EDITORIAL: Air Tanzania must work hard to become competitive
Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) has announced that it is making final touches before launching its international flights, and has now been linked to the Global Distribution System (GDS).
The GDS is a computerised network system for transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies.
For many years, Tanzania has been out of the system.
However, government efforts since 2016 have given the national carrier a new lease of life after acquiring six brand new airplanes.
The move has enabled the airline to rework its business plan and focus more on meeting both domestic and international travel demands.
If the airline is to remain competitive in the global aviation arena, more work needs to be done, especially offering the highest quality of customer care. This area has been one of the main weaknesses of doing business in the country.
Apart from having a sound business plan, the company must put special emphasis on efficiency, as ATCL is preparing to go global, its management should ensure that there won’t be any flight delays or cancellations.
Safety of travellers and their belongings is another area that the airline must ensure it is in control of, this should go hand in hand with curbing luggage theft that has become the order of the day at domestic airports.
It is heartening to see that ATCL is preparing to spread its wings to international destinations. Effective use of the recently acquired Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and Airbus will have multiple benefits for the country’s economy.
The acquisition of brand new planes and how they are handled will ultimately prove whether those tasked with managing the company are up to the challenge.
So, we call upon the management to make Tanzanians proud and ensure maximum efficiency in service delivery, business handling and expansion. It can be done if we all play our part.
