eBusiness Weekly
Walter Muchinguri—
Low cost airline, fastjet will commence daily flights between Harare and Bulawayo from July 20, 2018.The airline yesterday said it was already selling ticket for the new route and was offering a special launch fare starting at $59 including taxes.
“Fastjet has been pursuing this route designation for several years,” said fastjet chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout.
“We are delighted to see that positive changes in the Zimbabwean environment made this development possible, enabling low-fare connectivity between more domestic destinations.”
“Fastjet will celebrate its third year of Zimbabwean operations in October and has invested substantially in the market with positive outcomes. While we are launching with a single frequency at present, fastjet intends to further grow the route following further consultation with stakeholders and ultimately to introduce additional aircraft to facilitate growth.”
Mr Bezuidenhout said that fastjet’s entry into this market would contribute positively in terms of further stimulating economic activity and growth, given that Bulawayo was second largest city in the country and was a strategic economic hub that services nearby mining, industrial and agricultural activity.
With the addition of the Harare Bulawayo route fastjet’s network in Zimbabwe now totals 4 destinations with more than 100 weekly flights; making it the leading carrier in Zimbabwe.
“With our affordable fares, multiple daily frequencies for business travelers, our commitment to promoting local and inbound tourism and our on-time performance of 90 percent, fastjet has become the airline for everyone,” says Bezuidenhout.
“We look forward to continued engagement with all stakeholders in Zimbabwe to realise additional frequencies on the route as well as the development of new destinations.”
The 2017 ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) study shows that aviation creates substantial up and downstream economic benefits. The air transport industry employs around 381 000 people in Africa and contributes more than $9 billion to the continent’s GDP.
“The catalytic impact of aviation stretches this to around 6,8 million jobs and $ 72,5 billion toward GDP. On a country and city scale airlines benefit local tourism, supply chain procurement and on average the market entry of a carrier on any new route stimulates job creation of around 100-200 opportunities across various sectors,” he said.
fastjet presently flies between Harare and Johannesburg 4 times daily, between Harare and Victoria Falls twice daily and up to 3 times a week between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg.
