Air Tanzania and China Southern Airlines plan major partnership
Tanzania’s National carrier, Air Tanzania, is mulling entering into partnership with one of Chinese top Airlines.
Air Tanzania and China Southern Airlines plan substantial collaboration in a business context.
Essentially the two parties are forging cooperation in their respective transport operations.
A delegation from China Southern Airlines has just visited the Air Tanzania offices in Dar-es-Salaam for discussions on potential partnerships in passenger and cargo services, as well as what is being touted as ‘broader aviation cooperation.’
According to a statement from Air Tanzania, the two carriers explored opportunities to strengthen connectivity and facilitate travel and trade between China and Tanzania.
But the report available on Air Tanzania platforms does not clarify further, on how exactly are the two carriers expected to go about their newly founded cooperation, though observers suspect it will be along the issues of flights’ code sharing, capacity building and technical support.
The China Southern Airlines, is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong.
Also branded as China Southern, the carrier is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines.
But compared to Air Tanzania, it is essentially new, having been established on 1 July 1988.
It was formed following the restructuring of the former ‘China Civil Aviation.’
Formerly known as the People’s Aviation Company of China (CAAC), the airline used to be owned by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and enjoyed monopoly status in the country for 35 years, from 1953 to 1987.
Since then, China Southern became the world’s sixth-largest airline measured bythe number of passengers the carrier moved.
It is also billed as Asia’s largest airline in fleet size, revenue, and passengers carried. In 2024, it ranked as the world’s ninth-largest airline by brand market value.
Air Tanzania, on the other hand, was born in 1977, over 10 years earlier than South China Airlines.
It was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) in 1977 after the dissolution of the former East African Airways (EAA) which was jointly owned by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
After the inaugural East African Community (EAC) under which the airline operated was disbanded in 1977, each country established its own carrier, Nairobi started the Kenya Airways, Kampala built the Uganda Airlines and Dar-es-salaam established Air Tanzania.
Air Tanzania is owned by the government and enjoys state cushioning despite the fact that the carrier’s performance leaves a lot to be desired.
Fleet size comparison
As of October 2026, Air Tanzania has a fleet of 16 active aircraft, including Airbus A220‑300s, Boeing 737 MAX 9s, Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliners, a Boeing 767‑300F, and multiple De Havilland Dash 8 variants.
On the other hand, the China Southern Airlines operates one of the world’s largest fleets, totaling about 720 aircraft in 2026, with major types including Airbus A320 family, A321neo, A330, A350, Boeing 737NG/MAX, 777, 787, and COMAC ARJ21/C919.