Uganda Airlines has set August 28 as the official date for the company’s maiden commercial flight. The operators announced today Friday at a media engagement meeting in Kampala.
The company purchased two aircraft, Bombardier CRJ 900 series on April 23, 2019, in a bid to revive the national carrier. But the two planes remained stationed at the VVIP parking apron of Entebbe international airport awaiting clearance from the aviation regulator to start commercial flights. The air operating certificate was obtained on July 27 after three months of tests by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Now it has been confirmed that the aircraft will fly to Nairobi and Juba twice daily and Mogadishu, Somalia three times a day. The aircraft is also expected to fly to Dar es Salam and Kilimanjaro once a day, Bujumbura and Mombasa three times a week.
A return journey to Nairobi has been set at $278 (about Shs 1.026 million), Juba at $225 (Shs 831,150), Mogadishu $590 (Shs 2.1 million), all-inclusive of the taxes. A return ticket to Dar es Salam will cost $286 (Shs 1.05 million), Bujumbura $292 (Shs 1.073 million) Mombasa $325 (Shs 1.195 million) and Kilimanjaro $311 (Shs 1.143 million).
The promotional prices for two months of the flights on Uganda Airlines are slightly lower than for other airlines. For instance, a flight to Nairobi at $278, is lower than both RwandAir and Kenya Airways, which cost up to $330 (about Shs 1.2 million) and $350 (Shs 1.287 million) when flying with RwandAir and Kenya Airways respectively.
Jennifer Bamuturaki Musiime, the marketing and public relations manager of Uganda Airlines says the airline has also set up booking offices at the airport and several other locations.
“By the time we decided on when the maiden commercial flight will be, we had already put in place all necessary requirements including booking offices,” added Musiime.
She said the lower costs of travelling to different destinations will enable the company to get enough clients. The aircraft available carry up to 72 passengers each. Justus Mwombeki, a travel consultant in Kampala says the emergence of lower costs of travelling by Uganda Airlines will enable more travellers to use air transport than road transport while travelling within the East African region
