Fastjet : to launch daily flights between Harare and Bulawayo - 21 June 2018

Initially fastjet will commence the service with a single daily return; the airline plans to increase frequency between the cities when it introduces an additional aircraft soon.

Fastjet is the first affordable airline to operate the Harare Bulawayo route; the airline presently flies between Harare and Johannesburg 4 times daily, up to thrice a week between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg, and 13 return flights between Harare and Victoria Falls every week.

'Fastjet has pursued this route designation for several years,' says fastjet chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout. 'We recently re-engaged with Zimbabwean authorities and it has been a very positive process leading up to launching the route. Consequently low-fare connectivity between more domestic destinations has been made possible.'

Fastjet celebrated its second year of Zimbabwean operations last year. 'Fastjet has invested substantially in the market with very positive outcomes and ongoing support from all stakeholders. It has underlined the fact that Zimbabwe is open for business and we intend to further grow our presence in the country,' he adds.

As the second largest city in Zimbabwe and a strategic economic hub that services nearby mining, industrial and agricultural activity, Bezuidenhout believes that fastjet's entry on the route will contribute positively in terms of further stimulating economic activity and growth.

The 2017 ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) study shows that aviation creates substantial up and downstream economic benefits. The air transport industry employs around 381 000 people in Africa and contributes more than $ 9 billion to the continent's GDP.

'The catalytic impact of aviation stretches this to around 6.8 million jobs and $ 72.5 billion toward GDP. On a country and city scale airlines benefit local tourism, supply chain procurement and on average the market entry of a carrier on any new route stimulates job creation of around 100-200 opportunities across various sectors.'

The addition of the Harare Bulawayo route sees fastjet's Zimbabwe network grow by almost 90% in terms of frequency and destinations.

'With our sustainably affordable fares, our commitment to promoting local and inbound tourism and business as well as our network on-time performance of 90%, fastjet has become the airline for everyone,' says Bezuidenhout. 'Zimbabwe's commitment to our investment and the assistance that we have received in realising our business goals have renewed our already high-levels of confidence in this market.'

Fastjet's flights between Harare and Bulawayo commence on 2 July 2018.

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