Tanzania Takes Delivery Of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Tanzania took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on late afternoon July 8, 2018. At Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport to receive the plane was the country's president Dr John Magufuli and his senior members of cabinet.

The long haul plane that has a capacity of 262 passengers will be operated by the national flag carrier Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL). It is expected to begin flying in September 2018 to Mumbai, India and some other destinations in the Far East.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was purchased at a cost of $224.6 million paid for by the government in cash. A second similar Dreamliner said to have been ordered and also paid for in cash will be delivered in early 2020.

The purchase of the wide body plane is part of an ambitious project by the government aimed at making ATCL more competitive, both locally and internationally, and probably one of President Magufuli's signature development projects.

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