Kuna Video inazunguka kwenye whatsapp ikionyesha wabunge Heche na Magdalena Sakaya wakiishutumu Fastjet kwa "kuwaibia" wateja kwa kutoza gharama za maji na mizigo, n.k kwa bei kubwa. Nimeona niweke makala yangu niliyoandika kwenye Business Times wakati Fastjet inaaza. Kwa vile najua wanaweza kusoma Kingereza naomba waisome wapate mwanga zaidi:
FASTJET IS A CHEAP WAY TO FLY BUT THERE IS CATCH
Fastjet is a new game in town. Indeed the new kid on the aviation block has entered the regional and domestic scene with a big bag! Every Dick, Tom and Harry is excited about the new and cheap product on the market and for the second time people who never dreamed of seeing the inside of an airplane have a real possibility of flying thanks to the low-cost carrier. However, some people are still skeptical about Fastjet because in the past (2007) Community Air entered the market with mouth-watering fares which really excited people but only to fizzle out just like a candle in the wind!
To the Doubting Thomases out there I can only assure them that Fastjet isn’t just another Community Air. This is an airline premised on a proven and worldwide successful business concept and also backed by a solid airline group namely, Easygroup, a UK-based company headed by Sir Stelious Haji-Ioannou, known for founding the successful low-cost, short haul airline known as EasyJet operating in Europe. Unlike Community Air these aren’t new comers to the low-cost airline business. They have done their homework and ascertained the viability of the low-cost airline in East Africa. So would-be travellers should stay poised to “eat” big time- to put it in Kiswahili speak.
What is making the clients fall over each other is the kind of airfares offered by Fastjet. For instance, there is an introductory fare of Tshs 32, 000 for a one-way flight Dar-Mwanza and Dar-Kilimanjaro. For a return flight this comes to Tshs 64, 000. What an enticing deal! But hold on. This is before you factor in some mandatory taxes as follows; There is Tshs 2,000 known as HY ( in the airline jargon) which goes to Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, Tshs. 20,000 known as TZ (or airport tax) which goes to Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Tshs. 20,000 known as XP (or service fee) which goes to the agent depending where you purchase the ticket. In case you go straight to the airline you might save on XP. In other words under this scenario the return flight Dar-Mwanza or Kilimanjaro would cost about Tshs.86, 000. But in case you miss the lowest fare available then chances are that you may get a seat at the next available fare which is a bit higher and so on. It’s important for the clients to understand the airline pricing structure because what are usually advertised by the airlines are just fares excluding taxes. This usually creates confusion with clients crying foul when they come to learn that the actual prices for the tickets end up being higher than what is being advertised.
There’s another aspect that Fastjet’s patrons must be aware of. The airline is offering a 20-kgs free baggage allowance and according to the airline sources that baggage should be compatible enough to fit in the overhead baggage carriers inside the aircraft. For any additional kilos get prepared to fork out Tshs. 8,000 per kilo. The idea is to maximize revenue from other ancillary sources such as excess baggage. In other words if you don’t want to part with more money make sure you travel lightly.
The other name for a low-cost carrier is a No-frills airline. This implies that such airline doesn’t offer free luxuries such as coffee, food and drinks onboard. This kind of services is available but at a cost and the choice is yours. In this way the airline also makes money. To put it differently it’s a flying restaurant, if you like. Some airlines may allow passengers to carry their own food but such food shouldn’t inconvenience other passengers. So be mindful of what you carry. In any case there must be a difference between flying and traveling by surface means like buses and trains. You can’t allow all sorts of food on board the aircraft.
For many airlines cheap fares are very restrictive in the sense that in case you miss your flight (at your own fault) you might lose the entire ticket and be forced to purchase a new one. The restrictions may also include forfeiting the refund in case you don’t travel for one reason or the other. Most of Fastjet’s fares are in this category so you need to ask beforehand and weight the consequences before you go ahead to purchase a ticket.
Again, in case you live in Mwanza and you are traveling abroad you have to buy two tickets if you choose to fly Fastjet because this airline doesn’t interline with other airlines. The tickets are point to point. This means that you need a ticket for Fastjet and a separate one for say Kenya Airways. But in case of Precision Air you don’t need two tickets because one ticket is good enough to connect you on Kenya Airways. The same applies when it comes to baggage check-in. For example, a passenger traveling from Mwanza to Dar on Precision Air and connecting on Kenya Airways to Accra, Ghana will have his/her baggage checked through to Accra. But this cannot be the case with Fastjet due to lack of interline agreement between Fastjet and Kenya Airways.
So what does this mean to Fastjet’s competitors such as Precision Air and Air Tanzania? Of course they must be running scared but there is nothing much they can do about it. Trying to emulate Fastjet will be suicidal because in the first place they aren’t structured as low-cost airlines. Experience shows low-cost carriers create their own market niche. For example, when Kulula.Com (now Kulula Air) a low-cost airline based in South Africa, started operations between Johannesburg and Cape Town it didn’t take away passengers from South African Airways and Comair. Kulula Air actually competed with the railway and bus networks and to some extent ate into the legacy airlines’ holiday market segment. This is what seems to be happening in Tanzania. Most people who hitherto never thought of flying are now capable of flying and Fastjet is their saviour. The market which is patronizing Precision Air and ATCL is most likely going to stick with them. In fact low-cost airlines are credited for being major agents of growth in passenger traffic wherever they operate by tapping into the latent market that would otherwise be economically dormant infinitely.
I have penned this article to make some clarification on many questions and enquiries I have been getting because Fastjet is a new product and many people quite frankly are worried that with such fares the airline is most likely going to be here today and gone tomorrow. Fastjet is going to be here permanently because unlike Community Air the former is based on a sound and tested business concept and will co-exist with Air Tanzania and Precision Air so there is no cause for alarm. Just sit, relax and enjoy your cheap flight but most importantly ensure that you understand and strictly follow the fare conditions thereto lest you end up being a frustrated passenger.
Byase Luteke
