► GAMBIA: Gambia Bird takes delivery of second Airbus A319; prepares to expand network.

Gambia Bird (3G) has announced the delivery of a second Airbus A319 (MSN 4691 | D-ASTB) as the fledgling carrier prepares to expand its network with the launch of flights to Abidjan, Abuja, Bamako, Douala and Ouagadougou.

Gambia Bird's second A319 (marian)

The ex-Germania bird touched down at Banjul International Airport on Friday evening with various VIPs onboard including members of the shareholders of Germania Group. At the airport to receive the new airbus and delegation from Germany was the Gambian Minister of Tourism and Culture, Fatou Mass Jobe-Njie, among other high-profile dignitaries.

Speaking to reporters upon their arrival in the country, the CEO of Gambia Bird Airlines, Thomas Wazinski, explained that the new Airbus is ready for service, while thanking the authorities and Gambian people for the warm welcome accorded.

“We are warmly welcomed and the impression we got here is very good. When we brought in the first plane, we announced that we will bring the second plane by mid of December.

But as you know is the end of November, so we are almost two weeks ahead of that schedule and this means that we are really keeping to what we are promising. This is to show our competitors and The Gambia that we are willing to fulfill our promises, as well as to boost the business,” he remarked.

Wanzinki described this development as another step in the operation of Gambia Bird, stressing that the capacity of this new plane and the first one are the same. He maintained that their partnership with the government is very special, saying the minister of Tourism and Culture has supported them right from the beginning, when the project was conceived.

Gambia Bird's Route Network (Gambia Bird)

In the midst of tough competition, he called on customers to patronise the new airline, taking into account that it is a national carrier. 

“So we want to have more passengers and I guess we have success during the first four weeks of operations as we are operating and delivering on time. We are reliable as our services and fares are good, and so I don’t see any need to fly with our competitors out of Banjul, ” he stated.

Also speaking to reporters, the Tourism and Culture minister, Fatou Mass Jobe-Njie, described this new development as positive and important. 

“The coming in of this second flight will help to further enhance the connectivity within Europe and Africa. As you know we trying to sell Gambia Bird as the gateway to Africa and we also want it to be in place where Air Afrique used to be. This is because Air Afrique was like connecting both Anglophone and Francophone countries. So we are glad that the flight is here and we still need to fill it,” she remarked.

Source [Gambia Bird]