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I recently had the pleasure of flying Air Tanzania, from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) to Dar es Salaam (DAR), via Zanzibar (ZNZ). My flight was a smooth one, and included a beverage service and friendly attendants (see a photo of one of them below). As well, my flight was on time and my colleague’s luggage also arrived.

Air Tanzania operates a fleet of three 737-200’s, serving eight cities, and is currently getting back on its feet financially. The airline is now back in government hands after an attempt at privatization in 2002 in a strategic partnership with South African Airlines that failed miserably. Once the airline’s debt situation is improved, it will re-attempt to land a new strategic private partner to grow and be profitable.

Air Tanzania currently serves eight cities, all in Southern and Eastern Africa: Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (JRO); Entebbe, Uganda (EBB); Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (DAR); Zanzibar, Tanzania (ZNZ); Mwanza, Tanzania (MWZ); Mtwara, Tanzania (MYW), Moroni, Comoros (HAH), and Johannesburg (JNB).

Air Tanzania is the second largest carrier in Tanzania. There are several airlines currently operating in the country, the largest of which is Precision Air with a fleet of six ATR’s (turbo-prop) and one LET (turbo-prop). There are also smaller carriers operating charter and some scheduled domestic services throughout the country. However, capacity is limited, in part, by not only a lack of carriers or limited fleet sizes, but also by restrictions in service hours at many domestic airports due to infrastructure constraints.

With respect to scheduled commercial services, there is by far more international air service to and from Tanzania than is operated domestically. From the country’s three primary international airports—Dar es Salaam (DAR), Zanzibar (ZNZ), and Kilimanjaro (JRO)—there are 17 foreign flag carriers providing international service at at least one of these airports.

Looking forward, like any airline, Air Tanzania is looking to grow. Load factors are good and, though I only flew on one route, my flight was full as well. Air Tanzania is looking to acquire Bombardier’s Q300 (around 50 seats) and Q400 (around 74 seats), which will serve them well to compete with Precision Air, but also to grow their network. The turboprops can be used widely as many airports in Tanzania do not have paved runways and/or have runways that are fairly short, and thus are better served by the turboprops than B737’s. There are also rumors about that the airline is looking to add an some Airbus equipment to its fleet as well.

The airline is looking to add routes to Nairobi, Kenya (NBO); Lubumbashi, DRC (FBM); Kigali, Rwanda (KGL); and Bujumbura, Burundi (BJM). Burundi and Rwanda are recent signatories to the East African Community, joining Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.

Eventually, the airline is looking return to other former routes including to Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. I would love to see a route to Mozambique, but it seems that language issues and economic ties, both which can be traced to the area’s colonial history and subsequent development, make Mozambique, despite being a neighbor, an unlikely Air Tanzania destination in the near future.

So the next time you’re heading out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, to visit some animal friends at Serengeti National Park, to hike to the bottom of the Ngorongoro Crater, or to just hang out in a beautiful and peaceful country, check out Air Tanzania, which will hopefully soon have some new planes and destinations to offer.

My Air Tanzania 737-200 plane to Dar es Salaam, shot here at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) upon arriving from Entebbe, Uganda.

Jullieth, a beautiful flight attendant on my Kilimanjaro-Dar es Salaam flight, as we stopped in Zanzibar.