Air Zimbabwe (UM, Harare International) requires USD368million to recapitalize its operations and acquire new jets acting Chief Executive Officer, Edmund Makona, has told a Zimbabwean parliamentary inquest.
Government mouthpiece, ZBC, states Makona told the inquest that the airline has accrued significant losses largely due to the age of its fleet which now stands at three including one B767-200(ER), one B737-200Adv., and one MA-60.
As a result, of the USD368million, USD331million would be set aside to acquire new aircraft, Makona added. While the CEO did not mention how and where the funding would come from, Zimbabwean Minister of Transport, Obert Mpofu, has gone on record as saying the ailing carrier was in the process of teaming up with an unnamed Chinese technical partner.
With the Zimbabwean national carrier having registered a USD44.7million loss in 2013, Makona also blamed high operational overheads such as Jet A1 which costs between USD1 and USD1.15 per litre locally compared to USD0.89 cents per litre in neighbouring South Africa.
Currently, the carrier only services Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Kariba, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo from its Harare International hub. Recent reports out of the Zimbabwean capital claim the carrier is in the process of resuming its international services to London Gatwick and Beijing Capital using an A340 leased from South Africa's Global Aviation Operations (GE, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) though this is still subject to official confirmation.
