A new Zimbabwean start-up, Flycristal Airways, is expected to launch charter flights on domestic, regional and international routes from December this year.
Johannes Simau, Founder of Flycristal Airways, told Travel News that the company would begin with a hybrid model focusing on passenger and cargo operations, and once the brand became more established, it would likely split into two separate brands.
Services to benefit business pax
Simau said the project was intended to support business travellers in Southern Africa. “The idea formed in 2013 from entrepreneurs who can sometimes waste a day travelling by road to buy and move products. By introducing a flight service, entrepreneurs can travel to their destination, stay for a short while and travel back a couple of hours later, while their product continues on the road.”
He registered the first company towards the project in 2018-2019 in South Africa, followed by the UK in 2021 and Zimbabwe in 2022.
Planned routes
The company has already received approval to operate domestic, regional and international routes from Harare. The aircraft on these routes will be ACMI-leased (wet lease) aircraft.
The domestic routes will be Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, which are expected to be served by an Embraer 120.
Regional services will be Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka and Lilongwe, which will be served by an Embraer 145. However, Simau said there were plans to bring in an Embraer 190.
The international routes will be London, Mumbai, Dubai and Guangzhou, with a B777-300 expected to serve these routes.
The target date for scheduled services is December 1 for regional flights with international flights to follow after.
“The final steps include working on marketing the brand, finalising some of the lease arrangements and looking into more investments,” said Simau.
