Precision Air

Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.^[5] The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and Comoros; and to various airports and airstrips in Tanzania.^[6] Kenya Airways owns 41.23% of the airline, and is a component company of the Tanzania All Share Index.

Precision Air

IATA ICAO Call sign PW PRF PRECISION AIR[1]
Founded	1991
Commenced operations	November 1993[2]
AOC #	TCAA/AOC/003
Hubs	Dar es Salaam
Secondary hubs	Kilimanjaro[3]
Frequent-flyer program	PAA Royal
Fleet size	8
Destinations	13
Traded as	DSE: PAL
Headquarters	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Key people	Allan Kilavuka (Chairperson) Patrick Mwanri (CEO)
Revenue	TSh 117,756 million (US$50 million) (FY 2022)[4]
Profit	TSh −30,139 million (US$−12.8 million) (FY 2022)[4]
Employees	393 (2022)[4]
Website	www.precisionairtz.com

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993.^[2] At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offer scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market.^[2][7]

In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit.^[8]

In April 2011, the airline became a public company.^[2]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US$2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US$20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.^[9][10]

In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in its stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima's and Kenya Airways's stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent.^[11] As of 31 March 2016, the major shareholders were:^[12]: 7

Name	No. of Shares	Interest
Michael Shirima	68,857,650	42.91%
Kenya Airways	66,157,350	041.23%
Precision Air Employee Share Option Scheme	1,765,300	1.10%
Other shareholders	23,689,500	14.76%
Total	160,469,800	100.00%

Business trends

Because it was a private company until 2011, published figures were not generally available before the initial public offering prospectus^[2] of 12 September 2011. Since then, full Annual Reports and Accounts have been published. (As of December 2021^[update], however, those for 2019 and 2020 are still awaited.)^{[citation needed]}

Available trends over recent years for the Precision Air group (Precision Air Services Plc and its subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited and Precise Systems Limited) (as at year ending 31 March) are:

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Turnover (TSh million)	57,988	84,344	92,493	113,606	163,061	181,358	141,262	105,400	90,751	79,756	97,108
Profits (PBT) (TSh million)	5,671	2,818	1,924	2,159	1,841	−30,812	−11,400	-83,900	−91,676	−26,941	−21,099	−31,861
Number of employees			576	657	704	717	608	536	509	436	356	405
Number of passengers ('000)	465	538		667	825	896	688	452	375	409	474	481
Passenger load factor (%)				64	58	62	65	59	52	52	55	52
Number of aircraft (at year end)			10	10	11	12	10	10	10	10	10	7
Notes/sources	[2]	[2]	[2]	[13]	[13][14]	[15]	[16]	[17]	[12]: 2	[18]	[18]	[19][20]

Published reports in June 2013 indicated that Precision Air had encountered substantial financial difficulties, stemming in part from losses incurred while operating flights to and from Johannesburg, South Africa.^[21] Those flights ended in September 2012.^[22] The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reported in August 2013 that the airline "desperately" needed a US$32 million bailout package from the Tanzanian government or other non-shareholder sources.^[23] The airline's problems increased in 2011 when it received only US$7.4 million of the US$17.5 million in cash that the airline hoped to receive when first listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.^[23][24] Increasing fuel prices, taxes, and levies plus currency fluctuations and the refusal of minority owner Kenya Airways to contribute capital had also hurt the airline.^[23]

Destinations

Precision Air ATR 42-300 at Kilimanjaro International Airport in 2006.

Precision Air Boeing 737-300 at Mwanza Airport in 2010.

Precision Air ATR 72-212A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, in 2012.

As of July 2025, the airline serves the following destinations:

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Comoros	Anjouan	Ouani Airport		[25]
	Moroni	Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport		[25]
Democratic Republic of Congo	Lubumbashi	Lubumbashi International Airport	Terminated	[26]
Kenya	Mombasa	Moi International Airport	Terminated
	Nairobi	Jomo Kenyatta International Airport		[25]
South Africa	Johannesburg	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Terminated	[26]
Tanzania	Arusha	Arusha Airport		[25]
	Bukoba	Bukoba Airport		[25]
	Dar es Salaam	Julius Nyerere International Airport	Hub	[25]
	Dodoma	Dodoma Airport		[25]
	Kahama	Kahama Airstrip		[25]
	Moshi / Arusha	Kilimanjaro International Airport	Hub	[25]
	Mbeya	Songwe Airport		[25]
	Mtwara	Mtwara Airport		[25]
	Mwanza	Mwanza Airport		[25]
	Serengeti–Seronera	Seronera Airstrip		[25]
	Zanzibar	Abeid Amani Karume International Airport		[25]
Uganda	Entebbe	Entebbe International Airport	Terminated	[27]
Zambia	Lusaka	Kenneth Kaunda International Airport	Terminated	[26]

Partnerships

Codeshare agreements

Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following four airlines:

1. Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi-Dar es Salaam)^[28]
2. Kenya Airways (various routes)^[29]
3. LAM Mozambique Airlines (Maputo–Nampula–Pemba–Dar es Salaam)^[30]
4. RwandAir (Kigali–Kilimanjaro)^[31]

Interline agreements

In 2011, Precision Air entered into an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other east African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport.^[32] This agreement includes e-ticketing.^{[33][failed verification]}

As of 23 December 2014, Precision Air also had 21 interline agreements for baggage and paper ticketing purposes with the following airlines:

1. Air Seychelles (also e-ticketing)
2. Alitalia
3. British Airways (also e-ticketing)
4. Egyptair
5. Emirates
6. Ethiopian Airlines (also e-ticketing)
7. Etihad Airways
8. Gulf Air
9. Hahn Air (also e-ticketing)
10. Heli Air Monaco
11. Kenya Airways (also e-ticketing)
12. KLM (also e-ticketing)
13. LAM Mozambique Airlines (also e-ticketing)
14. Oman Air
15. RwandAir
16. Saudia
17. SN Brussels Airlines
18. South African Airways (also e-ticketing)
19. Swiss International Air Lines
20. TAAG Angola Airlines (also e-ticketing)
21. Virgin Atlantic (also e-ticketing)^{[33][failed verification]}

Fleet

Fleet

An ATR-42-600.

An ATR-72-500.

Current fleet

As of November 2022, the Precision Air fleet included the following aircraft:^[34][35]

Precision Air fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
C	Y	Total
ATR 42–500	2	—	0	48	48
ATR 42–600	1	—	0	48	48
ATR 72–500	5	—	0	70	70
Total	8	0

Historical fleet

The airline has previously operated the following aircraft:

1. ATR 42-320^[12]: 66
2. Boeing 737–300^[34]
3. Bombardier Dash 8

Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network Precision Air has had seven accidents or incidents.^[36] One of those caused 19 fatalities.^[37]

• 26 July 1999: A Let L-410UVP-E9, tail number 5H-PAB, made a belly landing at Arusha Airport on a training flight while doing a touch and go landing. The two crew and three passengers were not injured.^[38]
• 16 November 2004: A Let L-410UVP-E20, tail number 5H-PAC, crash landed while on a training flight at Kilimanjaro Airport. The two pilots, who had not put on their shoulder straps, sustained facial injuries.^[39]
• 8 July 2007: An ATR 72–212, tail number 5H-PAR, had a runway excursion on landing at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport runway 06. It veered to the right, went over a ditch, and came to a stop on Taxiway F. The nose wheel collapsed. The four crew and 62 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The probable cause of this accident was power asymmetry during application of reverse thrust on landing. The control levers were jammed in one position.^[40]
• On 13 December 2013, an ATR 42–600 (5H–PWI) made a safe landing at Arusha Airport after its four tires deflated upon landing. All 37 passengers and 4 crew were safe. The airline subsequently explained that higher braking forces, necessitated by the aircraft landing with a tailwind, caused the deflations.^[41]
• 10 July 2014: An ATR 72–500, tail number 5H-PWA, was halfway to Dar es Salaam from Mwanza during normal cruise when the number 2 engine seized. This necessitated a diversion to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The aircraft touched down normally; however, after selecting ground idle (as per the captain's explanation), the aircraft veered to the left and exited the runway hitting one of the runway edge lights and proceeded to roll on the grass field parallel to runway 09 for approximately 180 meters before subsequently regaining the runway. No injuries were reported.^[42]
• 9 December 2018 Flight PW 722 with 68 passengers from Nairobi to Mwanza via Kilimanjaro had multiple birdstrikes on approach, including on the wheels that caused difficulties on landing.^[43]
• 6 November 2022: Precision Air Flight 494, an ATR 42-500 (5H-PWF) with 39 passengers and 4 crew crashed in Lake Victoria while landing at Bukoba Airport, Tanzania. There were 19 deaths. It was the first fatal accident in the airline's history.^[44] A Ministry of Transport report determined that the pilot attempted to land Bukoba in poor weather, against the advice of the first officer, instead of diverting to Mwanza.^[45]