Precision Air Tanzania will take delivery of its sixth brand new ATR on 26th August 2010 in Toulous France. The announcement was made by Precision Air’s Group Managing Director and CEO Mr. Alfonse Kioko at a press conference in Dar Es Salaam.
african aviation"Preparations are underway to ensure all the necessary documentation is in place to enable the smooth delivery of the aircraft on 26th August and the ferry flight to Dar Es Salaam to commence the next day," Said Mr. Kioko.
The new aircraft- an ATR42-500 which will bear the registration 5H-PWF and the name Bukoba is scheduled to arrive at JNIA by the end of August 2010. Like its predecessor, it will feature state-of-the-art inflight entertainment allowing the passenger to watch movies and listen to music during flight. The aircraft has the capacity to carry 48 passengers.
“This aircraft is named Bukoba in recognition of the business support we enjoy from the people from that region. In the recent past we have launched aircraft named; Kigoma, Zanzibar, Mwanza, Musoma to mention but a few.” He added.
PWF will be the sixth in seven brand new aircraft that Precision Air has ordered from ATR of France. In 2006 PW and ATR signed a US $129 million deal to deliver seven brand new aircraft. The first aircraft (PWA) was delivered in March 2008 and the second (PWB) in November of the same year. The third - PWC and fourth- PWD were delivered in April 2009 and July 2009 respectively while PWE was launched in March 2010. Under the terms of the deal ATR is required to deliver two aircraft each for the first two years and three in the final year. The final aircraft will arrive in September this year.
The financing deal of the seven aircraft (2 ATR 42-500s and 5 ATR 72-500s) has attracted two international awards. On April 20th 2009, Airfinance Journal awarded the US$ 129 million structured finance lease 'African Deal of the Year 2008' at the 10th Annual Deals of the Year Awards Dinner ceremony, held in New York. The financing of the ATR fleet was already awarded last December, by Jane's Transport Finance magazine, as the "2008 Aircraft Leasing Deal of the Year in Africa". The new ATR brings the total number of fleet to nine, six of which are brand new. Precision Air also operates a Boeing 737.
The delivery of the seven new aircraft has continued unabated and gone hand in hand with the increase in passenger uplift. The airline has the largest local network comprising; Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Mwanza, Kigoma, Tabora, Musoma, Shinyanga, Mtwara. Regionally Precision Air flies to Nairobi, Mombasa and Entebbe.