With ambitious plans to create Africa’s first pan-continental airline, fastjet will bring
international standards of safety, quality, security and reliability.

Low-cost is quite simply the avoidance of costly frills, offering customers the lowest possible
fares in addition to pay-as-you travel extras. This affords passengers the flexibility to pay for
additional services such as a bag or refreshment rather than having to pay for it regardless
whether you want it or not.

Importantly fastjet low-cost definitely does not mean low quality. Despite the many challenges
that exist outside our control we will be open, honest, transparent and communicative to
ensure that your travel arrangements remain with the least amount of interruption.

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Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet, is set to launch a low-cost airline in Africa this year after taking a 5% stake in a new venture FASTJET PLC.

The easyGroup tycoon, who is embroiled in a long-running boardroom battle with easyJet, is backing a carrier that will operate under his Fastjet airline and be run by former easyJet executives.

Fastjet will operate from Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola. The ambition is to carry more than 12 million passengers a year, from the 500,000 at present, by cashing in on demand for regional travel from a burgeoning African middle-class.

Haji-Ioannou said the move would help bring low-cost air travel to more Africans. "This is another small but significant step in bringing the dream of low-cost air travel to millions of people in Africa – the aviation industry's last frontier. Past experience shows that by halving fares, a successful low-cost carrier can encourage those people, who have never previously travelled by air, to fly."

fastjet Passenger Statistics for May 2014

fastjet plc is pleased to announce its passenger statistics for the month of May 2014.

fastjet operations in Tanzania carried a total of 43,020 passengers and achieved a load factor of 71%, representing an increase in passenger numbers of 20.3% compared to the previous month, and 77.5% compared to the same month in the previous yearNote 3.

Month on month, capacity has increased by 11%, with 60,320 seats flown in May compared to 54,230 in April. Capacity on the Dar-es-Salaam to Lusaka route has increased by 27% (May vs April); Dar-es-Salaam to Mbeya by 43% (May vs April) and Dar-es-Salaam to Mwanza by 23% (May vs March.)

Compared with the same month last year, the number of seats has increased by 68% and revenue by 81% .

Although May is typically wet in Tanzania, during the month, the country experienced much longer and heavier bouts of rain than normal for the time of the year. While this prolonged period of adverse weather did affect punctuality, 89% of flights still arrived on time, a 10% improvement on April Note 5.

Ed Winter, Interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of fastjet plc, said:

"I am delighted to see our capacity increasing as we maximise the utilisation of resources, particularly our aircraft, as planned. We expect to announce further increases in capacity, including new routes, in the very near future.

"I am particularly pleased that the number of flown passengers has increased by 20% compared with April, against a capacity increase of only 11%. This demonstrates that we continue to stimulate the market and that our customers value fastjet's performance. We maintain our position of market leader across Tanzania."

As previously announced, Fly 540 operations in Ghana and Angola are suspended pending further restructuring. Consequently, passenger numbers carried by the legacy Fly540 operations continue to decline, as expected. As these businesses are being restructured, it has been decided that Fly540 passenger numbers are no longer relevant in evaluating the performance of the business. Going forward, only fastjet passenger statistics will be published each month.


more..

fastjet launches flights to Zimbabwe; third international route for carrier

Disposal of Fly 540 Kenya

fastjet Plc, Africa's low-cost airline, is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement to dispose of its holding in Fly 540 Kenya, the loss-making investment it inherited as part of the acquisition from Lonrho Aviation, to Don Smith, a director of Fly 540 Kenya. The agreement wholly removes Fly 540 Kenya from the fastjet group.
All legal and financial ties between the two companies have been dissolved and each group has indemnified one another against any and all liabilities relating to the segregation of the businesses.

hmm some good news........

Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2013

Operational Highlights

· Establishment of the low cost carrier model in Africa

· Solid growth of domestic routes in Tanzania

· Launch of first international route between Tanzania and South Africa

· Restructuring of the legacy Fly 540 businesses initiated

Financial Highlights

· Group revenue increased by 154% from $21.0 million to $53.4 million of which $26.0 million is attributable to Tanzania in 2013

· Operating loss before exceptionals of $47.6 million of which $21.9m is attributable to Tanzania

· Average load factor for the year of 72%

· Average 2013 revenue per passenger rose from $46.30 to $95.20; average revenue per passenger for the year of $71.10

2014 Operational Highlights

· Disposal of Fly540 Kenya

· Second international route launched between Tanzania and Zambia; launch of third route from Tanzania to Zimbabwe imminent

· Launch of new domestic route in Tanzania; capacity increase on existing routes

· Board strengthened by new appointments

· Successful Placing and Open Offer



Ed Winter, Chief Executive commented
"2013 was a very significant year for fastjet with the Company proving the low cost airline model in Tanzania works. In the first half of 2014 we have built upon that foundation and continued to grow, moving towards our vision of becoming a true pan African low cost airline."

"Our recent succesful fundraise moves us even closer to that goal, and I am delighted with the encouraging response we received from the market generally, and fastjet shareholders specifically, demonstrating support for our strategy and vision. "

"The disposal of fly540 Kenya, which was announced yesterday, is a hugely significant step that allows us to fully pursue our expansion in East Africa."

"Our experience to date confirms our long-held view that people across Africa are embracing the opportunities offered by fasjet's reliable, safe and great value air travel."

"The combination of the management team's experience in Africa and fastjet's stronger financial position means that we are now ready to continue our expansion and leverage our first mover advantage to the benefit of passengers and shareholders alike."

The full Group financial statements is available on the Company's website at www.fastjet.com.

Board Change

Skinny,
My shares worth a candy now, having held for almost two years.

Do you think it has future given the expenditure!

We can but hope!

fastjet Passenger Statistics for June 2014

fastjet plc is pleased to announce its passenger statistics for the month of June 2014.

fastjet operations in Tanzania carried a total of 53,386 passengers and achieved a load factor of 79%, representing a 24% increase in passengers compared with the previous month. Compared with the same month last year, the number of seats has increased by 95%

Month on month, capacity has increased by 12% with 67,425 seats flown in June compared to 60,320 in May. Specifically, capacity on the Dar-es-Salaam to Mbeya route increased by 37% (June vs May) and Dar-es-Salaam to Mwanza by 16% (June vs May).

Punctuality for the month was excellent, with 91% of flights arriving on time Note 3 despite the increase in flights.

more...

I was checking ticket availability on fastjet website.
It appears that most of their flights are fully booked or are available at higher prices.

Has anyone else checked this?

Result of Agm

FastJet Looking To Break Into South African Domestic Market

http://www.bloombergtvafrica.com/video/fastjet-looking-break-south-african-domestic-market/

Flights between Tanzania and Zimbabwe commence

fastjet's, Africa's low cost airline, is delighted to announce that its inaugural flight between Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Harare in Zimbabwe took place on Tuesday, marking the launch of the low-cost airline's third international route in Africa, and the only direct air link between the two African capital cities.

Forward bookings for the twice-weekly flights are well ahead of management expectations and with the first flights from Zimbabwe already operating to full capacity, fastjet has decided to add a third rotation which will go on sale today.

"fastjet has responded to requests from Zimbabweans and Tanzanians asking for a direct route connecting these two cities with affordable, reliable flights," said Ed Winter, Chief Executive Officer of fastjet. "Yesterday's flight from Harare was fully booked, as is Saturday's. With future bookings also looking strong we've decided to add a third rotation each Thursday which we expect to commence at the end of next month."

Prior to fastjet launching this route, those wishing to travel between Dar es Salaam and Harare had to spend at least two days travelling the approximately 2200km distance by road, or if travelling by air, via Nairobi in Kenya or Johannesburg in South Africa, often involving lengthy layovers.

"We believe the launch of this route will stimulate business and tourism in regions where citizens have had to depend on lengthy road transportation or have been excluded from air travel by the significant costs of flying an indirect route through Nairobi or Johannesburg," Winter added.

"The Government of Zimbabwe is delighted that fastjet is expanding its international route network to include Harare, and that in doing so it is bringing its low-cost, reliable and safe service to the people of Zimbabwe," said Zimbabwe's Minister of Transport, the Honourable Dr Obert Mpofu.

Tickets for flights on the direct route went on sale in June 2014, with fares starting as low as US$50 one-way, excluding airport and government taxes - considerably more affordable than the non-direct flights that are currently the only air link between the two cities.

fastjet operates internationally from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, Lusaka and now Harare, and has a significant Tanzanian domestic network including flights from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya.

Fastjet set for Dar es Salaam to Entebbe flights

Information received over the past week suggests that Fastjet has been in talks with the local aviation authorities to commence nonstop flights between Dar es Salaam and Entebbe. The flights between the two airports were disrupted when the UCAA, to avoid sanction by ICAO after the International Civil Aviation Organization had carried out an audit on them, grounded all international flights by locally-registered airlines. Previously Air Uganda, in codeshare with Precision Air, had operated double-daily flights with their CRJ200 aircraft, but effective June 17 the operation was halted and travelers had to fly via Nairobi as Precision Air itself was not able to step into the gap at the time.

Fastjet has reportedly sought designated airline status from the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority and applied to the Ugandan authorities to be granted traffic rights. The latest update now speaks of Fastjet planning to commence flights to Entebbe in September, with initially four weekly frequencies, using their single-class Airbus A319 on the route. This would, after Johannesburg, Lusaka and Harare the fourth international route for Fastjet.

The airline has also been working on setting up an airline in Kenya, its initial target market before launching operations from Tanzania, where it now flies from Dar to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya.

http://www.eturbonews.com/48870/fastjet-set-dar-es-salaam-entebbe-flights?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Eturbonews-TravelAndTourismIndustryNews+%28eTurboNews+-+for+the+global+travel+professional%29

fastjet Passenger Statistics for July 2014

fastjet plc is pleased to announce its passenger statistics for the month of July 2014.

fastjet operations in Tanzania carried a total of 52,839 passengers and achieved a load factor of 73%. Compared with the same month last year, the number of passengers carried has increased by 69%.

Month on month, capacity has risen by 8% with 72,355 seats flown in July compared to 67,425 in June. Revenue per passenger was very strong with a 22% increase month on month.

Punctuality for the month remained excellent, with 94% of flights arriving on time Note 3 , despite the extra flights.

Application for Kenya Air Service Licence

fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, has incorporated a company in Kenya (fastjet Kenya) as part of its goal to launch a Kenyan base. Further, fastjet Kenya has submitted its Air Service Licence (ASL) application to the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

To comply with local airline ownership rules in Kenya, 51% of the equity of fastjet Kenya is owned by a Kenyan national. The balance of 49% is ultimately held by fastjet plc.

The ASL application process requires all airlines to formally submit a detailed business plan incorporating its proposed operation, network, aircraft specification, operational plan and commercial strategy.

The ASL is a significant step toward obtaining a full Air Operating Certificate which will allow the commencement of operations domestically within and internationally from Kenya.

The KCAA has indicated that the application, along with all other applications, will be gazetted in Kenya on Friday 29 August 2014. The public hearing will be held 21 days after publication, following which a decision will be rendered by the authority.

"This is an important step for fastjet" said Ed Winter, Chief Executive Officer of fastjet. "We have submitted a comprehensive application to the authorities who have confirmed that fastjet Kenya has entered the approval process.

We look forward to bringing the fastjet operation to Kenya, offering our market stimulating fares, our excellent on time performance and friendly service. We are excited at the prospect of extending the footprint of the fastjet operation through greater penetration of the African market with a Kenyan-based airline. This is in addition to the application for fastjet Tanzania to operate services into Kenya from Tanzania. The process for designation of fastjet Tanzania is ongoing."

Fastjet also wishes to comment on the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa on which it has received a number of enquiries. Whilst the senior management of fastjet is monitoring the outbreak, it can confirm that there have been no reported cases in any of the fastjet destinations.

Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia which is the nearest country effected by the outbreak, is 8,150 km from Dar es Salaam (compared to 7,150km from Monrovia to London). Additionally, there are currently no direct flights between West Africa and Tanzania. The fastjet business has not been affected by the epidemic. fastjet extends its condolences to all those affected by Ebola.




- ENDS -

fastjet launches "SmartClass" and "Freighty" services

fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, is delighted to announce the following innovative additions to its ancillary services:

SmartClass
From 1st September, fastjet will offer its passengers the opportunity to purchase a premium fare, or 'SmartClass', on all its flights. By upgrading to SmartClass, passengers will enjoy advance premium seat allocation, an increased baggage allowance of up to 32kg, and the ability to change flight dates as many times as required at no additional cost

Smartclass fares will start at $160 one way plus government taxes for domestic flights and $450 for international routes.

Freighty
In addition to this, from today, fastjet's international passengers can carry up to 80 Kilos of hold luggage by purchasing its 'freighty' upgrade package. This package is designed to appeal to those that fly with fastjet to either collect or purchase wholesale produce from the port and markets in Dar es Salaam to sell in their home markets. fastjet discovered that while these traders were using fastjet to travel to Dar es Salaam, they were using ground transportation to get back home. In the case of Harare for example, this equates to a 3 day bus journey. The freighty upgrade will offer passengers the opportunity to return home on a fastjet flight.

The cost of the freight upgrade package is $80 for baggage weighing up to eighty kilograms.

Commenting on these new products, Chief Commercial Officer Richard Bodin said:

"After extensive research, we concluded that whilst all our passengers love our prices, on time performance and service, some require an enhanced experience when booking and flying with us. By creating SmartClass we can provide additional flexibility, quick disembarkation from the front rows, and the ability to travel with a baggage allowance more appropriate to the needs of today's business traveller - all as part of a single, simple, all-inclusive fare.

"We have also learnt a great deal from talking to our international passengers on flights from Harare and Lusaka and their feedback has led us to introduce the innovative 'freighty' product. It's a simple product enhancement, which is easy to administer and will allow our passengers to benefit from the large capacity of our aircrafts holds.

We will continue to innovate and adapt the low cost model to fit the demands of our African customers, the market opportunities and the infrastructure in which we operate and in doing so also effectively diversify fastjet's revenue streams."

Launch of route between Tanzania and Uganda

fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, is delighted to announce that it is launching flights between Dar es Salaam and Entebbe. Entebbe is fastjet's fourth international destination and the new route will be the only direct air link between the two African capitals. Tickets for the new route go on sale today.

Flights are planned to commence on Tuesday the 16th September, and will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the first weeks of September, increasing to four flights a week from the 29th September.

Since Air Uganda ceased flying, the fares offered by other carriers for flights in and out of the country have risen steadily. With its market stimulating fares, starting from as low as US$50 plus government taxes, fastjet is confident that it will have a strong competitive advantage and that this new route will be a commercial success.

fastjet Passenger Statistics for August 2014

fastjet plc is pleased to announce its passenger statistics for the month of August 2014.

fastjet operations in Tanzania carried a total of 65,489 passengers and achieved a load factor of 79%. Compared with the same month last year, the number of passengers carried has increased by 98%.

Month on month, capacity has risen by 15% with 83,085 seats flown in August compared to 72,355 in July.

Punctuality for the month remained excellent, with 94% of flights arriving on time (Note 3), despite having added extra flights.