Air Tanzania plans to cover more domestic and a few regional destinations in the next six months, the airlines acting Chief Executive Officer, Paul Chizi, said in Dar es Salaam recently.

"We are doing very well since we resumed after registering impressive performance, particularly during the last three months," Chizi said and expressed optimism on the airline's future prospects.

The Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) boss said the airline was currently operating on a single Dash-8 aircraft, flying everyday on the Dar es Salaam-Kigoma-Tabora-Dar es Salaam route.

He said within the next six months the airline's fleet is expected to grow to three aircraft.

"Another 50-seater Dash8-Q300 and a Boeing jet with at least 100 seats are expected to be added during the period,” he said.

He added: "After the arrival of the two equipment you will see us in many domestic and a few regional destinations."

He listed Dar es Salaam-Kilimanjaro-Mwanza-Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam-Mtwara-Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam-Arusha-Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam-Lusaka-Harare-Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam-Johannesburg–Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam-Nairobi-Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam-Hahaya (the Comoros)-Dar es Salaam, among the priorities.

Chizi said other potential destinations included Muscat, Dubai and Mumbai.

He said the firm has conducted a thorough market research to establish public response and loyalty of the clientele after a significant hiatus that allowed some competitors to dominate the scene.

"We still command respectable loyalty from passngers who regard us as a national carrier and are very proud to see us in the skies. We are not going to let them down," Chizi stressed.

He also said that the airline was aware of various challenges including poor infrastructure in some places, competition by local and foreign supported aviation firms. He said, ATCL has recently conducted a market research to assess the level of the firm’s acceptability in the proposed routes.

The findings were ATCL still enjoys customer loyalty ahead of her competitors. The challenge that remains, therefore, is to introduce the proposed flights as soon as possible, he added.

"Many travellers interviewed expressed enthusiasm to again using their flight of their flag carrier,” Chizi stressed, while optimistic for success amidst the growing competition.