Time for a breath of 'Fresh Air'

The launch took place on Friday and 1Time Airline's commercial director Mike Bond said‚ Fresh Air would start offering flights from next month between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls.

Bond said‚ these flights would replace the service that 1Time currently offered between Livingstone and Johannesburg.

The two companies hope to meet demand for low-cost flights in the region as connectivity is currently expensive.

Weak economic conditions have caused travel demand to fall‚ which has exaggerated the effect of excess capacity in the market. At the same time airport charges and fuel prices have seen large spikes.

In its partnership with NewAero.com‚ 1Time shares "our experience and infrastructure in the aviation industry while Fresh Air launches Zimbabwe's first low-cost carrier‚ with licences to operate the under-serviced domestic market and various regional routes ‚" 1Time's chief executive Blacky Komani said.

It is hoped the successful development of the international route between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg will demonstrate the new low-cost carrier's ability to operate and open the way for Fresh Air to apply for new routes‚ the first being a connection between Harare and Victoria Falls‚ Bond said.

"This will be the first step in allowing us to offer low cost flights to the Zimbabwean domestic market‚" Bond said‚ adding that it would be at least three months before Fresh Air would be in a position to apply for this route.

"This is for the development of Zimbabwean aviation‚ not about 1Time coming and taking all the value; it is about creating a business in Zimbabwe that develops their aviation industry‚" Bond said.

The introduction of a low cost carrier into Zimbabwe‚ which has been crippled by policies that have laid waste to the country's economy‚ comes ahead of the country's controversial selection as host nation for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's 20th General Assembly next year.