Uganda Airlines has on Thursday September 26 completed payment of $56 million for the purchase of another Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.
The signing of the agreement in Canada was witnessed by the works and transport ministry permanent secretary, Wasswa Bageya. The revived national carrier is expected to take delivery of its third aircraft in October whose arrival is expected to aid the expansion of its route list.
The Uganda Airlines last month returned to skies — restoring its status and pride as the national carrier. Ms. Jennifer Bamuturaki, the airline’s Commercial Director made the revelation last week in a weekly briefing.
“We will be flying into Mogadishu four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. We are expecting two more Bombardier planes in October this year. Once we have the aircraft delivered to our fleet, we will increase our flights to Mogadishu to six times a week,” said Bamuturaki.
She said the Airlines will also fly to Bujumbura three times a week, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana and other destinations.
✳Entebbe-Juba, 10x weekly.
✳Entebbe-Mombasa, 3x weekly.
✳Entebbe-Nairobi, 2 daily.
✳Entebbe-Mogadishu, 4x weekly.
✳Entebbe-Kilimanjaro, 3x weekly.
Uganda Airlines flew to eight destinations and had a fleet of 15 aircraft at the time of its closure in 2001 when a more than a decade of financial difficulties resulted in its liquidation.
In the same year, an attempt to resurrect the government-owned airline through a private sector initiative was made. But the operation did not last long as a result of limited capital.
Now to compete with big regional players like Ethiopia Airlines and Kenya Airlines, the re-launched Uganda Airlines is running promotional fares that will run for two months.
Nairobi and Mombasa return tickets cost $278 and $325 respectively.
Return tickets to Mogadishu, Somalia, and Juba, South Sudan, cost $590 and $225 respectively.
Speaking at monthly media engagement held at Golden tulip hotel, Bamuturaki said in October, the company will receive two more Aircraft and this will expand their route map.
“We shall be flying three times a day from Monday to Friday and twice a day every Saturday and Sunday. We shall fly to Lusaka, Johannesburg, Zanzibar and Kigali coming online,” she said adding that the Airline will ensure on time departures and have strict avoidance of flight delays.
Samora Ssemakula, the Quality Assurance Manager for Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) says the introduction of the flights to the different destinations in the region will help in marketing the country which may, in turn, lead to more tourists coming to the country.
Source: PML Daily