London - Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's Fastjet - the low-cost African Airline - has successfully completed its first two commercial flights, launching the new airline on schedule.

The first Fastjet A319 left Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere airport at almost full capacity with more than half the passengers on board paying $20 (excluding taxes and charges) for their seat.

A second A319 carrying more customers on the airline’s second route from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania set off later the same morning.

The flights mark the culmination of more than a year's worth of planning for Sir Stelios's team.
"Today's flights to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza mark the start of a new, revolutionary, smart way to travel for African people, and our first steps towards becoming a low cost, reliable pan-African airline", said Chief commercial officer Richard Bodin.

Fastjet is said to be happy with the sales of tickets since it launched them two weeks ago, with flights currently booked into February 2013.

Sir Stelios’s easyGroup Holdings owns 5% of FastJet and has the option to acquire another 10% at a price of 5.2p per share until 2 August 2014. Sir Stelios is also a director of the airline.

Airbus forecasts that total passenger traffic in Africa will grow at an average yearly rate of 5.7% between 2010 and 2030, well above the 4.8% world average growth rate.
It also expects Africa to deliver more than 1,100 new passenger aircraft and 4% of world deliveries in the next 20 years to satisfy growing demand.

Fastjet, the first low-cost airline for Africa, backed by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has launched with its British management team promising to "give people used to 12 hour bus rides the option to fly".
Air travel in Africa is among the most expensive in the world, with some 45 minute flights costing more than $460.

Apart from two domestic no frills outfits in South Africa, all other airlines in Sub-Saharan Africa operate full service flights.

Fastjet plans to expand its fleet, all Airbus A319s, to 15 aircraft within 12 months. Its initial route focus will be in East Africa, with hubs in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi serving Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.