Uganda Airlines has announced new services to Abuja, Lusaka, and Harare, marking significant milestone in the airline’s growth trajectory and its commitment to connecting Africa.
The Abuja service, set to commence on September 12, 2024, will operate twice a week, adding valuable connectivity to Nigeria’s capital. This will be followed by the introduction of services to Lusaka and Harare two weeks later. These routes will operate four times a week in a triangular pattern: Entebbe-Lusaka-Harare and Entebbe-Harare-Lusaka, ultimately returning to Entebbe.
This strategic expansion increases Uganda Airlines’ destinations from 13 to 16.
“Launching these routes marks the conclusion of our three-year strategic plan, paving the way for the next phase of our 10-year rolling plan,” stated CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki. The expansion is aligned with the airline’s vision to bridge geographical gaps and connect East, West, North, and South Africa.
Abuja, an underserved market, will add one hour of flying time to the existing Lagos service, tapping into traffic from regions around Nigeria’s capital. Currently, Ethiopian Airlines and a few North African carriers serve Abuja, with Ethiopian enjoying a monopoly on routes linking Abuja to East and Southern Africa. This has rendered Abuja-Entebbe one of the most expensive routes on the continent.
Creating Robust Regional Networks
Ms. Bamuturaki defended the airline’s decision to venture into perceived grey markets, emphasizing the strategic importance of connecting underserved routes. “Our aspiration is to bridge the geographical gaps and connect East to West, North and South of Africa. This vision guides our route expansion, which is informed by feasibility studies pointing us to underserved routes.”
Lusaka and Harare are expected to serve as key feeders into Uganda Airlines’ services to West Africa, the Middle East, India, and future destinations in China and the United Kingdom. The objective is to build an optimized regional market that will support a profitable long-haul market, including destinations such as London, Mumbai, Guangzhou, and Dubai.
“The entry into these markets is meant to build an efficient and optimized regional market, which will feed and finance a more profitable long-haul market; grow the aircraft fleet utilization, create a robust regional network that will serve as a feeder for the Uganda Airlines’ long-haul market, especially London, Mumbai, Guangzhou, and Dubai, and, most importantly, support Uganda Airline’s Africa network connectivity,” added Ms. Bamuturaki.
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