Mozambique: Flag-carrier returns to European airspace

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Mozambique: Flag-carrier returns to European airspace

12:04 CAT | 13 Dec 2023

Image: Publituris

A Boeing 777 with around 200 passengers left Lisbon International Airport for Maputo on Tuesday, the first flight in the return operation of Mozambique Airlines (LAM) to European airspace.

The 302-seat Boeing 777, the result of a partnership with Portuguese operator EuroAtlantic, will connect the two capitals three times a week, with promotional prices starting at 25,000 meticais (€368 euros) in economy class.

“This route is here to stay. We don’t want to sell aeroplane tickets. We want to sell experiences and Mozambican experiences,” said LAM’s director-general, João Carlos Pó Jorge, during the launch ceremony for the first flight at Lisbon International Airport.

The Mozambican flag carrier, which is currently being restructured, also has its sights set on other markets.

“We’re thinking about other routes, such as Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and probably India,” added João Carlos Pó Jorge.

LAM’s first flight left Lisbon at 16:35 on Tuesday.

The adoption of promotional prices in the first phase of the operation, announced in October, has meant that the company has sold around 12,000 tickets for trips between Maputo and Lisbon, covering the period between 12 December and October 2024.

The Maputo-Lisbon route, abandoned by the company almost 12 years ago, is part of the operator’s revitalisation plan after the South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA) took over management of LAM in April this year for the restructuring process.

Four months after implementing a series of interventions, according to the company itself, the carrier has been stabilised and repositioned.

In addition to the Maputo-Lisbon route, the Mozambican flag carrier has new routes in the pipeline linking Maputo to different points in South Africa, most notably Cape Town, which also started yesterday.

The ongoing strategy to revitalise the company follows years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and a lack of investment, with some incidents, not fatal, associated by experts with inefficient aircraft maintenance.

Source: Lusa