African budget carrier Fastjet is to lease in an additional aircraft to help meet planned expansion.
An Airbus A319 is due to enter service by the end of the summer, bringing its fleet up to four.
The aircraft is the first of a number that Fastjet is plans to add to its fleet this year.
The carrier aims to have up to 34 aircraft operating to 40 destinations within and from Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda by the end of 2018.
“Based on the 75% load factors currently being projected by fastjet, each aircraft in the fleet is expected to carry approximately 275,000 passengers per annum,” the airline said.
“With Fastjet’s current fleet of three aircraft almost fully utilised, additional aircraft will be required to support the planned expansion of Fastjet Tanzania and to facilitate the start-up of planned new operations in both Zambia and Zimbabwe.”
The move follows the airline raising £50 million last month through a share sale
Chief executive, Ed Winter, said: “It will be a strong step forward to add another aircraft to our fleet and embark on our planned expansion funded by our recent £50 million placing. We are currently negotiating to bring further aircraft into the fleet.”