Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, with a minihub at Mwanza Airport. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi, Entebbe, and airports in Tanzania.
Video Precision Air
History
Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993. At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offering scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market.
In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit. Its most recent certificate will expire 22 September 2018.
In April 2011, the airline became a public company.
Maps Precision Air
Corporate affairs
Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US$2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US$20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.
In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in its stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima's and Kenya Airways's stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent. As of 31 March 2016, the major shareholders were:
Business trends
The trends for the Precision Air group over recent years are shown below. Because it was a private company until 2011, published figures were not generally available before the initial public offering prospectus of 12 September 2011. The figures for the group (Precision Air Services Plc and its subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited and Precise Systems Limited) (as at year ending 31 March) are:
Precision Air reported in August 2013 that for the year ending 31 March 2013, its maintenance costs increased to TSH:23.6 billion from 11.9 billion for the previous year. The increase was caused primarily by the high cost of maintaining its Boeing 737 fleet.
Published reports in June 2013 indicated that Precision Air had encountered substantial financial difficulties, stemming in part from losses incurred while operating flights to and from Johannesburg, South Africa. Those flights ended in September 2012. The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reported in August 2013 that the airline "desperately" needed a US$32 million bailout package from the Tanzanian government or other non-shareholder sources. The airline's problems increased in 2011 when it received only US$7.4 million of the US$17.5 million in cash that the airline hoped to receive when first listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Increasing fuel prices, taxes, and levies plus currency fluctuations and the refusal of minority owner Kenya Airways to contribute capital had also hurt the airline.
Destinations
As of December 2017, the airline served the following locations:
Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi-Dar es Salaam)
- Kenya Airways (various routes)
- LAM Mozambique Airlines (Maputo-Nampula-Pemba-Dar es Salaam)
- RwandAir (Kigali-Kilimanjaro)
Interline agreements
In 2011, Precision Air entered into an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other east African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport. This agreement includes e-ticketing.
As of 23 December 2014, Precision Air also had interline agreements for baggage and paper ticketing purposes with Air Seychelles (also e-ticketing), Alitalia, British Airways (also e-ticketing), Egyptair, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines (also e-ticketing), Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Hahn Air (also e-ticketing), Heli Air Monaco, Kenya Airways (also e-ticketing), KLM (also e-ticketing), LAM Mozambique Airlines (also e-ticketing), Oman Air, RwandAir, Saudia, SN Brussels Airlines, South African Airways (also e-ticketing), Swiss International Air Lines, TAAG Angola Airlines (also e-ticketing), and Virgin Atlantic Airlines (also e-ticketing).
Fleet
Current fleet
As of September 2016, the Precision Air fleet included the following aircraft:
Historical fleet
The airline has previously operated the following equipment:
Accidents and incidents
According to the Aviation Safety Network Precision Air has had five accidents or incidents.
- 26 July 1999: A Let L-410UVP-E9, tail number 5H-PAB, made a belly landing at Arusha Airport on a training flight while doing touch and go. The two crew and three passengers were not injured.
- 16 November 2004: A Let L-410UVP-E20, tail number 5H-PAC, crash landed while on a training flight at Kilimanjaro Airport. The two pilots, who had not put on their shoulder straps, sustained facial injuries.
- 8 July 2007: An ATR 72-212, tail number 5H-PAR, had a runway excursion on landing at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport runway 06. It veered off to the right, went over a ditch, and came to a stop on Taxiway F. The nose wheel collapsed. The four crew and 62 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The probable cause of this accident was power asymmetry during application of reverse thrust on landing. The control levers were jammed in one position.
- On 13 December 2013, an ATR 42-600 (5H-PWI) made a safe landing at Arusha Airport after its four tires deflated upon landing. All 37 passengers and 4 crew were safe. The airline subsequently explained that higher braking forces, necessitated by the aircraft landing with a tail wind, caused the deflations.
- 10 July 2014: An ATR 72-500, tail number 5H-PWA, was halfway en route to Dar es Salaam from Mwanza during normal cruise when the number 2 engine seized. This necessitated a diversion to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The aircraft touched down normally; however, after selecting ground idle (as per the captain's explanation), the aircraft veered to the left side and exited the runway hitting one of the runway edge lights and proceeded to roll on the grass field parallel to runway 09 for approximately 180 meters before subsequently regaining the runway. No injuries were reported.
References
External links
- KQ's subsidiary eyes turnaround after record loss
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments