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fastjet has announced that it is no longer able to continue funding one of its airlines, fastjet Tanzania Limited due to regulatory approval delays, excessive capacity leading to unsustainable pricing levels and a domestic economic slowdown severely impacting demand.
fastjet Zimbabwe together with fastjet Mozambique (operated by Solenta Aviation Mozambique) is economically stable and will continue operating. The company said its full focus will continue to be dedicated to growing and reinforcing these markets, whilst pursuing new market opportunities.
Nico Bezuidenhout, fastjet CEO, said: “The past few days have probably been some of the most challenging times in fastjet plc’s history with some of the toughest decisions having been taken by management and the Board.”
He added a message to the trade: “On behalf of fastjet I would like to thank you for the level of support that you have shown our company and I remain confident and invested in the business development for Mozambique and Zimbabwe. We look forward to your continuous support
https://twitter.com/whthome/status/1047889804694900746?s=21
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Dr Wolfs addition
Disturbing news are emerging from Fastjet’s head office that the airline apparently decided to halt funding for their Tanzanian franchise, the first in the group to take to the skies and for many years faithfully serving Tanzanian with low fares and reliable connections.
It appears, and notably has management not responded at this time to enquiries, that the airline’s top management simply decided that enough was enough, after aviation regulators in Dar es Salaam continued their wait until forever game they played over the airline’s new fleet of ATR72 aircraft.
As said before have the Tanzanian authorities heavily tilted the playing field in favour of their own national airline, with no hesitation over the impact on the industry and the country’s standing as an investment destination – in any case falling apart over the decision to prohibit arbitration and forcing the use of a local court system which is seen abroad as far from independent and allegedly often ready to implement political decisions from the bench.
It remains now to be seen what steps will follow next but with funding from abroad halted is it now anyone’s guess for how long the airline can continue to operate, given the hostile market environment unleashed upon them.
Operations in Zimbabwe and Mozambique however will continue as usual and Fastjet there is fully supported by Solenta, one of the airline’s major shareholders, based in South Africa.
There is growing speculation when Fastjet will announce the launch of operations in South Africa, where Solenta has ready to fly operator permits available, as they incidentally do in several other countries.
Said a regular aviation source in Dar es Salaam when contacted earlier in the afternoon: ‘The writing was on the wall. Our aviation officials delayed delayed and delayed them, which can be seen as obstruction, probably aiming to please their political masters. With Fastjet out of the way will fares no doubt rise and the Tanzanian traveling public will pay the price. Other private airlines should not jubilate, because they too may well be in the cross hairs of those people who want a monopoly again for Air Tanzania which will let them set fares at will. This is a sad day for Tanzanian aviation, for investors in Tanzania, should your story be confirmed‘.
Links to previous articles on the topic:
https://atcnews.org/2018/02/06/fastjet-pulls-kigoma-flight-bookings-from-system/
Sad to hear this news about the Tanzania operation...they certainly tried ...but..at the end of the day...they were just subsidising the true cost of flying ....many locals who had the chance paid ..as everyone knows...a cheap price because the investors were paying the rest ...
Air Tanzania...well they arent gonna let the airline run up huge losses having seen that in Kenya....Flying is back to being for those that afford its true cost ..and with fuel prices on the rise..that isnt cheap any more
A monoploy... charging what it wants...maybe so...but that will..i think be more about trying to get a profit at the end of the year ..rather than losses,losses,losses ..you need profits in the busy season to cover the quieter season as everyone knows
Well done for trying Ed and Nico...despite the losses
It really aint easy
Is this the end to fastjet or is it now time to invest ?