Precision Air - Tanzania Airlines

Precision Air was established in 1993. It started as a private charter air transport company operating a five-seater piper Aztec aircraft. Its initial line of business mainly entailed providing connections to tourists visiting the rich natural attractions of Serengeti National Park, Ngoro Ngoro Crater, in northern Tanzania, the Zanzibar Island in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the country from Arusha town as its base.
The vast nature of Tanzania coupled with a growing demand for air transport services as the country started to embrace a free market economy soon drove Precision Air into operating scheduled flights maintaining Arusha town as its base. First flights were scheduled using a seven-seater one engine Cessna 207, one seven seater Cessna 402, two eleven-seater Cessna 404s and the nineteen-seater LET 410 until mid 1990s when the airline introduced the bigger and more comfortable ATR 42 fleet.
The fleet expansion has gone hand in hand with an increase in the volumes of passenger uplift. The past two years have witnessed a steady growth of total passenger uplift of about 27% rising from 268, 580 passengers in 2004/05 financial year to 340,000 in 2005/06. The projection in the airlineÌs current financial year which starts in April 01 is to uplift 388,348 equivalent to a 14% increase until end of the season in May next year.
The most significant turn around of ÎTanzaniaÌs FinestÌ as Precision Air is also known, came in 2003 when Kenya Airways acquired a minority 49% shareholding leaving majority 51% shares in the control of one local Tanzanian businessman. Since then, Precision Air has literally turned its image into a professionally run modern airline.
The airline has since increased its frequencies and capacity many folds with its fleet currently comprising eight aircraft. They include four 47-seater ATR 42, one 70-seater ATR 72, one 64-seater ATR 72 and two LET 410. There are plans to phase out the LET series from this year and introduce the Boeing fleet.
The airline offers the widest connections to all major towns in Tanzania including Mwanza, Tabora, Musoma, Shinyanga, Kigoma, Bukoba, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Lindi, Mtwara and Arusha.
Regionally, Precision Air flies to Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya as well as to Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi in partnership with Kenya Airways and Air Malawi. In June last year Precision Air became the first airline ever to mount direct flights between TanzaniaÌs commercial capital, Dar es Salaam and Dubai. Plans are afoot to start operations to Pemba in Mozambique, Entebbe in Uganda as well as Hahaya in Comoro from July this year.
The airline issued its first e-ticket on March 27 this year to become the fifth airline in Africa to adopt this latest technology in the aviation industry. E-ticketing is a mandatory requirement for IATA member airlines to be implemented by December 2007.
The company is also set to undergo IOSA audit in June this year which would be another first for its name in TanzaniaÌs aviation industry.

On the corporate social responsibility front, Precision Air has identified three key community areas of support namely education, assisting orphans and environmental conservation into which the airlines pumps millions of shillings every year. It also provides assistance to unforeseen calamities and emergency situations. In March 2006 for instance, the airline donated Tsh 15 Million (US 15,000) towards the National Food Relief Fund, a special fund established by the government to mobilize resources towards offsetting the ongoing famine in Tanzania brought by last yearÌs prolonged drought which resulted to poor harvests.