Zambia’s top private airline, Proflight, on 02 September made its inaugural flight into the business capital of Africa’s most industrialized nation, South Africa. This will be the airlines second conduit into South Africa after its Durban route. This special flight departs from Ndola the capital town of the Copperbelt of Africa straight into the business hub of Africa’s diamond hot spot, Johannesburg. Proflights decision to service the Ndola – Johannesburg route comes in the wake of the rising demand for air travel given a corresponding rise in business pulse and trade between Zambia and South Africa.
Proflight’s strategy comes at a time that Zambia has commissioned close to a billion dollars in refurbished airport infrastructure both at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe and Kenneth Kaunda International Airports as it attempts to position itself as a Southern Africa regional transport hub. The route is justified by the commerce between the two jusridictions. Most Zambians do business in South Africa while a lot of mining investors from South Africa have business with Zambia on the Copperbelt and for only *$367 return, can fly to and from.
“The route provides efficient, reliable and suitable choice for business, leisure, friends and families travelling either from Zambia or South Africa allowing for further convenient connections,” said Airline Chief Operating Officer – Captain Philip Lemba. Our domestic market is relatively small, making it hard to achieve economies of scale; airport taxes are high, fuel costs are high, and competition is high. Proflight believes the solution to these challenges is to remain on course with our slow steady, expansion into regional markets.
By doing so, we will grow passenger numbers, enabling us to build our fleet further and achieve the economies of scale that are so vital to the success of airline businesses worldwide. The start of our new Ndola-Johannesburg route today is part of that continued strategy of growth, and one that we are particularly excited,” he said.
Zambia will in Q3 relaunch its national airline to increase the competition landscape in the airline industry which many analysts believe will result in healthy price disruption as the copper producer increases its stock of local airlines to three, namely: Mahogany, Proflight and Zambia Airways.
Compiled by BT