By Deogratias Mmana:
Malawi Airlines has on Monday launched its Lilongwe- Entebbe route, increasing its flights to East Africa to three.
The first flight departs at 4:30pm and is expected to take about two-and-a-half hours.
Malawi Airlines Chief Executive Officer Solomon Bekele Debay told reporters on Friday in Lilongwe that the new route was expected to promote trade and tourism and people-to-people interaction.
He asked the government to come up with a deliberate policy to support the airline.
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“It is important for public servants to utilise the local airline. We urge them to support Malawi Airlines,” Debay said. He said, in the past, there was a policy that compelled public servants to travel on Malawi Airlines.
The new route will have four direct flights every week and Debay said, depending on the market response, the company may increase the flight frequency.
“The route is already showing positive uptake. Bookings are already in place. This is the service the market has been expecting,” Debay said.
Malawi Airlines already flies to Kenya and Tanzania, and Uganda becomes the third country in East Africa.
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According to Debay, the flight will serve many Malawian traders and students in Uganda and also those traveling to connect to East Africa and other countries such as Zambia and South Africa.
Malawi Airline Head of Commercial Charles Ng’ambi said, being a new route, they did not expect to make profits immediately but would give it about six months.
“Our concentration is now on how to market the route,” Ng’ambi said.
He said expansion was a viable strategy to keep the airline afloat.
Malawi Airlines has three aircrafts Q400, 737- 700 and 737-800.
