Uganda Airlines will now fly to Dubai four times weekly as passenger traffic for the national carrier on the route continues to grow.
The airline started with three weekly flights to Dubai, with days and times carefully selected to match travellers’ convenience and connectivity.
It’s now understood that Uganda Airlines will on Wednesday, November 03, 2021, launch its 4th flight to Dubai to meet customer demands and needs.
Uganda Airlines launched its flights to Dubai on October 04, 2021, a major milestone for the national carrier because it marked the first intercontinental route on the Airline’s network.
The Airline is plying the route using the newly acquired Airbus state-of-the-art aircraft.
Jennifer Bamuturaki, the Acting Chief Executive Officer at Uganda Airlines says the Dubai route has been “awesome and promising” since its launch three weeks ago.
She adds that the inaugural flight attracted over 80 passengers while the second flight saw over 200 passengers fly to Dubai using the airline’s Airbus A330-800neo. The numbers have since been growing, she says.
“You can only grow a route depending on the frequency you fly and the market reaction. In fact, we are eyeing stimulating the route to five times a week,” Ms Bamuturaki adds.
With the capacity to carry 37 tonnes of cargo and 258 passengers, Uganda Airlines’ Airbus has been embraced by all categories of people including traders, who mostly export matooke (bananas), oranges, mangoes and pineapple among other items. They mainly import phones and accessories, shoes and clothes from Dubai.
During the official launch of the route in Dubai on October 09, 2021, Ms Bamuturaki said the competitive fares and baggage allowance the national carrier is offering in addition to great onboard experience will attract more passengers.
“We are not necessarily cheap but we listened to our customers to give them the best offer. Our rates will give passengers value for their money,” she said, adding that the Airbus also gives travellers a worthwhile experience.
The national carrier will also launch the mileage/loyalty programme in December 2021.
In an earlier interview, traders said they had decided to ‘fly the Crane’ to Dubai and the Pearl of Africa but asked Uganda Airlines management to increase the number of flights to Dubai per week to at least five.
Abel Mwesigye, the Chief Executive Officer at KACITA-Uganda, an umbrella body of traders, said that traders have already embraced the Dubai route using Uganda Airline “because of the flexible terms Uganda Airlines has offered our members. These include loyalties, mileage and kilograms.”
He said about 80% of the passengers on Uganda Airlines route to Dubai are traders.
Mr Mwesigye added that traders have decided to ‘fly the Crane’ because they will no longer have stop-overs because Uganda Airlines flights between Entebbe and Dubai will be direct, unlike some airlines that first stop in their countries.
“Sometimes our cargo gets lost due to stop-overs and language barrier, but with Uganda Airlines, we hope this will be history,” he noted.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
