Air Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Airlines

Located at Harare International Airport, Air Zimbabwe is the successor to Air Zimbabwe Ò Rhodesia which in turn was the successor to Air Rhodesia. Privatised in 1997 Air Zimbabwe is the countryÌs largest passenger carrier. It also carries cargo. The airlineÌs initial fleet of 4 Being 707s and 2 Viscounts at Independence was phased out in the 1980Ìs and replaced with 2 Boeing 767-200ERs and 3 Boeing 737s.A fifth aircraft a BAe 146 was added to the fleet from the airforce also in the 1980Ìs.

The B737s operate domestic and regional routes while the two B767s operate mainly long haul to Europe, especially London Gatwick. The BA146 has been grounded for some time.The airline operates a large engineering maintenance base, one of the biggest in Africa. It has 1300 employees and two subsidiary companies ÒNational Handling Services [Pvt] Ltd, which specialises in ground handling, and Galileo [Zimbabwe], which provides reservations facilities to Travel agents in the country.

As a passenger and cargo carrier, the national airline plays a crucial role in the development of tourism and freight industries within Zimbabwe, the region and international markets. The airline currently serves five regional destinations-Nairobi, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Lusaka, Johannesburg and Mauritius, three domestic-Harare,Bulawayo and Victoria Falls as well as one international destination-London. Air ZimbabweÌs busiest routes are Harare-London and Harare-Johannesburg.

Air Zimbabwe also boasts one of the oldest, best known and reasonably priced holiday packages in the world-Flame Lily- which is operating in partnership with Brett McDonald, hotels and tour operators of South Africa. This package aimed at the international market, takes holiday makers to mighty Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Great Zimbabwe, Eastern Highlands and Kariba.

As a growing airline, Air Zimbabwe is on the lookout for opportunities to expand its markets. This involves entering into alliances /partnerships with other airlines. Currently, the airline has a code-share agreement with Air Malawi, pro-rate agreements with such airlines as Delta, Virgin, American Airlines and Continental and interline agreements with 150 operators. These relationships allow for more flexible and quite often more affordable travel arrangements for passengers.

The airline began using Worldspan Reservations system in April 2003 , which provides sleek checkÒin, frequent flyer and departure control facilities. Air Zimbabwe offices in London, Johannesburg and Lusaka are complimented by General Sales Agents in Lilongwe, Dar-es-Salaam, Mauritius, Durban, Capetown, USA, Australia, Japan and several other countries.