Precision Air


Precision Air Services Plc is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, with a minihub at Mwanza Airport. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi, Entebbe, and airports in Tanzania.

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993. 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.
In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit.
In April 2011, the airline became a public company.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

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 for US$20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.
In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in its 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. As of 31 March 2016, the major shareholders were:

NameNo. of SharesInterest
Michael Shirima68,857,65042.91%
Kenya Airways66,157,35041.23%
Precision Air Employee Share Option Scheme1,765,3001.10%
Other shareholders23,689,50014.76%
Total160,469,800100.00%

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 of 12 September 2011. The figures for the group are:

200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018
Turnover 54,34157,98884,34492,493113,606163,061181,358141,262105,40090,75179,75697,108
Profits 5,5345,6712,8181,9242,1591,841
Number of employees576657704717608536509436356
Number of passengers 465538667825896688452375409474
Passenger load factor 6458626559525255
Number of aircraft 101011121010101010
Notes/sources


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. Those flights ended in September 2012. 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. 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. 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.
at Kilimanjaro International Airport in 2006
at Mwanza Airport in 2010
at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, in 2012

Destinations

As of May 2019, the airline served the following 14 locations:
Hub
Terminated route

Codeshare agreements

Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following four airlines:
  1. Etihad Airways
  2. Kenya Airways
  3. LAM Mozambique Airlines
  4. RwandAir

    Interline agreements

In 2011, Precision Air entered into an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other east African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport. This agreement includes e-ticketing.
As of 23 December 2014, Precision Air also had 21 interline agreements for baggage and paper ticketing purposes with the following airlines:
  1. Air Seychelles
  2. Alitalia
  3. British Airways
  4. Egyptair
  5. Emirates
  6. Ethiopian Airlines
  7. Etihad Airways
  8. Gulf Air
  9. Hahn Air
  10. Heli Air Monaco
  11. Kenya Airways
  12. KLM
  13. LAM Mozambique Airlines
  14. Oman Air
  15. RwandAir
  16. Saudia
  17. SN Brussels Airlines
  18. South African Airways
  19. Swiss International Air Lines
  20. TAAG Angola Airlines
  21. Virgin Atlantic

    Fleet

Current fleet

As of September 2016, the Precision Air fleet included the following aircraft:

Historical fleet

The airline has previously operated the following aircraft:
  1. ATR 42-320
  2. Boeing 737-300
  3. Bombardier Dash 8

    Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network Precision Air has had five accidents or incidents.