Update on fastjet's international route
29-Jul-2013 fastjet, Africa's first low-cost carrier, is delighted to announce that tickets for its first international route, between Tanzania and South Africa, will go on sale this week. Flights from fastjet's hub in Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg will be available to purchase from 31st July with fares as low as USD$100 (plus government taxes and charges), substantially cheaper than the alternative carrier. fastjet's facebook 'friends' will get first option to book flights on 31st July and seats will go on general release the following day, 1st August.
Initially, flights on the route will operate 3 times a week and the first flight is scheduled for 27th September. However, as demand for seats on fastjet's signature Airbus A319s is expected to be high, the Company intends to increase the frequency of flights in line with market demand. The airline expects to add further international destinations including Lusaka, Zambia, to its flying program in the near future.
Commenting on today's news, fastjet CEO Ed Winter, said:
"This is a hugely important day for fastjet and the people of Tanzania and we are delighted to have reached this significant milestone in our history. Despite a number of challenges, fastjet is now able to respond to huge consumer demand and provide an alternative and affordable link between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg, having secured all required permissions to do so. For far too long it has been difficult and prohibitively expensive to fly between these two extraordinary cities. We expect our lower fares to stimulate a huge increase in the numbers of passengers travelling on this route, as has been the case on our domestic routes in Tanzania.
Overwhelming public support for fastjet's low cost model has been a contributing factor to us launching this route. We hope that the obvious desire for a change in the competitive landscape will result in fastjet soon being awarded licenses in more African countries, bringing consumers the benefits of choice and lower prices on many more international routes."
Richard Bodin, Chief Commercial Officer of fastjet, added:
"We have been working exceedingly hard to acquire the necessary permissions to operate internationally and we would like to thank the public for their patience and support. Our decision to offer our Facebook 'friends' the opportunity to purchase tickets first is our way of thanking them.
For some time the Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg route has only been operated by one airline and the lack of competition has created inflated fares. fastjet will substantially reduce the average fare and in doing so will encourage more leisure and business traffic between Tanzania and South Africa."