Tanzania Airline Precision Air Announces New CEO

Precision Air (PA) has announced its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ms Sauda Said Rajab, who is to join the Airline later next month.

Ms Rajab will be joining the company from Kenya Airways. She has served Kenya Airways in different capacities for the last 23 years. The most recent position being the General Manager of Cargo. She has tremendous experience in both Airline Sales and Operations.

She becomes the first female CEO in Tanzania’s Airline Industry. During her years at Kenya Airways she was also country manager of Kenya Airways in Uganda. She has distinguished herself with her results and performance.

Ms Rajab has been selected in a lengthy process to succeed Mr Alfonse Kioko who is retiring. Mr Kioko leaves after 10 years at the helm of the Airline. He steered Precision Air to incredible growth and achievements.

“When he joined in 2003 the fleet consisted of two old ATR 42’s and a few small aircrafts but now the airline has 9 new ATR aircrafts (1ATR 42-300, 7ATRs 42-500, 2ATRs 42-600) and 2 Boeings 737-300. This brings a total fleet currently to 12 which has given leverage to PA being the only Airline in Tanzania to operate at the most frequencies and routes regionally. Passenger numbers grew from 200,000 to approximately 1 Million. Expected this year is a double digit annual percentage growth. Revenues also grew from TZS 20 Billion in 2004 (USD 14 Million) to TZS 163 Billion (USD 101 Million) in 2011/2012.”said Precision Air Chairman Mr Michael Shirima.

Unprecedented at the time, Mr Kioko’s management at PA brought brand new aircrafts from French manufacturer ATR. PA now operates a fleet of ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft and more orders for brand new turboprops are pending delivery in 2013 and 2014.

PA, like no other airline in Tanzania, has opted to link secondary and tertiary municipalities with their aerodromes and airfields in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam. They will also link the lakeside city of Mwanza where the airline established a mini hub.

Flights to Nairobi, Entebbe, Lubumbashi, Lusaka and Johannesburg round up the picture, served with one of the three B737-300 aircrafts the airline acquired in recent years.

PA is currently the largest airline in Tanzania based on fleet size, destinations served, and passengers carried. Their market share in 2011 was 58.8%.

Since 2003 it has profited every year and has become public owned in 2011.