Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam) anticipates commencing longhaul flights to China from next month, according to Tanzanian newspaper The Citizen. The first charter flight from Hangzhou is expected to arrive in Tanzania on February 24, with a second planned for March 3. The charter programme is hoped to bring in 10,000 tourists per annum.
In conjunction with the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), the tours will be organised by Touchroad International Holdings Group (TIHG), a Chinese multinational involved in international trade, investment, cultural exchanges, tourism, industrial park development, and special economic zone construction. TIHG conducts business in more than 20 African countries, as well as Europe and America.
The charter flights are possible owing to the arrival of Air Tanzania's second B787-8, 5H-TCJ (msn 66133), in November. Prior to that, the state-owned carrier was reliant on its sole 262-seat B787-8, 5H-TCG (msn 64249), for all of its medium-haul services. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the aircraft are typically deployed on the airline's 3x weekly services to Mumbai International as well as 6x weekly on its flights to Mwanza.
