Africa One, the start-up airline owned by Uganda's Das Air and Tanzania's Infra Investments, expects to be ready to launch next month after acquiring an ex-African Safari Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 for international services. The airline originally planned to launch operations last November, but delayed start-up after the 11 September attacks.
Managing director Fred Ochieng-Obbo says that the DC-10 is undergoing maintenance and painting into Africa One livery. "This well take four to five weeks, so I think we will be ready to fly by February although this does not mean that we will start then," says Ochieng-Obbo.
According to Ochieng-Obbo, the airline is considering the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 or BoeingMD-82 for its short-haul needs at its West and East African hubs. The West African operation has been registered as Africa One West, and will operate mainly domestic services from Lagos, while Africa One East will operate international and regional routes out of Dar-es-Salaam and Kampala.
The airline is sticking to McDonnell Douglas family aircraft, as part-owner Das Air already operates four DC-10-30 freighters, and its Tanzanian, Ugandan and Zambian crew are qualified on the type.
The airline has secured $35 million in funding to launch operations, but declines to reveal the source. Route approvals have been granted in Uganda, with others are pending in Tanzania.
Source: Flight International
