African low cost airline fastjet commenced commercial flight operations yesterday, with its first aircraft flying passengers from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, and Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Eight sectors were flown, carrying more than 900 paying passengers and achieving an average booked load factor of 78%. Three of the eight sectors flown exceeded a load factor of 90%.

Future demand for seats on these two initial routes is currently far outstripping supply. Additional flights to these destinations are already being considered, and the Company also intends to expand its route network regionally over the coming weeks as the fleet grows to three Airbus A319s.

Commenting on the success of the first day, fastjet Chief Executive Ed Winter said: “fastjet is delighted to see how the people of Tanzania are embracing the Low Cost Carrier model. Yesterday was a huge success and a great way to start operations. 

“We are pleased to see reservations and bookings continuing to grow. The demand for this type of air travel has far exceeded the Company’s expectations.

“Yesterday’s passengers ranged from business people through to many first time flyers who were using fastjet as an economic alternative to conventional bus transport. Clearly, as predicted, our low cost model is stimulating a whole new market of people to fly,” Winter added.