Increased competition in the skies is seen as good news to
Tanzanian air travellers following the reduction of fare by local airlines,
although there are fears that some might end up losing their wings completely.
Competition intensified after the arrival of FastJet, which
industry analysts say has posed a big challenge to local airlines including
Precision Air (PW) and the state-owned Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL). But
the battle is mainly between FastJet and PW because ATCL is not stable.
The trend is regarded as a blessing to local travellers
since the three airlines are currently jockeying to offer best services at the
lowest possible cost to attract and retain their clientele.
Statistics show
that PW is still enjoying the lion’s share in the market. Precision Air
controls over 60 per cent of the market share. The competition in the skies has
also affected international airlines.
British Airways (BA) recently announced that it will close
its offices in Tanzania after being in the country for four decades. BA
officials say that they have been driven out of the country by what was loosely
described as “failure to operate profitably.”
The airline, which during the
colonial era traded and operated as British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC), from 1939 to 1946, has announced that it is suspending its service from
London’s Heathrow Airport to Dar es Salaam after March 31.
Several stakeholders and economic analysts interviewed in
Dar es Salaam have said that the move will likely lead to loss of revenue and
other social benefits.
A statement issued during the week states that BA
flights which were operating three times a week are being suspended because
they don’t make a profitable contribution to business.
“Dar es Salaam was not performing well from a commercial
perspective so we have taken the decision to suspend the route,” a statement
issued by the airline in Dar es Salaam stressed.
According to the statement,
customers booked to fly with British Airways after March 31 will be offered a
full refund or be re-booked onto flights to or from Nairobi, Entebbe or Lusaka.
However, after the BA decision to close shop in the country
for failure to operate profitably, the government has started looking for
options on direct flights to London.
The Director of Tourism, Mr Ibrahim Mussa,
said in an interview over the weekend that the government has initiated talks
with Virgin Atlantic, one of the biggest airline companies in Britain.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources in
collaboration with the Ministry of Transport had initiated preliminary talks
with the UK carrier, Virgin Atlantic, with hopes of reaching an agreement to
take over the route left by the BA,” he said. He said Virgin Atlantic, the
biggest UK private airline closed the five-times weekly route to Nairobi in
September 2012, after operating for the last five years.
He said the closure of BA business in the country was not
good news because it will not only cause loss of revenue and other social
benefits but also inconvenience some travellers who were taking direct flights
to Heathrow Airport in London from Dar es Salaam.
Although assessment on how
the withdrawal of BA business in the country will affect the tourism industry
has not been done, Mr Musa said surveys show that large number of tourists from
UK were already using other airlines like Emirates, Qatar and Ethiopian which
have daily flights to Tanzania.
Credible sources in the airline industry said the BA was
among the few airways shipping sensitive cargo including light weapons, local
and foreign banknotes and minerals such as gold, diamond, Tanzanite to the international
markets.
Swissport Tanzania Limited Chief Executive Officer Gaudence Temu said
that his company will suffer from the airline’s decision to stop flights to Dar
es Salaam because they have been providing cargo handling services since 1985
when the firm was incorporated.
“We will definitely lose considerable revenue not only for
the nation but also for Swissport (T) Limited that has been handling all BA
cargo for many years,” remarked Mr Temu.
Mr Temu, who is also Chairman of the
Tourism Confederation of Tanzania, pointed out that the United Kingdom is one
of the biggest tourist markets for the country and the suspension of the
flights directly to and from the country would affect the flow of tourists and
hence the badly needed foreign exchange from the sub-sector.
Source: The Daily News, www.dailynews.co.tz, reported by Sebastian Mrindoko in Dar es Salaam
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