update (29 Nov 2016): Contrary to their posting on Facebook, Fastjet only suspended three and NOT four routes from 05 December 2016 - Dar es Salaam in Tanzania <> Entebbe in Uganda, Dar es Salaam <> Nairobi in Kenya, as well as Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe <> Johannesburg in South Africa.
Pan-African low-cost carrier fastjet is set to suspend four of its services from 05 December 2016. They are Johannesburg <> Victoria Falls, Dar es Salaam <> Entebbe, Kilimanjaro <> Entebbe and Dar es Salaam <> Nairobi.
Passengers who have already booked and paid for affected flights will get refunded by Fastjet. Those on flights from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls will be offered an alternative routing via Harare.
According to a statement by the airline, the suspended routes were not commercially viable due to low passenger demand and the inefficient use of aircraft. Fastjet also replied to a post by an affected passenger on facebook saying that "this suspension of the routes is part of our ongoing turnaround program in pursuit of long term sustainable financial structures for our businesses in Tanzania and Zimbabwe".
I feel that poor marketing of the airline among #Ugandans could be one reason for its low volumes. Last saw a bill board for Fast Jet along Kampala - Entebbe Highway in 2014. Uganda currently depends on foreign aircrafts to ferry passengers in and out of Entebbe since 2013 following the collapse of Air Uganda.
ReplyDelete