Landing in Dar-es-Salaam on a flight straight from bustling Johannesburg one is immediately struck by the contrasting levels of economic and aviation activity in Tanzania and South Africa. Nonetheless, while there may be a lack of financial resources in Tanzania at present, there is an abundance of goodwill among the people and potential riches in the country’s under-tapped tourism industry. Certainly, improved air transport links would assist in developing Tanzania’s economy and tourism business.
Hence the significance of the recent official launch in Dar-es-Salaam of Alliance, the new joint venture international airline formed by South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The importance of air transportation in the development of commerce and industry in Africa has been recognised for some time. It was the spur behind the commendable African Joint Air Services (AJAS) initiative of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in the late 1980s which has now crystallised in the promising shape of Alliance.
The Prime Minister and First Vice President of Tanzania, Cleopa D. Msuya, said during the launch ceremony, that the aviation industry in Africa can only develop through forging meaningful co-operation “which entails the sacrifice of narrow national interests in favour of practical and viable transnational joint ventures.” He added “The era of small national airlines with meagre resources competing with giant carriers in the international market is a thing of the past.”
Although SAA is the dominant partner in Alliance, Stella Sigcau, South Africa’s Minister for Public Enterprises, pointedly expressed the hope that the new airline would be a fruitful and profitable venture for all three countries involved. Ultimately, this may prove to be the acid test for Alliance Air.