Precision Air

Updated on Jan 27, 2024

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PW PRF AOC # 032 Frequent-flyer program PAA Royal Alliance Kenya Airways Founded 1993		PRF PRECISION AIR Focus cities Mwanza Airport Headquarters Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Revenue 90.8 billion TZS (2016) Fleet size 9

Hubs Julius Nyerere International Airport Hub Julius Nyerere International Airport Profiles Facebook

Zanzibar dar es salaam dubai precision air emirates atr 72 boeing 777 300 hd

Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, with a minihub at Mwanza Airport.

In 2013, it had the largest market share of all aviation traffic in Tanzania, at 48.33 per cent. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and airports in Tanzania.

Atr interview of sauda rajab precision air services ceo 2014

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993. At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offering scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market.

In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit. Its registration will expire 22 September 2016.

In April 2011, the airline became a public company.

Shareholders

Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US $2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US $20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.

In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in the airline stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima's and Kenya Airways's stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent. As of March 2013, the major shareholders were:

Business trends

The trends for the Precision Air group over recent years are shown below. Because it was a private company until 2011, published figures were not generally available before the initial public offering prospectus of 12 September 2011. The figures for the group (Precision Air Services Plc and its subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited and Precise Systems Limited) (as at year ending 31 March) are:

Precision Air reported in August 2013 that for the year ending 31 March 2013, its maintenance costs increased to 23.6 billion Tanzanian shillings from 11.9 billion for the previous year. The increase was caused primarily by the high cost of maintaining its Boeing 737 fleet.

Published reports in June 2013 indicated that Precision Air had encountered substantial financial difficulties, stemming in part from losses incurred while operating flights to and from Johannesburg, South Africa. Those flights ended in September 2012. The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reported in August 2013 that the airline "desperately" needed a US $32 million bailout package from the Tanzanian government or other non-shareholder sources. The airline's problems increased in 2011 when it received only US $7.4 million of the US $17.5 million in cash that the airline hoped to receive when first listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Increasing fuel prices, taxes, and levies plus currency fluctuations and the refusal of minority owner Kenya Airways to contribute capital had also hurt the airline.

Destinations

As of September 2014, the airline serves the following destinations:

Codeshare agreements

Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi-Dar es Salaam)

Kenya Airways (various routes)

LAM Mozambique Airlines (Maputo–Nampula–Pemba–Dar es Salaam)

RwandAir (Kigali–Kilimanjaro)

Interline agreements

Precision Air has an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other East African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport. This agreement includes e-ticketing.

Precision Air also has interline agreements for baggage and paper ticketing purposes with Alitalia, British Airways (also e-ticketing), Delta Air Lines (also e-ticketing, ending March 31, 2016), TAAG Angola Airlines (also e-ticketing), Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines (also e-ticketing), Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Air Seychelles (also e-ticketing), Hahn Air (also e-ticketing), KLM (also e-ticketing), Kenya Airways (also e-ticketing), Swiss International Air Lines, Egyptair, Air Malawi, South African Airways (also e-ticketing), SN Brussels Airlines, Saudia, LAM Mozambique Airlines (also e-ticketing), Virgin Atlantic Airlines (also e-ticketing), RwandAir, Oman Air, Heli Air Monaco, and Zambezi Airlines.

Current fleet

The Precision Air fleet includes the following aircraft (as of September 2016):

Historical fleet

The company has previously operated the following equipment:

Accidents and incidents

According to Aviation Safety Network, as of September 2014 Precision Air has had four accidents or incidents.

26 July 1999: A Let L-410UVP-E9, tail number 5H-PAB, made a belly landing at Arusha Airport on a training flight while doing touch and go. The two crew and three passengers were not injured.

16 November 2004: A Let L-410UVP-E20, tail number 5H-PAC, crash landed while on a training flight at Kilimanjaro Airport. The two pilots, who had not put on their shoulder straps, sustained facial injuries.

8 July 2007: An ATR 72-212, tail number 5H-PAR, had a runway excursion on landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport runway 06. It veered off to the right, went over a ditch, and came to a stop on Taxiway F. The nose wheel collapsed. The four crew and 62 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The probable cause of this accident was power asymmetry during application of reverse thrust on landing. The control levers were jammed in one position.

10 July 2014: An ATR 72-500, tail number 5H-PWA, was halfway en route to Dar es Salaam from Mwanza during normal cruise when the number 2 engine seized. This necessitated a diversion to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The aircraft touched down normally; however, after selecting ground idle (as per the captain's explanation), the aircraft veered to the left side and exited the runway hitting one of the runway edge lights and proceeded to roll on the grass field parallel to runway 09 for approximately 180 meters before subsequently regaining the runway. No injuries were reported.

On 13 December 2013, an ATR 42-600 (5H–PWI) made a safe landing at Arusha Airport after its four tires deflated upon landing. All 37 passengers and 4 crew were safe. The airline subsequently explained that higher braking forces, necessitated by the aircraft landing with a tail wind, caused the deflations.