Zambia Airways to add a B737-700

Zambia Airways re-registers its B737

Zambia Airways (ZN, Lusaka) has re-registered its first B737-800 from 9J-HHZ (msn 40961) to 9J-ZAD, the airline has confirmed.

Airline management confirmed the move to ch-aviation, saying it was done for "administrative reasons".

They could not confirm reports by The Zambian Observer and Zambian Post, showing images of the re-registered aircraft, that the previous registration of 9J-HHZ caused political controversy as having represented the initials of the country's current president, Hakainde Hichilema. The Zambian Civil Aviation Authority was not immediately available for comment.

The jet has been seconded from Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International), the minority stakeholder in the Zambian government's joint-venture national carrier, the majority stake being held by the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation. The plane is currently plying the route between the Zambian capital, Lusaka, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa, according to ADS-B data.

Editorial Comment: Removed sources' names. - 29.10.2023 - 08:27 UTC

Zambia Airways takes delivery of first B737-800

Zambia Airways debuts int'l ops with Zimbabwe route

Zambia Airways (ZN, Lusaka) launches international operations on March 28 with a regional route to Harare International, the capital of Zimbabwe, the airline announced on social media.

The carrier's online schedule reveals that flights between Lusaka and Harare will run 3x weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, using a DHC-8-Q400. This follows its recent announcement that it had secured long-awaited foreign operator permits.

Plans to debut regional services in July 2022 were delayed by lengthy regulatory processes to obtain the FOPs, a situation eventually resolved when Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema stepped in to negotiate with his counterparts to the south.

Other regional routes in the booking system - but not yet scheduled - are Johannesburg O.R. Tambo (South Africa), Addis Ababa International (Ethiopia), Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and Mombasa (Kenya), and Kinshasa N'Djili (DRC).

Zambia Airways is a joint venture between Ethiopian Airlines and the Zambian government through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The carrier currently operates two DHC-8-Q400s owned by Ethiopian Airlines, the...

Zambia Airways secures first jet, a B737-800

The Zambian government has announced it has acquired a B737-800 for Zambia Airways' first regional route - to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa - to launch in the second quarter of 2023. No further details on the aircraft were disclosed.

This comes after the South African Department of Transport finally granted a foreign operator's permit to Zambia Airways. As reported, plans to debut regional services in July 2022 were scuppered through delays in securing its FOP, a situation eventually resolved when Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema stepped in to negotiate on the airline's behalf with his regional counterpart. As a result of the delay, the airline was limited to domestic services and could not expand its fleet. The airline currently wet-leases two DHC-8-Q400s from Ethiopian Airlines, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module reveals.

Zambia Airways is a joint venture between the Ethiopian flag carrier and the Zambian government through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Speaking in South Africa on March 7, 2023, Zambia's Minister of Transport and Logistics, Frank Tayali, welcomed the...