Categories: Stories

Air Zimbabwe says its fleet is still young

Air Zimbabwe’s small aircraft fleet might have an average age of 22 years but is considered young in terms of its use and the national carrier plans to expend it before considering renewing it, the chief executive officer said today.

Aviation experts say an aircraft’s lifespan is not measured in years but in pressurisation cycles, that is, in terms of each take off. A plane’s fuselage and wings undergo extreme conditions of stress each time a plane is pressurised during flight, suffering metal fatigue over time.

Air Zimbabwe chief executive Edmund Makona told journalists at a briefing in Harare that the airline’s turnaround strategy hinged on the effective utilization of resources at its disposal.

“When we look at Air Zimbabwe today we see that we have aircraft that were procured as far back as 1989 and 1990. These have an average lifespan of 75 000 cycles, but they have only been used to around 14 000 cycles,” Makona said.

“So when you look at the life remaining, not in terms of age but in terms of usage, these aircraft have been underutilised. Aircraft are not designed to be on the ground so we want to maximize them first.”

The current fleet complement comprises of two B767s, three B737s and three MA60. The national airline has been under pressure to renew and expand its fleet in the face of growing competition. The airline has resorted to leasing planes to service some of its routes from time to time.- The Source

(106 VIEWS)

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 4:10 pm

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024

The Zimbabwe government and not saboteurs sabotaging ZiG

The Zimbabwe government’s insatiable demand for money to satisfy its own needs, which has exceeded…

October 20, 2024

The Zimbabwe Gold will regain its value if the government does this…

Economist Eddie Cross says the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) will regain its value if the government…

October 16, 2024

Is Harare the least democratic province in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, which is a metropolitan province, is the least democratic province in the…

October 11, 2024

Zimbabweans against extension of presidential term in office

Nearly 80% of Zimbabweans are against the extension of the president’s term in office, according…

October 11, 2024