Uganda Airlines plans more Nairobi flights as it targets Mombasa

Uganda Airlines has received two new CRJ900 planes from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier as it plans to increase Nairobi flights to three a day.

The two planes received on Monday has helped the recently revived airline double its fleet size.

The national carrier was founded in 1976 by former dictator Idi Amin but liquidated in 2001 during a broader push to sell off struggling State-owned firms.

The airline also wants to roll out new routes in December that will target 8 destinations including Mombasa as Uganda’s national carrier relaunched in August, seeking to eat into market share dominated by Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.

“Nairobi, Mogadishu and Dares Salaam are our most popular routes and Bujumbura, which started recently is also picking up mainly because we offer direct flight,” said Uganda Airlines Commercial Director Jennifer Bamuturaki.

She also said since the number of passengers on the initial routes had been growing, the airline plans to increase the frequency.

Ms Bamuturaki said the two new aircraft would boost fleet and route coverage including two daily flights on the Dar es Salaam three-day route and doubling the daily flights to Juba.

In December the airline plans a route expansion drive targeting Zanzibar, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Kigali, Lusaka, Harare, Johannesburg and Addis Ababa.

Uganda Airlines expects to receive two Airbus A330 Neo planes soon.

The first will arrive by the end of the year, and the second a few months later.

The airline started flying again last month, banking on passengers from Uganda’s emerging oil industry and the traditional tourism sector.