REGIONAL airline, Air Tanzania will begin operating flights on the Dar es Salaam and Harare route today.

The flight, which will Depart Dar es Salaam at 10:10 am and is expected to arrive at the Robert Mugabe International airport at 11:25am, is expected to create vital connectivity between the two countries.

Air Tanzania will fly from Julius Nyerere International Airport to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport three times a week. Apart from the Dar es Salaam-Harare route, the airline also flies to several destinations such as Mauritius, Egypt, Kenya, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and China.

As stated on the Air Tanzania website, a return trip between Dar es Salaam and Harare is expected to cost around $230 (economy class) and $355 (business class).

The Dar es Salaam to Harare route will be serviced by its newly acquired Airbus A220-300. In 2018, Air Tanzania became the first African carrier to take delivery and operate the Airbus A220-300.

Air Tanzania will now join Ethiopian Airlines, Kenyan Airways, South African Airlines and RwandaAir on the Harare route.

The airline’s fleet is made up of two Airbus A220-300s, a Boeing 787-8, a Bombardier Q300 and three Bombardier Q400s summing their current fleet to seven aircrafts.

The airline was established as Air Tanzania Corporation in 1977 after the dissolution of East African Airways and has been a member of the African Airlines Association since its initial start.

Air Tanzania was wholly owned by the Tanzanian Government until 2002 when it was partially privatised. This then saw the government reducing its shareholding to 51 percent after entering into a partnership with South African Airways.

However, the partnership only lasted for four years as it accumulated heavy losses within that period. The government repurchased the shares in 2006, once again making the airline a wholly-owned government company.

Daily News