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Friday, July 5, 2013

► SOUTH AFRICA: DoT grants fastjet Foreign Operators Permit paving way for Dar - Joburg; no mention of Kigali or Lusaka (yet).

fastjetFollowing on from its previous announcement, fastjet (FN) says it has been issued a Foreign Operator Permit from the South African Department of Transport thereby paving the way for the launch of flights between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg.

fastjet A320In a statement, the airline said the permit was the final administrative hurdle to launching regional flights with CEO, ED Winter, saying tickets would soon go on sale for what is expected to be a "popular route".
We believe we are well on the way to becoming the first pan African low cost carrier," Winter said.
No mention was made of the airline's other regional destinations: Lusaka and Kigali. 

Dar es Salaam - Lusaka in particular is understood to be a low yielding route. Aviation Tanzania reports that Precision Air abandoned its one year old Dar es Salaam - Lubumbashi - Lusaka - Dar es Salaam route with effect from July 1 as part of a route rationalization program aimed at cutting costs.