AIR Zimbabwe is increasing flights between Harare and London in response to rising numbers of travellers, the airline said on Tuesday.
Air Zimbabwe currently operates two weekly flights between the two cities, but that would increase to three starting from April 1, said David Mwenga, the airline’s general manager for Europe.
The first flight from Harare to London under the new schedule will be an evening flight on Friday, April 1.
The return flight leaving London Gatwick would be on Saturday evening.
The only morning flight under the schedule is the Harare-London flight on Sunday, with the return flight from London in the evening of the same day.
On Wednesday evening, the airline will operate a service from Harare to London, the plane turning back on Thursday evening.
Currently, the airline operates a Boeing 767 to Harare from London every Thursday and Monday night, and from Harare to London every Wednesday and Sunday morning.
Mwenga said as the only airline operating direct flights between Harare and London, Air Zimbabwe was “the airline of convenience”.
“Having three flights between Harare and London gives travellers more flexibility,” he told New Zimbabwe.com. “We are also offering sufficient baggage allowance — 46kg for economy class, and 64kg in business class, and that’s before the hand baggage.”
Under the new schedule, he said, travellers from London can now book their journeys up to Bulawayo and Zambia, with connecting flights from Harare.
Zimbabwe is experiencing a tourism resurgence from Europe after restoring political stability two years ago, the absence of which had led to most countries blacklisting it as a holiday destination.
The London route is Air Zimbabwe’s cash cow, and airline bosses continue to push the government to acquire new planes to give the company a competitive edge.