Uganda gets more visitors now

Oct 01, 2009

British Airways has announced a capacity upgrade from three to five flights a week out of Entebbe to Heathrow starting this October. David Mugabe talked to the country commercial manager, Faith Chaitezvi, about the development and other industry matters.

British Airways has announced a capacity upgrade from three to five flights a week out of Entebbe to Heathrow starting this October. David Mugabe talked to the country commercial manager, Faith Chaitezvi, about the development and other industry matters.

question: What changing trends have you noticed in Uganda that has led to this increase in the number of people flying?

There has been an increase in inbound traffic. A lot more people are coming from Canada and the US and a lot more tourists. We have identified certain market segments that we were not tapping into before.

There are complaints that BA does not give enough luggage space to passengers, is this true?
If you are traveling business we give 69kgs,which excludes hand luggage. That is more than what any of our competitors provide. In economy we give one piece of 23 kgs which we are doing on the 767. We are also capacity-constrained so we need to take this into consideration not to hamper the safety of the plane.

You are increasing flight frequency but not improving or increasing the plane capacity, are you not doing the Uganda market a disservice?
In 2006, we ordered 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 12 Airbuses. We wanted to phase out the 767. The production of the 787 has been delayed though.

How is Terminal 5 doing?
It is performing absolutely splendid. It has one of the best performance ratings in Heathrow. In August, it got 100% rating on time departure. There is now less baggage loss. Once we got over the hiccups, we are reaping the benefits.

What has led to the British Airways capacity upgrade?
We have looked at Uganda for a number of years and have continued to grow in our business. The Ugandan market is growing in some areas like never before and having only three flights impedes on its growth.

How many passengers does British Airways carry per week ?
It is hard to say. The seat capacity will go up by atleast 30,000 which is about 70%. Currently we do about 16,000. We will continue to operate the 767, so it remains at about 184 people per flight. There are times during the school holidays when capacity increases.

What benefits are coming with these changes in flight frequency?
We are catering to more passengers which means they will have more options. The flight time changes from day to night. That also means we have a prime landing time in Heathrow in the morning.
The pricing is also affordable.

How have you navigated the global economic slowdown that has not spared airlines?

Our share prices have lately increased because of increased investor confidence. Overall our premium business dropped by about 10%. We have the option of convertible bonds to increase capital to stay on. But we can utilise our current resources better .

Is the promotions charge of $525 a round trip?
Yes. To London. It excludes taxes and other charges.

What do you think of the aviation industry here and the plans to privatise national airports?
The authority has been doing an excellent job. Civil Aviation Authority has always been supportive. We will work with the Government to see what the implications on privatising airports would be.

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