Air Tanzania Corporation
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| Founded | 11 March 1977 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | June 1977 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | December 2002 (restructured into ATCL) | ||||||
| AOC # | 001 | ||||||
| Hubs | Dar es Salaam International Airport | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Dar es Salaam Airports Handling Company Ltd (65%) Tanzania Airport Catering Company |
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| Company slogan | The wings of Kilimanjaro | ||||||
| Parent company | Government of Tanzania | ||||||
| Headquarters | ATC House, Dar es Salaam | ||||||
| Key people | Andy Chande, (Chairman) | ||||||
Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) (Swahili: Shirika la Ndege Tanzania) was the national airline of Tanzania. It was wholly owned by the Government of Tanzania until 2002, when it was restructured before entering into a partnership with South African Airways, which however, did not last. The government repurchased its shares in 2006 and the airline has since been a state-owned enterprise.[1]
History
Air Tanzania Corporation was established in 1977 after the liquidation of East African Airways (EAA), which had accumulated debts to the tune of US$ 120 million.[2] Prior to its formation, EAA had served the region since 1946 during the British rule of East Africa. After the dissolution of EAA, Kenya and Uganda also formed its own flagcarriers: Kenya Airways and Uganda Airlines respectively.
According to Sir Andy Chande, the founding Chairman of the board, Tanzania and Uganda did not receive a fair share of the former carrier's assets despite being equal partners. The airline commenced operations with a Douglas DC-9-32 leased from Kenya Airways and purchased an additional two Boeing 737, financed by a U.S. bank.[3] It also leased an aircraft from Air Madagascar. Four Fokker F27s and four DHC-6-300 Twin Otters were added in 1980. Due to less demand, two of the Fokker 27s were disused in 1981. These aircraft returned to service in 1983 but was once again removed.[4]
In May 1991, Air Tanzania began operating a Boeing 767-200ER that it leased from Ethiopian Airlines, but this aircraft proved to be too large and was returned to the lessor in February 1992.[1][5] The airline reported a profit of US$ 650,000 in 1994.[6]
During the nineties, the airline's acronym ATC was humorously referred to as Any Time Cancellation due to its unpredictable flight schedule.[7][8]
Alliance Air
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In 1994, the airline joined with South African Airways (SAA) and Uganda Airlines to form Alliance Air and had a 10 percent stake in the joint venture.[9] Flights operated from Dar es Salaam to London–Heathrow via Entebbe on a Boeing 747SP initially, and then a smaller Boeing 767-200. This venture ceased operations in October 2000, after accumulating losses of about US$50 million.[10]
The losses had been funded by Transnet, the parent company of SAA, through April 2000. When Transnet refused to continue funding the deficit, Air Tanzania accused SAA of using Alliance Air "as a Trojan Horse to take over national airlines in the region".[11]
Privatisation
Since its creation, Air Tanzania had been wholly owned by the Tanzanian government via the Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC). In February 2002, the government began the process of privatizing ATC through the Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission. Advertisements were placed in the local, regional, and international media inviting potential bidders.[12] The International Finance Corporation advised the government in this transaction.[13][14]
The government had approved a transaction structure that included:[15]
- Creation of a new company, Air Tanzania Company Limited, which would be incorporated as a limited liability company, under the Companies Act to take over the operating assets and specified rights and liabilities of ATC.
- A second new company Air Tanzania Holding Company would be created to take over the non-operating assets and all other liabilities of ATC.
Eight airlines submitted Expressions of Interest:[15]
- Aero Asia International (Pakistan)
- Air Consult International (Ireland)
- Comair (South Africa)
- Gulf Air Falcon (United Arab Emirates)
- Kenya Airways
- Nationwide Airlines (South Africa)
- Precision Air (Tanzania)
- South African Airways
Of the eight, four airlines carried out due diligence – South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Comair, and Nationwide Airlines.[14] By 19 September 2002, the bid deadline date, only SAA had submitted a bid. Kenya Airways and Nationwide Airlines had informed the government that they did not intend to submit bids.[13]
Destinations
During its lifetime, the airine flew to the following destinations as part of its scheduled services.[1][4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ "Airline Privatization", Regional Workshop on Air Transport Regulatory Policy, Bangkok, 2000, page 3
- ↑ "$50 million losses forces Alliance Air to close", Flight International, reported by Michael Wakabi, 17 October 2000, reprinted on the website of Flightglobal
- ↑ "Transnet leaves SA Alliance in crisis", Flight International, reported by Michael Wakabi, 11 April 2000, reprinted on the website of Flightglobal
- ↑ "Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission: Preliminary Notice to Investors Privatisation of Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC)", Flight International, 19-25 February 2002, page 89
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "IFC Helps to Privatize Tanzania's National Airline", International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, 16 October 2002
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 SAA Wins ATC Divestiture Bid
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 PSRC Holds ATC Bidders Conference
