fastjet signs agreement with Proflight Zambia

fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Lusaka-based regional airline Proflight Zambia, enabling passengers of both airlines to travel easily between 15 destinations across Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania served by the two carriers. This alliance not only will see both airlines expand in reach but also establish Lusaka as a regional aviation hub. fastjet will solely service the route between Dar es Salaam and Lusaka from 1 May 2014, as well as Tanzanian domestic routes from Dar es Salaam, while Proflight will service its existing domestic routes in Zambia, and its route to Lilongwe in Malawi, from Lusaka.

 

fastjet passengers are now able to book Proflight flights in conjunction with a fastjet ticket online at www.fastjet.com, or at any of the airline's sales offices. Fares combining Proflight and fastjet flights will include a free checked-in baggage allowance of 23 kgs. "fastjet has cemented its reputation as a reliable, affordable low-cost carrier, maintaining excellent punctuality and reliability records," says Richard Bodin, Chief Commercial Officer of fastjet. "This collaboration with Proflight Zambia adds momentum to fastjet's vision of democratising air travel on the African continent, while boosting growing trade relationships between Zambia and Tanzania."An efficient aviation sector that offers passengers affordable, safe and reliable flights to the destinations of their choice is sure to boost tourism and commerce in both countries," he adds.

 

"The agreement signed with fastjet is the latest step in our strategy to develop a network in the region, making air travel in Southern Africa more convenient and accessible," said Captain Philip Lemba, Director of Government and Industry Affairs at Proflight. "We look forward to being able to combine the service and value for money that the joint initiative brings." The agreement sees passengers able to book flights on a single ticket from any of Proflight's destinations -Livingstone, Ndola, Mfuwe, Chipata, Solwezi, Lower Zambezi, Mongu, Kasama and Mansa, and Lilongwe in Malawi, all via Lusaka - to Dar es Salaam, or via that city to Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Mwanza in Tanzania, on fastjet.

Proflight Zambia Teams up with Kenya Airways

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA–Lusaka-based regional airline Proflight Zambia has signed an interline agreement with Kenya Airways that will enable passengers to travel across the networks of both airlines with a single booking. Under the agreement, customers will be able to purchase joint Proflight Zambia-Kenya Airways itineraries and will be issued with a single combined ticket. This will enable seamless connections to and from Proflight’s ten domestic destinations: Lusaka, Ndola, Livingstone, Mfuwe, Solwezi, Chipata, Mansa, Kasama, Lower Zambezi and Mongu, as well as its two international routes, Lilongwe in Malawi and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. It will also enable Proflight customers to book flights to over 60 destinations within the Kenya Airways network from its hub in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

The move should draw more leisure and business travels to Zambia, and facilitate wider travel options for passengers from Zambia looking to travel internationally. “We welcome Kenya Airways passengers to the Proflight network in Zambia, and look forward to a long and happy partnership between the two airlines,” said Captain Philip Lemba, Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs. Customers will enjoy a range of added benefits, including special fares on itineraries across the two airlines.

Proflight Zambia Launches Youth Day Savings Initiative

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Lusaka-based regional airline Proflight Zambia has teamed up with paper technology charity APTERS to encourage young people to develop a money saving ethic, and help disabled children in the process. The Youth Day initiative will see APTERS – short for Appropriate Paper Technology – create 60 hand-crafted “piggy banks” in the shape of Proflight-branded aeroplanes that will be given to children on the airline’s flights this week. And the proceeds paid by Proflight will be used by APTERS to help subsidise the cost of the mobility aids they make for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

 

“The team at APTERS is doing fantastic work to support less fortunate children and their families and so it was a natural choice for Proflight Zambia to engage them to make these Youth Day gifts,” said Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs Capt. Philip Lemba. “The idea is to treble our positive impact: giving children with cerebral palsy a new future, giving APTERS the funding they need for job creation, and giving our younger passengers a fun way to save money. Everyone wins.” Colourful piggy banks have a long history of encouraging children to save money by putting notes and coins in a slot where they are then kept safe until a target amount has been collected and can then be used to buy something special that the child has been saving up for, thus teaching them the value of money and instilling a savings habit.

 

Appropriate Paper Technology is based at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and was

established in 1990 by three young enterprising and skilled physically challenged people with the aim of producing mobility aids for disabled children using recycled paper as the raw material. The organisation also uses the same technology to make commercial products such as dustbins, file boxes, toys, trays – and now piggy banks – to fund the collection of paper and support its activities. “Most of the mothers of our children with cerebral palsy are not able to pay the full amount for mobility aids. With the help of Proflight Zambia we can top that up so they are ore affordable,” explained APTERS director Kenneth Habaalu, as he showed Proflight sales supervisor Zamiwe Nyemba and Proflight receptionist Louise Bandela around the APTERS workshop where the Proflight piggy banks were being made by production supervisor Darius Banda, technician Peter Banda and assistant Irene Nasolo.

 

The team use balloons as a framework, on which they paste pieces of paper soaked in flour-and-water glue. Once dry, wings are added, the models are painted, and a slot cut in the top.

Proflight Zambia Year of 2013 STATS

Proflight Zambia Flies Around The World Every Week

 

Lusaka-based regional airline Proflight Zambia flew the equivalent distance of travelling around the world every week last year. The airline flew a total of 2,275,204 kilometres during 2013, enough to fly the 40,075 kilometres circumference of the globe 56 times, or more than once round the earth every week. “For the first time in Proflight Zambia’s 23 year history we broke through the 2 million kilometre mark last year, demonstrating that our strategy of slow, steady growth is starting to pay off,” said Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs Capt. Philip Lemba.

 

“These latest figures also show that Proflight is starting to achieve the size and critical mass necessary to run an efficient and credible regional airline with Lusaka as its hub,” he added. Flying passengers more than 2 million kilometres meant 8,830 hours of time in the air. Some 136,206 passenger journeys were made during the year on Proflight – again a record for the airline, which increased its domestic route network to ten with the addition of its Mongu service in November, and added its first two international routes during the year, from Lusaka to Lilongwe in Malawi, and to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.

 

In total some 9,490 “sectors” – from one airport to the next - were flown during the year. On a quirkier note, the Proflight passengers consumed 21,842 muffins during their flights as part of the airline’s complimentary on-board catering services. That’s 2.184 tonnes of muffins: 18 times the weight of Douglas the baby hippo – which Proflight helped fly to safety in March after he was abandoned by his mother in the Lower Zambezi. Douglas weighed 120kg when Proflight airlifted him, but will be up to 3.6 tonnes when fully grown.

 

While 2013 was a record year for Proflight Zambia, the airline is not resting on its laurels and plans further expansion during 2014, new regional routes from Lusaka to Johannesburg, Lubumbashi, Harare and Tete being evaluated. Meanwhile, according to a recent article by Routes Online website, Proflight was the largest operator in Zambia for the year to November 31, 2013, flying 23.4 percent of the passengers arriving or departing from Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

Emirates and Proflight Zambia Sign Global Ticketing Agreement

 

 

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, January 28, 2014: Emirates, a global connector of people and places, and Proflight Zambia, has signed an interline agreement that will make it easier for international passengers to reach domestic destinations throughout Zambia. Popular Zambian attractions such as the Victoria Falls – one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World – can now be accessed with a single ticket purchase and smooth connections from any of Emirates destinations worldwide. Safari-goers for example will be able to book straight through to Mfuwe for the world renowned wildlife haven of South Luangwa National Park, while business customers can travel direct from Lusaka to the Copperbelt city of Ndola on scheduled Proflight services timed for smooth transfers with in-bound and out-bound Emirates flights in Lusaka.

 

“Our new partnership with Proflight Zambia opens up a wide range of Zambian destinations

for Emirates customers, making exploring Zambia more easy and convenient than ever before. What’s more customers will enjoy even better value for money when they purchase their Emirates and Proflight Zambia flights together,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice-President for Latin America, Central and Southern Africa. “Emirates is one of the most admired airlines in the world, with an extensive global network. This agreement will undoubtedly provide new travel opportunities for their customers, as well as put Proflight and Zambia firmly on the international aviation map,” said Captain Philip Lemba, Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs.

 

Under the new agreement, customers will be able to purchase joint Emirates-Proflight Zambia itineraries and will be issued with a single combined ticket. This will enable seamless connections to and from Proflight’s eight domestic destinations: Ndola, Livingstone, Mfuwe, Solwezi, Lower Zambezi, Chipata, Mansa, Kasama and Mongu, as well as the local airline’s two international routes, Lilongwe in Malawi and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, with Emirates’ daily Lusaka service. Customers will also enjoy a range of added benefits, including special fares to domestic destinations and the same baggage allowance for Proflight customers connecting from Emirates flights. 

 

EK 713 departs Dubai every day at 0925hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 1435hrs. The service departs Lusaka at 1605hrs, arriving in Harare at 1710hrs. The return flight leaves Harare at 1850hrs, arriving Lusaka at 1955hrs. It departs Lusaka at 2140hrs and lands in Dubai at 0650hrs the next day.

PROFLIGHT ZAMBIA WELCOMES COMPETITION

 

 

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA - Proflight Zambia has welcomed news of a planned new air service from Dar-es-Salaam to Lusaka by Tanzania-based no-frills airline Fastjet. While the two airlines will both fly the same route, Proflight services a different market, offering a fully inclusive, high-quality service to business travellers on its three-times-a-week service from Lusaka to Dar-es-Salaam, as well as a boutique leisure service through to Zanzibar. The new service from Tanzania domestic operator Fastjet will bring additional traffic in and out of Zambia, helping to feed Proflight Zambia’s domestic network.

“The Fastjet business model is very different from the Proflight model and we feel there is demand for the affordable prices that a low-cost carrier such as Fastjet can offer,” said Proflight Zambia Director of Government and Industry Affairs Captain Philip Lemba. Proflight Zambia, which launched its service to Dar in October last year, will continue to offer a fully inclusive service to business travellers, and with its interline agreement with Precision Air it plans to continue with specials fares to Zanzibar, Arusha and other destinations in Tanzania.

“Competition in any industry is good as it forces standards to be kept high in products and services. We respect Fastjet’s move to provide a cheap service for budget travellers, and their affordable fares should be good news for the Zambian travelling public,” said Capt. Lemba. Proflight’s fares include airport taxes and are fully inclusive of the booking service, a free baggage allowance of 23kgs checked baggage and 5kgs hand baggage, snacks and refreshments on board, and the airline’s popular Mbasela frequent flier programme. Proflight also offers a much-needed service for unaccompanied minors as well as child discounts.

Proflight operates its 29-seater Jetstream 41 aircraft on the Lusaka-Dar route, enabling fast turnarounds, disembarkation and immigration procedures on arrival. “Our pledge to our customers is to continue offering a high level of service with safety, reliability, efficiency and friendly service as our guiding values. The service we offer allows for ease of booking using a number of distribution channels and interline partners as well as Airtel money, and a comprehensive website,” added Capt. Lemba. Proflight’s return fares from Lusaka to Dar start from K1,782, including taxes, baggage, refreshments and administration.

Proflight Zambia Planning New Routes

 

Proflight Zambia has unveiled plans to add three further international destinations to its growing schedule by mid-2014, effectively making Lusaka a regional hub for air travel. Following the successful launch of its first international service, from Lusaka to Lilongwe, on June 4, Zambia’s only locally registered scheduled carrier is now planning to fly from Ndola to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with connections between Ndola and Lusaka.The airline is also considering services to Harare, Dar es Salaam, Tete and Johannesburg, subject to regulatory approval.

 

With the introduction of the Malawi route, Proflight Zambia currently operates ten scheduled routes

using nine aircraft, including a 105-seat Boeing 737 aircraft which was recently added to the Proflight fleet as the airline's first jet aircraft. “We believe that after years of prudent, steady growth, Proflight Zambia has now built a solid base and reached a critical mass from which it can expand into regional markets, heeding the requests of our customers,” said Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs Capt. Philip Lemba. “Lusaka is a natural choice as a hub, and Proflight is determined to be a standard bearer for Zambian aviation throughout the region.”

 

Proflight is keen to introduce flights to Johannesburg from Lusaka and is examining the option of flying into the smaller Lanseria airport, for which costs are lower than that of the city’s main OR Tambo (ORT) International airport. Proflight’s service to Johannesburg would allow connections via shuttle bus from Lanseria to ORT as well as shuttles to the Rivonia and Centurion Gautrains.  

 

The airline celebrates 22 years of operation this year, and has grown from operating a single aircraft to a fleet of nine serving nine domestic destinations and one international route. It prides itself in providing a safe, reliable, efficient and friendly service and is determined to continue its strategy of steady expansion.

 

Visit fly Zambia for more information

Proflight Zambia Plans Harare Route

According to a news article from the Times of Zambia, Proflight Airlines will in June begin its first international operations to Harare, Zimbabwe and Lubumbashi DRC. The airline company has all along been strictly operating domestic routes and the move to go regional seems to be  a chance to take over the routes that were being operated by the grounded Zambezi Airlines. Currently Emirates is the only commercial airline operating flights between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The full article can be read by clicking on the link button.