Proflight Zambia’s recent introduction of a 114-seat Boeing 737-500 aircraft to its fleet to cover increased passenger demand has wowed passengers, and the growing company is now awaiting delivery of a 50-seat Bombardier Dash-8.
The short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body 737-500 airliner, was used on Zambia’s favourite carrier’s flights from Lusaka to Livingstone, Ndola and Durban to meet additional passenger demand in recent weeks.
The short-term lease was to cover demand while the airline‘s own 50-seat CRJ aircraft was undergoing routine maintenance, and in the run-up to delivery of a new 50-seat Bombardier Dash 8 plane.
Proflight Director of Flight Operations Capt. Gerald Tembo said: “The leased Boeing 737-500 aircraft was greatly appreciated and enjoyed by our passengers on local and international routes.
“With increased demand on the Lusaka-Ndola route, Proflight brought on board a Boeing 737-500 aircraft on a short-term lease to add more capacity on the route, as we awaited the arrival of the Dash 8 turbo aircraft procured by the airline to boost our fleet,” he said.
“We will be sad to see the 737 go, as it captured many people’s hearts during the time it flew, especially on our local routes,” said Capt. Lemba.
The airline strives to create a better flying experience on both its domestic and international routes.
Travellers on the Lusaka-Ndola route expressed their happiness in travelling on the 737-500.
“If you are driving, it would take about 5 to 6 hours. But with this 30 minutes flight, before you realise you already in Ndola or Lusaka,” said one happy passenger.
“The experience on this flight has been very exciting, getting on such a large aircraft makes a big difference; it feels like flying internationally,” added another.
“I fly often, for convenience. It’s so much faster, people might think it’s expensive to fly but, in the end, it is cheaper,” responded a further traveller during a recent flight to Ndola.
“It’s my first time to fly on this plane on a domestic route. It was a very comfortable, luxurious flight – I wish to fly again on this flight soon. It was really good,” added another.
The leased 737-500 boosted not only the passenger excitement, comfort and morale, but also enabled more passengers to connect on a single flight.
The Boeing enabled Proflight to better meet short-term demand. The airline awaits the delivery of the 50-seat Dash 8 aircraft bought from Canada, the headquarters of the aircraft’s manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace.
About Proflight Zambia
Proflight Zambia was established in 1991 and is Zambia’s leading scheduled airline. From its base in Lusaka its domestic routes include Livingstone, Mfuwe, Lower Zambezi, Kalabo, Ndola, Solwezi, Kasama, and Ndola-Kasama, and regional routes to Lilongwe in Malawi, and Durban in South Africa and Harare in Zimbabwe. Mfuwe-Lower Zambezi and Livingstone-Lower Zambezi direct services operate between June and October 2018.
The airline prides itself in providing a safe, reliable, efficient and friendly service, and offering good value to business and leisure travellers locally and internationally.
The airline operates a 50-seater Bombardier CRJ-100 jet, three 29-seater Jetstream 41 aircraft and two C208 Caravans.
More information is available at www.flyzambia.com.
