 'Daily
News' in Dar es Salaam on Thursday that
the take-off of the "no-frills" carrier awaits shareholders' approval
who are expected to meet in about 30 days.
He said that the proper low cost carrier will offer almost 50 per cent price cut
compared to other commercial flights. "Passengers will be required to buy
refreshments on board as opposed to the current situation whereby such service
is offered fershments", he said.
UK's Lonrho Aviation, the owner of Fly540, disposed off its
aviation business to Rubicon Diversified Investments, both of London UK at 85.7million US Dollars (about 137.12bn/-) in
shares deal.
Under the deal, Lonrho will rebrand Fly540 as FastJet and
launch an expansion drive in conjunction with EasyJet founder Sir Stelios
Haji-Ioannou. EasyJet is the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, behind
Ryanair.
"This will be a proper low-cost carrier in the country
passengers will have an easy choice," Mr Francis said on Thursday.
Information from the UK have it if all goes well as planned, FastJet will start
flying the country's skies before end of the year.
There are also reports that
the company will introduce larger jets with 160 seats to its fleet.
Fly540 launched its services in Tanzania in 2008 focusing on providing low-cost
transport for passengers and cargo.The airliner flies from its hub in Dar es
Salaam to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Mtwara, Zanzibar, Tabora, Arusha and Nairobi.
Source: The Daily News,http://www.dailynews.co.tz, reported by Abduel Elinaza
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