Uganda Airlines to buy six new planes

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Three world’s top manufacturers of aircraft are jostling to supply six aircraft that Uganda Airlines is seeking to add to its fleet.

The trio – Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer from Brazil – are said to have submitted their bids to the authorities last week, who also included officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport and Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.

Uganda Airlines is currently using Airbus’ A330-800neo which has a capacity of 257 seats and the 76-seat Mitsubishi CRJ-900.

However, the Uganda national carrier is said to favour planes that have a capacity of 100-plus seats due to the ever-changing passenger numbers on different routes.  However, the six planes will be bought in two instalments of three each.

In their meeting with Ugandan officials, Airbus is said to have offered its A321-LR and A321-XLR aircraft, which have capacities of between 180 and 220.

On the other hand, Boeing is said to have offered its B737 Max family. For instance, the Max-7 has a maximum seating capacity of 172 passengers and can travel in a range of 3,850 nautical miles. The Max-8 has a capacity of 220 passengers and can travel in a range of 3,550 nautical miles.