Air Zimbabwe: : :

AirZim eyes US$400m Airbus planes.

By Darlington Musarurwa and Kudakwashe Mutandi

NATIONAL airline Air Zimbabwe, which is in the throes of a crippling industrial action by 40 pilots, is believed to be on the verge of acquiring two A340 Airbus planes in order to boost its fleet and make itself regionally competitive, it has been learnt.

Government and management at the airline elected to remain mum over the issue.
Sources, however, told this paper that “it is a done deal” and the delivery of the aircraft is expected soon, tentatively between October 16 and October 20.
Prices of the quoted aircraft range between US$200 million and US$245 million.
The structure of the deal with Airbus could not be ascertained by the time of going to press.
If the country takes delivery of the planes, it will be the second time after South Africa that Airbus enters Southern Africa.
“The country is expected to take delivery of the aircraft soon and operational modalities have already been completed.
“Staff, including engineering experts that had been sent for training in Germany, is now returning, but it should be noted that Airbus is prepared to send some of the crew to be attached to the planes for a two-year period.
“These planes are new generation aircraft that embody state-of-the art technologies and are the latest in terms of safety, cost effectiveness and standards,” said the source.
The A340 Airbus is a long-range four-engine commercial passenger airliner manufactured by Germany-domiciled company Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS considered a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services.
Although the A340 has had hull-loss accidents, where damage is such that the aircraft is totally written off, it hasn’t had a fatal incident as of January 2010.
It is believed that acquisition of the new planes makes economic sense as a cost-cutting measure since they use fuel efficiently and are likely to lure more customers at a time when competition is likely to increase as Government has adopted the open-skies policy.
Contacted for comment last week, Air Zimbabwe chairman Mr Jonathan Kadzura said he was not aware of the development.
“I have also heard about it, but, to be frank, I am not aware of it,” said Mr Kadzura in a terse response.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure, Mr Partson Mbiriri, referred all the questions to Minister Nicholas Goche, who could not be reached for comment.
Air Zimbabwe has been struggling to regain its footing after a decade-old recession and the situation was made worse after the Government weaned it.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) used to make US$3 million weekly injections into the parastatal in order to make it buoyant at a time when conditions were deteriorating.
Sources further note that the present fallout between management at the airline and the pilots has also been precipitated by the imminent arrival of the aeroplanes.
Some of the pilots feel that they were discriminated against when they were not forwarded as crew for the new planes.
Presently, the airline is losing an estimated US$500 000 per day due to the industrial action.
Air Zimbabwe had 15 planes at independence in 1980 and was a major player on the regional and international scene, but now it is operating with only five.
Of the five planes currently at Air Zimbabwe, two 767 Boeings operate the Harare-London route, presently the major source of income for the national airline.
Two Boeing 737s and an MA60 operate local and regional routes whilst the fifth plane has been out of service for several months now due to failure to purchase spare parts.
Local and regional routes operated by Air Zimbabwe include Harare-Bulawayo, Harare-Victoria Falls and Harare-Johannesburg.