The East African market is growing very fast and companies are grouping themselves up to occupy the region. Two weeks ago, Vimal Shah provided that East Africa has an open door for investors since the region has an open market and the relationship between the countries is good. Etihad Airways, one of the biggest air company would like to establish a strong connection in the region by launching new service between Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Etihad Airways is a household name in the airline business since it started operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. In addition, the airline holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
Yesterday, Etihad Airways landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The first flight in Tanzania was welcomed with a water-cannon salute and a troupe of traditional Tanzanian dancers.
The launch ceremony was attended by Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka, Permanent Secretary, Tanzanian Ministry of Transport, Dr Adelhelm James Meru, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources, H.E. Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk, Tanzanian Ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Abdullah Ibrahim Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Tanzania and Daniel Barranger, Etihad Airwaysâ Senior Vice President – Global Sales, Engineer Thomas Haule, Director, ?Julius Nyerere International Airport.
Dar es Salaam is Etihad Airwaysâ third departure point in East Africa, along with Nairobi and Entebbe, and its ninth destination on the continent. Operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, the new service is designed to provide business and leisure travellers with a direct daily service between Dar es Salaam and Abu Dhabi, with convenient onward connections to key destinations in the GCC region, Europe, Indian Subcontinent, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.
âThe launch of Etihad Airwaysâ flights to Dar es Salaam is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets. Dar es Salaam is a wonderful destination for tourists seeking to experience the great culture and history of Tanzania, and provides the gateway to numerous national and international tourist attractions, including Mount Kilimanjaro, the wildlife-rich national parks of the Serengeti, and the spice island of Zanzibar. Mr Barranger said.
âThe UAE is also a major trading partner with Tanzania and our new point-to-point services strengthen the two-way flow of trade and commerce between the two countries. The flight scheduling offers guests convenient onward connections, and caters for the strong traffic flows between Tanzania and key destinations across our global network, such as Ahmedabad and Mumbai in India or Beijing and Shanghai in China. Not only does this service provide our guests with direct access to an exciting new business and tourism destination, it also further strengthens our presence in East Africa and across the African continent,â he added.
