Airzim recovery takes shape

The delivery of the second B777-200ER to Air Zimbabwe on Saturday demonstrates Government’s commitment to return Air Zimbabwe to profitability, but now it needs the funds to pay off its debts to take the national airline out of its business reconstruction, airline administrator Mr Tonderai Mukubvu said yesterday.

The 282-seater B777-200ER, registered as ZMBE, was, like the first that arrived in January and registered as ZRGM, bought from Malaysia. Initially, Government wanted to acquire four B777s but the two that have been delivered are the ones that have been paid for.

The Air Zimbabwe fleet now has five aircraft: an Embraer ERJ 145, a Boeing 737-200, a Boeing 767-200ER and the two B777s.

The Embraer ERJ145 is expected back from Johannesburg this month, after undergoing a C-check.

The Embraer will be deployed on domestic and regional routes, as is the B737, while the three larger Boeings can be used on regional and international routes.

Mr Mukubvu yesterday told The Herald that Air Zimbabwe was now poised for a grand take-off despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. “For stakeholders and creditors, the coming in of the second B777 shows that Government is committed to taking Air Zimbabwe to its previous state when it operated well. It is unfortunate that the B777s have come at a time when Covid-19 has grounded flights across the world,” said Mr Mukubvu. The International Air Travel Association doubts that the global airline industry will post profits this year. In fact, the association believes it will take until 2023 for air traffic to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Boeing chief executive officer Mr David Calhoun also estimates that it will take three to five years for air travel to return to the pre-pandemic operational levels. But Mukubvu said despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, there were to get a company to lease the B777to give Air Zimbabwe income to keep going.

“The money we will get from the lessee will also help us prepare for the full recovery of the airline business.

“We are now waiting for the release of the funds to pay creditors to take Air Zimbabwe out of reconstruction. This allows the company to operate without the burden of debt,” said Mr Mukubvu.

Airzim owes local creditors $346 million and foreign creditors US$30 million.

Speaking while taking delivery of the aircraft at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Saturday, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Joel Biggie Matiza, said the coming of the second B777 “completes the delivery of both aircraft after the first one that arrived in the country in January”. The company resumed domestic flights late last month and international flights last week, with a flight to Tanzania.-herald.cl.zw