FUTURE BRIGHT FOR DAR ROUTE, SAYS SEYCHELLES AIRLINE CEO

Air Seychelles chief executive officer Manoj Papa
gestures during an interview with ‘The Citizen’
in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Dar es Salaam. Air Seychelles, the national airline of the republic of Seychelles which started flying between Dar es Salaam and Mahe last December, says it is counting bright future with the route as the market is promising.

Air Seychelles’ chief executive officer Manoj Papa said the airline has experienced an increased number of passengers in the last two months the airline has been operating in the country.

“We are new entrants in this market but for the last two months we have been here, we notice that passengers are growing. There is a growing demand by passengers going beyond Seychelles to Mumbai, Abu Dhabi through our connections,” said Mr Papa in an interview yesterday.

The airline started its twice-weekly service to Dar es Salaam last December, the first destination in East Africa. Air Seychelles also flies to Mauritius, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, Antananarivo, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Paris.

The airline maintains a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates which also owns 40 per cent stake in the Air Seychelles.

Air Seychelles also offers more than 200 domestic scheduled flights a week throughout the archipelago, including domestic charter services.

“We chose Dar es Salaam because our group strategy on regional flights focuses on three-hour flights and the city makes perfect sense of it. Tanzania is also growing fast and is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa with many promises,” he said.

Mr Papa said the airline has no plans to open wings to other Tanzania’s prime destinations like Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar as currently they are concentrating on the Dar es Salaam route. He also said the airline is facing no challenges with the Tanzanian market.

The Citizen