Fastjet cuts regional routes as it struggles to survive

FASTJET Tanzania has announced suspension of routes from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe in Uganda and Nairobi in Kenya, effective as of Monday next week.

The suspension of the routes is part of the company’s ongoing turnaround programme in pursuit of long term sustainable financial structures for its business in Tanzania.

The turnaround programme - under the guidance of recently appointed fastjet plc CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout - included a review of the fastjet fleet, both the size and type of aircraft operated, the frequency of flights on specific routes, as well as the actual routes flown.

Under the direction of fastjet management, the turnaround programme for fastjet is progressing well, with a reduction of operating costs and overheads, fleet realignment, and flight frequency on identified routes, all yielding financial benefits.

After careful consideration of all possible options, fastjet has regrettably made the difficult decision that a small number of route suspensions still needed to be effected.

The routes to be suspended were chosen due to low passenger demand, as well as inefficient utilisation of fastjet’s existing and planned aircraft fleet; and as such they were not commercially viable.

fastjet apologises for the disruption and inconvenience caused to passengers affected by the route suspensions. All passengers will receive full refunds for any flights already booked and paid for on the suspended routes.

fastjet notes that suspending these routes opens the opportunity to add extra capacity onto existing routes and will advise of these plans as soon as they are confirmed.

Fastjet’s Tanzanian route network now comprises of domestic routes from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Zanzibar, as well as international routes from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, Lusaka and Harare.

Daily News