| Air Zim to be relaunched |
| Friday, 23 March 2012 |
The Zimbabwean government recently announced it will absorb the $140m (R1bn)
debt of its national carrier and relaunch the airline under a different name,
but whether Air Zimbabwe will ever be able to regain the trust of the travel
industry remains to be seen.
The government last week disbanded Air
Zimbabwe Holdings and immediately announced the formation of a new State-owned
company, Air Zimbabwe Private Limited. Transport, Communications and
Infrastructural Development Minister, Nicholas
Goche, explained the government would take over Air Zimbabwe Holdings’
assets, liabilities, contracts and employees. The ‘new’ Air Zim will reportedly
use an airbus A320 aircraft for domestic and regional routes and acquire more
aircraft on lease to service its international routes.
State Enterprises
Restructuring Agency executive director, Edgar
Nyoni, added massive job cuts were on the cards. He was quoted in a local
newspaper as saying: “The aim is to relieve the parastatal from the debt burden
whereby government will be able to meet its obligations. Currently it employs 1
400 people and so there is a possibility of downsizing it.”
Although the
absence of Air Zimbabwe has left the domestic travel industry paralysed, as they
are now reliant on expensive charter flights, the Zimbabwean tourism industry is
equally wary of the new airline and says a simple name change is not
sufficient. Emmanuel Fundira, former
president of the Zimbabwe Council of Tourism, says: “From an industry
perspective, this is game over. There is no way Air Zim will find easy entry
into the travel trade anymore as industry players are hopelessly disappointed by
the government.”
According to Fundira the government is merely
postponing the inevitable. He says: “It is the same government that has directly
contributed to the demise of the national airline and now prefers to wear a
different hat and hoodwink the market. Markets are much smarter than that.
Besides the new board comprises of bureaucrats and nothing new will come of
this.”
The industry further questions where the government will obtain
the necessary funds to absorb the debt of the ailing national carrier. Fundira
says: “The purchase of the new equipment is shielded in lots of secrecy and one
cannot stop suspecting that a barter deal may have been struck with a friendly
investor.” He adds that Air Zimbabwe employees are still owed several months of
salaries.
Regaining the trust of the travel industry will also not be an
easy task. South African travel agents told TNW’s sister publication, eTNW, that
they’re not ready to book their clients on Air Zimbabwe again anytime soon.
Graham de Wit of Astra Travel said: “They
must first prove their bona fides and pay all their debts including refunds.”
Another agent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I don’t think I will ever
book them. They are not reliable. Take it at your own risk; that is what I will
tell my clients.”
Dorine Reinstein
The
Editor
|
| By : Tourism Update |