Uganda Airlines is Uganda’s national carrier. The airline was revamped in 2019 after the government decided that having a national carrier was highly needed.
The airline is fully owned and funded by the government, with 50 percent shareholding each by the ministries of Works and Transport. Being a young and highly ambitious airline, Uganda airlines has come aboard with great customer favors and considerations. There are a number of reasons why any travel enthusiast should opt to have his next flight with Uganda Airlines.
As always, at Guide2Uganda we bring to you everything you need to know about Uganda’s Tourism and travel. Below are reasons why you shouldn’t miss booking the next flight with Uganda Airlines.
Revamping of Uganda Airlines
The Ugandan government decided to relaunch the airline earlier in 2016. This was done for several reasons; primarily being to ensure regional links for Ugandan nationals, (they no longer had to take expensive and lengthy flights through other countries), to support tourism, and to encourage the development of the emerging oil industry in the country.
More so, the airline was revamped to help government reduce on foreign travel expenditure as all government travels were mandated to be conducted by the airline provided it served the intended destination. With all these considerations underplay and its affordability rate, the airline has its people at heart and thus no reason to why you shouldn’t book it for your next flight.
Modern aircraft fleet
Uganda Airlines is one of the world’s airlines flying the most modern fleet of aircraft. Recently, it won the award for World’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet for 2021 from ch-aviation, with an average aircraft age of only 1.15 years. The airline operates a fleet of four Bombardier CRJ900 on shorter regional routes trolling up and down the coast of East Africa and two Airbus A330-841 for long haul routes.
With a seating capacity of 76 passengers, the Bombadier CRJ900 aircraft is known for its great design improvements and conic nozzle which enhances fuel economy by 5.5%. The CRJ900 model also has improved economics, a great cabin and configured in a two-class seating configuration, with 12 first class seats and 64 coach seats all comfortable for a memorable travel.
The Airbus A330-841 have a fully integrated IFE by SPI with 10.1” video, Piuma AQ that also features headrest, generous In-Arm Table, power supply for electronic charge and light weight design features which give the name Piuma AQ (the Italian for feather) to this model. Coat hook, literature and amenity pocket improve comfort on board. The aircraft also boosts of a passenger-centric comfort seat, a Comoda AQ , with large and reclining 8” backrest to have your flight all comfortable.
Flights to varied destinations
The airline currently operates to eleven destinations in six countries that is: Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Juba, Mogadishu, Kinshasa, Bujumbura, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Johannesburg and Entebbe, the airline’s hub.
Earlier this year, the carrier secured an incredibly rare London Heathrow slot with an aim to offer five flights a week. This in addition to flights to Dubai, Guangzhou, and Mumbai with its Airbus A330-800 fleet. However, these flights have not yet begun as both the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority is to authorize their service, and the UK is under lockdown until July this year.
Additionally, Uganda has signed bilateral air service agreements with 47 countries around the world to prepare for future flights to these countries’ spaces. All this provides and will provide customers access to a number of destinations for both timely and cheap flights.
Great environment aboard
For quality and effective service, the airline has expanded its pilot workforce to 50 pilots (with five being female, two of which are rated to fly the A330-800) and signed a deal with Rolls-Royce for total care of its Trent 7000 A330-800 engines. This deal means that the planes keep flying no matter what, and that passengers can be confident that they are in safe hands thanks to the expert outsourcing of maintenance.
On this note, we cannot forget to mention the great on-board care by the hosts and hostesses aboard. Different meals both local and foreign not forgetting the famous yummy Ugandan rolex with “nyanyambisi”. All this gives customers a great feel throughout their journeys.
Learning from history
Uganda Airlines has a long aviation history, having been originally founded in the late 1970s with two Boeing 707s. It operated long-haul international routes to Europe and the Middle East, and eventually grew large enough to partner with other regional airlines like South African Airways and Air Tanzania. However, by the late 1990s, air travel growth had slowed and it was struggling to remain profitable.
The government made moves to privatize the airline and move it to a corporate model. However, due to inevitable circumstances, the government failed to secure the right bid for the airline and took the unfortunate action to liquidate the carrier in 2001. Since then, the country’s aviation gap had been filled by charter operators, with its citizens forced to fly on international competitors.
However, during its initial operations, the airlines had a great customer-airline relation with little or no known serious inconsistencies.
Interestingly, Uganda Airlines seems to be avoiding all the mistakes of not only its predecessors, but other new airlines in Africa by focusing on profitable routes and having her customers at heart.
However, the current marketplace is full of obstacles and it may take more than a vision to survive in a consolidating environment. But with all endeavors being under taken by the airline, we can vividly predict that customer safety and satisfaction is always catered for.
Viva Uganda.
About Guide2Uganda
Guide2Uganda (www.guide2uganda.ug) is the most comprehensive source of travel information about Uganda that exists on the web, with more content on its cities & towns, accommodation, attractions, events, museums and galleries than any other online guide that currently exists for Uganda; as well as being a dynamic travel news and events driven site with fresh content added daily.
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