By Maria Kamazi and Agencies
Tanzania is set to receive its second Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Saturday increasing its fleet of aircraft to 7 seven those already arrived and to 11, as more are still coming.
Like Uganda and Rwanda, Tanzania under its reformist President, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli has vowed to revamp its national carrier into a successful entity.
Nicknamed after the “Rubondo Island” the new aircraft which is valued at $224.6 million at list price has been bought by the government under President Magufuli to expand its fleet of regional and international markets.
President Magufuli has been frequently insisting that “Tanzania cannot develop its economy without its national carrier”. Since then, he has purchased new nine aircraft using taxpayers’ money.
The arrival of the Dreamliner will make Tanzania to continue establishing long-haul capability by starting flights to Europe (London, UK?) and Asia (with China and Thailand in sight). Early this year, with the first Dreamliner, Air Tanzania opened weekly flights-a five-hour flight to Mumbai in India.
The 787 series will significantly increase passenger experience and will boost Tanzania’s robust tourism market. Last year contributed at least $ 2.1 billion (tsh 4.7 trillion) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to sh 4.2 trillion contributed in 2016.
According to World Travel Tourism Council, total contribution of tourism to GDP in 2017 was 9.0 percent and it rose to 9.1 percent in 2018. This sector directly supported 446,000 jobs which is 3.3 percent of the total employment; it rose to 7.1 percent in 2018.
Air Tanzania Company Limited is the flag carrier of Tanzania based in Dar es Salaam with its hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport and currently flies to other regional destinations such as Uganda, Burundi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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