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Rainbow launches top aircraft to ply local, regional routes

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RAINBOW Airlines’ new 50-seater Bombardier CRJ100 aircraft landed at Harare International Airport yesterday, where it is expected to start servicing the Harare-Johannesburg and Harare-Victoria Falls routes.

RAINBOW Airlines’ new 50-seater Bombardier CRJ100 aircraft landed at Harare International Airport yesterday, where it is expected to start servicing the Harare-Johannesburg and Harare-Victoria Falls routes.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

rainbow-airlines

The airline’s chief executive officer, Ed Berry said they were expecting to get a second CRJ100 aircraft within the first four months of operation, to assist in servicing increased routes and frequencies.

“Rainbow Airlines has gone into a business relationship with CemAir Ltd, a privately-owned airline operating in South Africa, which services popular destinations and leases aircraft to other airlines across Africa and the Middle East,” he said.

The aircraft comes at a time Air Zimbabwe is struggling to service most of its domestic and regional routes due to financial challenges.

GMRI Capital structured, for Rainbow Airlines, an equity and capital injection deal, as it predicted a great future for the aviation industry in Zimbabwe.

“The deal saw an investment into the business, now running beyond $1 million, and a sale of equity of 70% to an institutional investor. The other 30% is held by a medical doctor in Harare,” GMRI said.

GMRI said it had identified an investor after the project founders got constrained by financial hurdles.

Berry said there were prospects Rainbow Airlines would service other routes including the Harare-Nairobi, Harare-Lubumbashi-Kinshasa, Harare-Durban, Bulawayo-Johannesburg, and Harare-Beira-Maputo.

“Later, international destinations and more domestic routes will be applied for. These will include Harare-Kariba, Bulawayo, Mutare, Hwange, Masvingo, Buffalo Range and Beitbridge,” Berry said.