Keeping the airline in the skies- come and fly with us

Air Zimbabwe is the national carrier for Zimbabwe whose purpose is to provide air travel solutions. Founded in 1967, it is wholly owned by the Government of Zimbabwe. The airline has been a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is also a serving member of the African Airlines Association

Air Zimbabwe’s Embraer Resourceful Jets 145 Long Range (Embraer ERJ 145 LR) has established itself as a runway legend for local and regional travel. The Embraer ERJ 145 is a jet developed and produced by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. It is the world’s first jet aircraft designed specifically to meet the needs of regional aviation in specific markets. It boasts high revenue generating capacity, low fuel consumption and low maintenance costs plus quick turnaround time.

The aircraft uses a mid-bypass turbofan engine, the wings are equipped with winglets and the two engines are mounted on the tail section. This particular EJR145 is currently the only one of its class in the Air Zimbabwe fleet, but it is envisaged that the company will add more of its kind in the near future. There are prospective new routes that will be operated by the ERJ145

It is a testament to the national carrier’s motto of “Zimbabwean Hospitality in the Skies”.

The plane has a comfortable seating capacity for 50 passengers and has sufficient head and leg room.  It is manned by a crew compliment of four that consists of two pilots, a flight attendant and an engineer

The local routes cover Harare, Victoria Falls and Bulawayo. Regional routes are Johannesburg in South Africa and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

The airline reveals that apart from its established routes and destinations it offers charter packages. This has seen the ERJ145 transporting various corporates, members of the CEO’s Round Table, delegates of the Marketer’s Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ),  Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Institute of  Peoples Management of Zimbabwe (IPMZ). Notable VIPs, churches, schools, and companies on sports excursions also charter the plane.

The carrier caters for different categories of passengers from business people, leisure travellers, children and the elderly.

In the instance of minors, parents and guardians are expected to fill in a form detailing the age of the minor, destination and the details of the person who is to receive the child.

If you have a medical condition, ensure to mention it when making your seat reservation so that you receive special attention on the day of travel. Senior citizens are eligible for a 10 percent discount on the price of the ticket on the airlines’ destinations. “So imagine if there is a promotion running, how awesome is it to get that extra percent off the price of the ticket”?

As a draw card the airline ran promotions such as the Valentine promotion for the month of February. The regional and domestic promotion runs from the beginning of the year until 31 March23. In these instances flight tickets are discounted. The advantage is that these are direct flights and have become very popular especially with traders that commute between Zimbabwe and Dar es Salaam to procure merchandise.

Bookings can be made online on ‘www.airzimbabwe.aero’. The entity has ticketing offices in Harare’s central business district and at the RGM International Airport.  The Bulawayo ticketing office is located within the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and in Victoria Falls both in town and at the airport. A myriad of travel agents around the country also assist potential passengers to obtain tickets.

Regionally, the airline books tickets at its Johannesburg office at OR Tambo International Airport and General Sales Agent in Dar es Salaam as well as a number of agents that facilitate reservations.

During flights, passengers are served with a variety of finger snacks and refreshments. The menu is expanded on the longer routes.

Air Zimbabwe takes pride in its customer safety, integrity and service excellence record. Before take-off and after landing there are checks conducted on the planes. Air Zimbabwe maintenance department do major checks from “A”, “C” and “D” to their own aircrafts’. Air Zimbabwe undertakes third party maintenance work for other airlines and offers commercial engineering services to non-aviation customers. It also provides a platform for school outings and visits with pupils coming to view the planes and different airline services.

For more information regarding the airline procedures, regulations and reservations as well as promotions visit www.airzimbabwe.aero.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkdIn: @FlyAirZimbabwe

Text by Perry Kaande

Photos by Fotohaus and Air Zimbabwe

From DESTINATION ZW EDITION 2