Uganda Airlines Ag. Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Bamuturaki
The Uganda Airlines aircraft which flew to Seattle, USA via Kefravik in Iceland, was a charter by a client of the national Carrier, according to management.
The flight caused excitement both locally and in the international travel enthusiasts, wondering on what mission UR flight was in Iceland and the USA.
The company did not reveal who the customer was, or what the cost of the charter was from Entebbe to Seattle, a distance of more than 8,300 nautical miles or 18 hours.
Uganda Airlines Ag. Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Bamuturaki says they are not at liberty to reveal who the client is, as per operational guidelines, but insists it was a charter.
The Airbus, one of the two of the kind owned by Uganda Airlines, has a sitting capacity of 258, and was purchased purposely for long-distance or international flights, while the smaller four Bombardier aircraft operate regional routes.
Other sources have confirmed that the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya was on the flight, but could not reveal who chartered it.
The Airbus planes were delivered in December 2020 and February 2021 but since then only the Dubai route is being operated, with the processing of the the other planned routes still ongoing.
Bamuturaki says the only way to keep the aircraft busy is to operate charters.
On the cost of chartering an airbus to Seattle, she declined to tell, saying it is confidential information between them and the client, whether it is a public commercial flight or chartered.
It is estimated that the one way journey is 563,000 US dollars or about 2 billion Ugandans shillings, while industry rates show that an Airbus A330 neo costs 30,950 dollars per hour.
Bamuturaki says they will continue doing charters until they get the scheduled routes operational.
Meanwhile, plans are underway for the planned routes and Bamuturaki explains that teams are being dispatched starting Monday to different countries on feasibility studies.
These routes include Mumbai, Heathrow, Kinshasa and Saudi Arabia and others in West Africa.
-URN
