Air Tanzania was unwrapping a unique Christmas gift just recently when it took delivery of the first of two Airbus A220-300s they had ordered back in December, 2016. The aircraft was delivered to the airline on Friday, December 21st.
The plane with registration 5H-TCH has been named Dodoma, after the country’s capital. With the A220 in its fleet, Air Tanzania becomes the first airline in Africa to have such an aircraft and fifth in the world. The craft is reported to have set back the airline about $200 million. The order the airline made included two Bombardier’s Q400 turoprops.
The plane is actually owned by the Tanzanian Government Flight Agency and will be on lease to the Air Tanzania airline. Both agencies have talked about the benefits the new plane will give the airline and Tanzania as a country in as far as aviation is concerned.
The plane will now make it possible for Air Tanzania to offer better passenger experiences on its current routes, in addition to launching new routes to the Middle East and India.
Air Tanzania would like to welcome all citizens to our Airbus A220-300 inaugural function, tomorrow at terminal 1 from 11:00am.#AirbusA220-300#WaKwanzaAfrika#Kileleni!Twen’zetu pic.twitter.com/TviewGnmh9
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) December 22, 2018
Just few hours left. Get to watch live coverage of the event on our YouTube channel, subscribe to our channel, link below.#AirbusA220-300#WaKwanzaAfrika#Kilelen!Twen’zetuhttps://t.co/XxfBBTMXAX pic.twitter.com/RXB7rpVQtC
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) December 22, 2018
Ndege yetu, fahari yetu.
Our airplane, our pride.#MondayMotivation#Tanzania#AirbusA220-300#WaKwanzaAfrika#Kileleni!Twen’zetu pic.twitter.com/DvZDwM1doC
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) December 24, 2018
Hivi ndio jinsi tulivofungua zawadi ya Christmas. Umepokea zawadi gani ya krismasi leo?.
This is how we unboxed our Christmas present. What Christmas present have you receive today?#BoxingDay#HappyNewYear#AirbusA220-300#WaKwanzaAfrika#Kileleni!Twen’zetu pic.twitter.com/SHoGA32VtR
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) December 26, 2018
Najivunia Kuwa Mtanzania.
Proud to be Tanzanian.#QueenOfTheSky#AirbusA220-300#WaKwanzaAfrika#Kileleni!Twen’zetu pic.twitter.com/IB8eUnShtr
— Air Tanzania (@AirTanzania) December 28, 2018
Big feet for such a small airline
Air Tanzania by all rights, is classified as a small airline with a low profile in the international avaiation map. The airline has certainly surprised many stakeholders in aviation by becoming one of the early customers for the new airplane. Then again, the airline in July this year also took delivery of a single Boeing 787-8 and it posses quite a remarkable fleet of new aircrafts.
You can watch how the airline received the aircraft on YouTube by following this link.