Air Tanzania will take delivery of its first Bombardier and Boeing equipment during the second and early third quarters of next year.

Government spokesman Hassan Abassi told The Citizen newspaper the state-owned carrier would add its two CS300s in June next year with its single B787-8 due a month later. The aircraft, which will be leased from TGF – Tanzanian Government Flight, will be used to develop Tanzania’s regional as well as longhaul network with focus on the United Kingdom and Asia.

To address a lack of domestic connectivity, Air Tanzania has acquired three Dash 8-400s, the third of which will deliver “in the near future”. As previously reported, msn 4559 was due to have arrived in East Africa in July but was impounded by Stirling Civil Engineering, a Canadian contractor which had used the aircraft to secure a USD37 million payout for a contract the Tanzanian government allegedly reneged on almost a decade ago.

At present, Air Tanzania uses its two Q400s, as well as a Dash 8-300, on flights covering Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Kigoma, Dodoma, Songea, Mtwara, Mwanza, Bukoba, and Mbeya domestically and Moroni Int’l, in the Comoros, regionally.