Air Zimbabwe, the national airliner"s major monopoly in the country"s airspace, is facing stiff challenge from new domestic airlines which are bracing the countrys aviation market.
p>Air Zimbabwe, the national airliner"s major monopoly in the country"s airspace, is facing stiff challenge from new domestic airlines which are bracing the countrys aviation market.
LonZim Plc is to commence operations for a Fly540 airline based in Zimbabwe to service both the domestic and regional markets and emerging local and connecting traffic. Flights are scheduled to start from late 2009. Fly540 is a Lonrho Plc owned airline operating in Africa and to international standards.
"LonZim's Fly540 Zimbabwe will deliver affordable air links to key domestic and regional cities from a Harare hub and will be an integral part of the Fly540 network that will be flying in nine African countries by the end of 2009,"according to a statement by LonZim.
Fly540 Zimbabwe will operate the low cost airline from Harare International airport and is scheduled to open flights to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls on a domestic basis and Lumbumbashi, Lilongwe, Lusaka and Beira on an international basis. Lonzim says that once established, the route network will be expanded.
Another low cost domestic airline, Fly Kumba, will service the Harare, Bulawayo route and is expecting to go regionally, according to Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Muchaka, who says that the coming in of new domestic airlines will increase efficiency in the aviation industry. He also said that air traffic is one of the safest and fastest transportation mode in the world.
lt is also reliably understood that another new domestic airline - AZambezi - was recently launched operating from Harare. AZambezi is servicing the Harare, Victoria Falls, Johannesburg and Livingstone routes.
Wallace Mawire
