Air Zimbabwe to settle $2,8 million debt

AIR Zimbabwe has put in place a payment plan to clear its $2,8 million debt owed to a European navigation agency, which will see the airline resume the Harare-London route early next year.

The airline, saddled with an estimated debt of $140 million, stopped flying to London last December after fears its planes would be seized over the debt.

Air Zimbabwe spokesperson Shingai Taruvinga told NewsDay the airline had plans in place to gradually increase its frequencies on current routes, while regional and international routes would be introduced in phases.

“The London route will be introduced early next year following the resumption of the Harare-Johannesburg flight,” she said.

The airline resumed fourtimes-a-week flights to Johannesburg after the debt it owed to South African aviation companies was cleared. The economy class air fare is currently on promotion till the end of December at $317 on a route serviced by a Boeing 767-200.

Currently the plane flies on a growing 60% capacity. However, the airline is still using the manual check-in system as Worldspan has not yet cleared it following its year’s absence even though it had renewed its membership.

Worldspan is a provider of travel technology and content, and a part of the Travelport GDS business. Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke, noted that it was unfortunate that other airlines had been reaping benefits from the route all along with Zimbabwe getting nothing out of it.

He said now that Air Zimbabwe was flying again, the airline might tap into the lucrative $7 million/week revenue international airlines had been getting.

“From a transport economics point of view, Zimbabwe was economically disadvantaged. But now that it (Air Zimbabwe) has started to fly again, some benefits, though not equal, will be realised,” Kaseke said.

He, however, said Air Zimbabwe could expect to regain its share of the market in just three months. “It will take a minimum of a year provided government is willing to support them financially. Without that, it could be longer,” said Kaseke.

Kaseke said the airline had lost its brand and should implement an intensive marketing strategy. He added that Air Zimbabwe must capitalise on its record of safety, reliability and customer care to re-establish itself. “But a lot of work has to be done,” he said.

Taruvinga said the airline would soon reintroduce the Bulawayo-Johannesburg route, which is as lucrative as the Harare-Johannesburg route. The domestic route load factor is averaging around 80%, while it is full to capacity during weekends. The Harare-Bulawayo-Vic Falls route is serviced by a Boeing 737-200. NewsDay