Air Tanzania slammed for wasting state funds in leasing old, costly 737

AIR Tanzania has come under fire for wet leasing an aged B737-200 aircraft from South African firm, Star Air Cargo, for US$200,000 a month on an initial three-month lease, as the carrier is committed to fly 150 hours a month at US$1,350 per hour.

A report by eTN Uganda claims that this is a waste of taxpayers' money for a 32-year-old aircraft. Additionally, ATCL must pay the upkeep for the crew, estimated to be $80-100 per day, per individual.

It said this amounts to a significant cost outlay at a time when the airline only flies between Dar es Salaam-Kilimanjaro-Mwanza, funded by the Tanzanian taxpayer. However, the airline is said to be scrambling to begin service to resume flights to Nairobi ahead of the expected launch by FastJet.

According to aviation experts the lease of aged aircraft should cost less than the agreed rate, although: "The fuel burn of this aircraft type is much greater than it would be for a modern jet, and, therefore, the operating cost is significantly higher for each flight," said a regular aviation source from Tanzania after the information was leaked.

"Airlines today say that fuel now constitutes as much as 40 per cent of their overall costs, but when one uses a very old aircraft, that cost shoots up. What happened to ATCL claiming they would use more modern jets?

"They talked about getting CRJ aircraft, smaller jets which fly more economically and are large enough for the restart of business. But as we can see, it is same old, same old again. First, the bungled lease with the Gulf company, which might cost the country a lot of money just like the Airbus saga which parliament unearthed. And now they bring in a very old aircraft."

Air Tanzania's last B737-200 crashed in Mwanza, resulting in damaged gear and hull, and the loss of one engine.