Precision Air

Precision Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
PW PRF PRECISION AIR
Founded 1993
Arusha, Tanzania
AOC # 032
Hubs Julius Nyerere International Airport
Focus cities Mwanza Airport
Frequent-flyer program PAA Royalties
Alliance Kenya Airways
Subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited
Fleet size 10
Destinations 9
Company slogan You Are Why We Fly
Traded as DSE: PAL
Headquarters Dar es Salaam, Tanzania[1]
Key people
Revenue Decrease TSh 141.3 billion (FY 2014)
Profit Increase TSh (11.4) billion (FY 2014)
Website precisionairtz.com

Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam,[2] with a minihub at Mwanza Airport.[3]

In 2013, it had the largest market share of all aviation traffic in Tanzania, at 48.33 per cent.[4] The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and airports in Tanzania.[5]

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993.[1] At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offering scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market.[6][1]

In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit.[7] Its registration will expire 22 September 2016.[8]

In April 2011, the airline became a public company.[1]

Corporate affairs

Shareholders

Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US $2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US $ 20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.[2][9]

In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in the airline stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima's and Kenya Airways's stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent.[10] As of March 2013, the major shareholders were:[11]

A Precision Air Boeing 737-300 at Mwanza Airport in 2010
A Precision Air ATR 72-212A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, in 2012
Name No. of Shares Interest
Michael Shirima 68,857,650 42.91%
Kenya Airways 66,157,350 41.23%
Precision Air Employee Share Option Scheme 1,765,300 1.10%
Other shareholders 23,689,500 14.76%
Total 160,469,800 100.00%

Business trends

The trends for the Precision Air group over recent years are shown below. Because it was a private company until 2011, published figures were not generally available before the initial public offering prospectus[1] of 12 September 2011. The figures for the group (Precision Air Services Plc and its subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited and Precise Systems Limited) (as at year ending 31 March) are:

A Precision Air ATR 42-300 at Kilimanjaro International Airport in 2006
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Turnover (TZS m) 54,341 57,988 84,344 92,493 113,606 163,061 181,358 141,262 105,400
Profits (PBT) (TZS m) 5,534 5,671 2,818 1,924 2,159 1,841 −30,812 −11,400 −83,900
Number of employees 576 657 704 717 608
Number of passengers ('000) 465 538 667 825 896 688
Passenger load factor (%) 64 58 62 65
Number of aircraft (at year end) 10 10 11 12 10
Notes/sources [1] [1] [1] [1] [11] [11][12] [13] [14] [15]

Precision Air reported in August 2013 that for the year ending 31 March 2013, its maintenance costs increased to 23.6 billion Tanzanian shillings from 11.9 billion for the previous year. The increase was caused primarily by the high cost of maintaining its Boeing 737 fleet.[16]

Published reports in June 2013 indicated that Precision Air had encountered substantial financial difficulties, stemming in part from losses incurred while operating flights to and from Johannesburg, South Africa.[17] Those flights ended in September 2012.[18] The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reported in August 2013 that the airline "desperately" needed a US $32 million bailout package from the Tanzanian government or other non-shareholder sources.[19] The airline's problems increased in 2011 when it received only US $7.4 million of the US $17.5 million in cash that the airline hoped to receive when first listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.[19][20] Increasing fuel prices, taxes, and levies plus currency fluctuations and the refusal of minority owner Kenya Airways to contribute capital had also hurt the airline.[19]

Destinations

As of September 2014, the airline serves the following destinations:

Hub
Future
Suspended route
City Country IATA ICAO Airport
Arusha  Tanzania ARK HTAR Arusha Airport
Bukoba  Tanzania BKZ HTBU Bukoba Airport
Dar es Salaam  Tanzania DAR HTDA Julius Nyerere International Airport [Hub]
Kigoma  Tanzania TKQ HTKA Kigoma Airport
Arusha and Moshi  Tanzania JRO HTKJ Kilimanjaro International Airport
Mtwara  Tanzania MYW HTMT Mtwara Airport
Mwanza  Tanzania MWZ HTMW Mwanza Airport
Nairobi  Kenya NBO HKJK Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Zanzibar  Tanzania ZNZ HTZA Abeid Amani Karume International Airport

Codeshare agreements

Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Interline agreements

Precision Air has an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other East African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport.[24] This agreement includes e-ticketing.[25]

Precision Air also has interline agreements for baggage and paper ticketing purposes with Alitalia, British Airways (also e-ticketing), Delta Air Lines (also e-ticketing), TAAG Angola Airlines (also e-ticketing), Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines (also e-ticketing), Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Air Seychelles (also e-ticketing), Hahn Air (also e-ticketing), KLM (also e-ticketing), Kenya Airways (also e-ticketing), Swiss International Air Lines, Egyptair, Air Malawi, South African Airways (also e-ticketing), SN Brussels Airlines, Saudia, LAM Mozambique Airlines (also e-ticketing), Virgin Atlantic Airlines (also e-ticketing), RwandAir, Oman Air, Heli Air Monaco, and Zambezi Airlines.[25]

Fleet

Fleet
ATR-42-600
ATR-72-500

Current fleet

The Precision Air fleet includes the following aircraft (as of May 2015):[26][27]

Precision Air Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
ATR 42-500 2 — 0 48 48
ATR 42-600 2 2 0 48 48 [28]
ATR 72-500 5 — 0 70 70 [27]
ATR 72-600 — 1 Delivery in 2015 [28][27]
Total 9 3

Retired fleet

The company has previously operated the following equipment:

Accidents and incidents

According to Aviation Safety Network, as of September 2014 Precision Air has had four accidents or incidents.[29]

On 13 December 2013, an ATR 42-600 (5H–PWI) made a safe landing at Arusha Airport after its four tires deflated upon landing. All 37 passengers and 4 crew were safe. The airline subsequently explained that higher braking forces, necessitated by the aircraft landing with a tail wind, caused the deflations.[34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Prospectus" (PDF). 12 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 65.
  3. ↑ "Precision Air enhances its operations from Mwanza". 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Domestic Air Operators: % Market Share" (PDF). Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Travel Planner: Destinations, Precision Air, accessed 8 November 2014
  6. ↑ "Precision Air History". Precision Air. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Precision Air - Apg". Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Precision Air Services, Ltd., International Air Transport Association, accessed 28 September 2014
  9. ↑ "Kenya Airways To Buy 49% of Precision Air"
  10. ↑ Shareholding In Precision Air In June 2012
  11. 1 2 3 "Directors Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2013" (PDF). 31 August 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Super Brand Precision Air (PW) pleased with 2012/2013 performance", The Financial Junction, 17 April 2013
  13. ↑ "Directors' Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2013" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Directors' Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2014" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Despite bad financial performance Precision Air shares remain flat". Daily News. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Releases/Precision Air Financial Results.pdf "Precision Air Financial Results 2012/2013" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). Precision Air. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "Precision Air's financial troubles go into public domain", eTurboNews, reported by Wolfgang H. Thome, 10 June 2013
  18. ↑ "Precision Air to Cancel Johannesburg Service from mid-Sep 2012", Airline Route, 27 August 2012
  19. 1 2 3 "Precision Air's Sh51bn bailout appeal to State", The Citizen, reported by Veneranda Sumila, 14 August 2013
  20. ↑ "Precision Air looks to other lenders after poor IPO show", 'The East African', 4 December 2011
  21. ↑ "Partners & Alliances". Kenya Airways. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "Precision Air enters into code share with Mozambique Airlines". Precision Air. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Partners and Alliances.". RwandAir. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Qatar Airways and Precision Air announce partnership" (Pressrelease). Qatar Airways. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  25. 1 2 Travel Information, Expert Flyer, accessed 23 December 2014, subscription service
  26. 1 2 Tanzania's Precision Air goes all prop after last 737 is withdrawn
  27. 1 2 3 "Tanzania’s Precision Air Services - Our fleet".
  28. 1 2 "Tanzania’s Precision Air Services signs contract for 5 ATR -600s".
  29. ↑ "Accident record for Precision Air". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  30. ↑ Accident description for 5H-PAB at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 8 April 2012.
  31. ↑ Accident description for 5H-PAC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 8 April 2012.
  32. ↑ Accident description for 5H-PAR at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 8 April 2012.
  33. ↑ Accident description for 5H-PWA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-27-9.
  34. ↑ "Update: Precision ATR 42-600 Blew All Main Tires on Landing at Arusha on Dec 13 Resumed to Service", The Aviation Herald, 17 December 2013

External links

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