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Makata: ATCL airbus lease to cost over USD2.2m
2008-02-06 09:15:37
By Njonanje Samwel
The national flag carrier, Air Tanzania Corporation Limited (ATCL) has refuted claims that it has leased an aircraft, which is not airworthy.
It has also distanced President Jakaya Kikwete`s next month trip to Germany to have any link with the leasing or purchasing deal of airbuses.
ATC chief executive officer David Mataka made the refutation during an interview with journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Mataka was responding amid claims that his corporation was in the process of leasing an airbus A320-11 from a French offshore company, Wallis Trading Inc, which actually had remained parked for years and that it is not known when it last flew.
According to him, widespread claims that the leased aircraft was old were incorrect; adding that it was manufactured eleven years (1997) ago.
``The age of the aircraft is relatively young compared to those used by world's largest airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss International airline,`` the ATC boss bragged.
He said until its leasing, the aircraft was operating in the US under very strict aviation regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Under the leasing contract, ATC is to pay USD370,000 per year for a period of six years, said the Air Tanzania CEO.
He explained that all mandatory technical, financial and legal procedures were followed before the lease contract was signed.
Before being executed, the leasing contract was carefully examined by state organs such as the Private Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) and Divestiture Technical Committee (DTC) which comprise experts from government ministries, said Mataka.
He however said that the decision to hire and later buy an airbus was reached after the national flag carrier had analysed three sensitive areas, namely financial state of leasing, buying and running of the aircraft, supports the airline receives from the manufacturer and delivery time of the aircrafts.
``Airbus came to be the choice after it met all the above factors and given the financial state of a young airline like ours,`` noted Mataka.
He conceded that in one of the correspondences between the ATC and the airbus manufacturer, the latter made a mistake to mention the President's trip to Germany, the reason why some people drew a link of his entourage to the signing of the airbus deal.
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