By eTurboNews
Published September 16, 2013
Proflight Zambia has announced the launch of three-times-a-week flights from Lusaka to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania starting on October 23, 2013.
The new service is the second international route for the Zambian airline which started flying to Lilongwe in Malawi in June 2013.
“Proflight is determined to ensure that Zambia becomes a regional aviation hub, enabling easy and convenient connections from our nine domestic destinations to cities throughout southern Africa,†said Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs, Capt Philip Lemba. “Dar-es-Salaam is the next step in a plan that we hope will see Proflight grow into the airline of choice throughout the region.â€
Flights will depart from Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport at 08:00hrs on Mondays and Fridays, arriving at Dar-es-Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport at 12:20hrs, making it a journey of three hours and 20 minutes, given the one-hour time difference in Tanzania. The return flight leaves Dar-es-Salaam on the same days at 13:00hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 15:20hrs, enabling smooth connections onto Proflight’s afternoon flights to Mfuwe, Livingstone and Ndola.
There will also be a Wednesday flight, for which Proflight is awaiting confirmation from regulators on timing.
An additional Lusaka-Dar flight will be operated on Thursday, October 24, 2013 to mark Independence Day.
The Tanzanian commercial capital of Dar-es-Salaam is an important seaport for regional trade and provides a gateway for Zambian traders importing goods such as vehicles. The city is also the gateway for the exotic holiday location of Zanzibar.
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Conversely, the new service will bring business and leisure passengers to Zambia, including traders wishing to do business, and tourists combining a beach holiday with a safari excursion.
In addition to the new route to Tanzania, which will be operated by the airline’s 29-seat Jetstream 41 aircraft, Proflight will be increasing the frequency of its Lilongwe flights from three-times-a-week to four flights a week from November 16,2013 operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Monday, Thursday and Friday flights will leave Lusaka at 16:15hrs, returning from Lilongwe at 18:25hrs.
Timing for the Wednesday flight has yet to be confirmed, but the airline hopes to provide smooth connections from Lusaka on to the Dar-es-Salaam service.
With the introduction of the Tanzania route, Proflight Zambia will operate eleven scheduled routes using nine aircraft, including a Boeing 737 aircraft which was recently added to the Proflight fleet as the airline’s first jet aircraft.
The airline, that prides itself in providing a safe, reliable, efficient and friendly service, celebrates 22 years of operation in 2013.
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