The low-cost segment of the region’s aviation industry is gaining traction following an announcement of the commencement of services to Uganda by two international low-cost airlines.

Tanzania-based Fastjet and UAE carrier flyDubai will launch flights out of Entebbe later this month, injecting a new dynamic to a business that has largely been based on the full service model in the country.

Fastjet will initially operate two flights a week out of Entebbe to its hub in Dar es Salaam starting September 16, before doubling the frequency a fortnight later.

Flydubai will operate daily Entebbe-Dubai flights in direct competition with mega Middle East liners Emirates and Qatar that also operate a daily service from Uganda.

FlyDubai which launches on September 27, will operate a triangulated service with onward connections to Kigali and Bujumbura.

These developments come on the back of news that SouthEast Airlines, a subsidiary of African Express Airways will be starting daily flights on the Nairobi-Mombasa route, with plans to expand its network to Kisumu and Eldoret in Kenya. SouthEast will be up against Nairobi-based Jambojet, Jetlink and Fly540.

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Fastjet’s chief executive Ed Winter said the new direct link to Entebbe is part of the airline’s strategy to widen its network and stimulate new businesses and tourism traffic in the region. “We are delighted with this opportunity to enter the Ugandan market. 

We very much look forward to commencing flights and hope this is the beginning of a wider Fastjet network from Entebbe,” Mr Winter said. Fastjet’s air tickets out of Entebbe will start from $50, excluding tax.

Data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics shows that tourist arrivals from Tanzania have grown 51 per cent to 74,485 since 2009.

Uganda’s export volumes to Tanzania have increased eight per cent to $90.7 million during the same period whereas its import volumes from the latter have reduced by four per cent to $47.3 million during the same period. The latter is blamed on Tanzania’s trade restrictions.

With its hub in Dar es Salaam and plans to open up a subsidiary in Kenya once it obtains a licence, Fastjet currently flies to Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, and Mwanza as well as South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe using its 156-passenger Airbus A319 aircraft.

While the London Stock Exchange-listed Fastjet anticipates cashing in on the Entebbe-Dar es Salaam route following the indefinite suspension of Air Uganda’s operating certificate by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority in June, it is bad news to other regional carriers like Kenya Airways and Rwandair that have been flying the route through their hubs.

Flydubai which will combine the daily service to Uganda with onward connections to Kigali and Bujumbura three times a week has been granted fifth freedom traffic rights on the two weekly frequencies to the latter destination.

The fifth freedom right grants flydubai rights to drop and pick passengers between the two airports before heading to the Middle East.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, the chief executive of flydubai said that the three new East African destinations, are aimed at opening up under-served markets.

Flydubai’s move — it currently flies to six  destinations in Africa including Khartoum and Port Sudan in Sudan, Juba in South Sudan, Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa — is likely to stir competition on the Middle East route, currently dominated by Qatar and Emirates through Doha and Dubai hubs, respectively.