LAM – Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique is set to launch new flights to China and Asia, as part of an operational shift aiming to make the company financially sustainable.
Sérgio Matos, member of LAM´s management commission said this week that the new Maputo-Guanzhou (China) flight will be part of a second round of launches, after the first phase, which will focus on Maputo-Portugal connections.
Other flights to be added in the second phase will be Maputo-Mumbai (India), Maputo-Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Maputo-Sao Paulo (Brazil), according to the same official.
Since April, the company management is in charge of the South African company Fly Modern Ark, in the context of the restructuring of the Mozambican flag carrier.
The acquisition of more aircraft is part of the plans of the new management of LAM, enabling the new routes, foreseen for countries with which Mozambique has stronger connections.
LAM currently has 753 workers working on just seven aircraft. “The current workforce gives a ratio of 112 to 115 workers per plane, while the ideal would be a ratio of 25 workers, at least, per aircraft”, clarified Sérgio Matos.
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“We can dispense some (workers) that are not performing well and bring in others, but by increasing the number of aircraft, there will be no need to clear a large number of personnel,” he pointed out.
The company also wants to recover the cities of Beira and Nampula as hubs, leaving Maputo to be the only center of operation for the air carrier, emphasized Sérgio Matos.
The manager ruled out the scenario of increasing debt in order to reinforce the fleet, noting that the increase in the number of aircraft will be compensated with the sharing of profits with Fly Modern Ark and other partners.
