(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles national airline, Air Seychelles, will be adding another destination to its regional network as it starts flying to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on December 2, 2014, the airline announced in a press statement issued this morning.

The twice weekly flights will be operated by an A320 aircraft with 16 seats in Business Class and 120 in Economy Class.

Air Seychelles is hoping the service will boost trade opportunities between Tanzania and Seychelles as the A320 aircraft will offer 7.2 tonnes of weekly bellyhold capacity to and from Dar Es Salaam.

“Air Seychelles expects the service to carry a mixture of electronics, machinery and pharmaceuticals into Dar es Salaam, with primarily perishable goods loaded for the return flight,” read the statement.

“..The addition of Dar es Salaam, one of Africa’s fastest-growing business and tourism destinations, will enhance traffic flows to the Seychelles and beyond, fulfilling our mandate to be a key economic enabler for the Seychelles, supporting tourism and trade,” said Air Seychelles’ Chief Executive Officer, Manoj Papa, in the statement.

“These flights will serve as an attractive travel proposition for business and leisure travellers in Tanzania, offering a direct link to our archipelago and convenient onward connections to Abu Dhabi and beyond, including the Indian Subcontinent.”

The Tanzanian capital becomes the third destination in Air Seychelles’ Indian Ocean and African network, after Mauritius and Johannesburg which Air Seychelles said “marks the next stage of growth in the airline’s regional strategy.”

The chairman of the Air Seychelles Board, Joel Morgan also the archipelago’s Minister for Home Affairs and Transport said the new route would support Air Seychelles’ aim to improve regional connectivity as well as enhance commerce and leisure travel to the archipelago.

“Dar es Salaam is a great addition to our network. The direct link between the capital of Tanzania and the Seychelles underscores our ongoing commitment to serve the region,” said Morgan.

“Through our hub, we offer new and efficient routes between Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and Asia, allowing us to tap into the strong flows of people and capital between these regions, creating passenger demand in both directions."

The Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken caldera in the world; Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world; the Serengeti National Park; the Selous Game Reserve, the largest in Africa; and Zanzibar, home to Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site are some of the popular tourist destination in Dar es Salaam.

Air Seychelles was established in 1977 as Seychelles Airlines and adopted the present title in September 1978. The airline was wholly owned by the Seychelles government until January 2012 when UAE's Etihad. Airways bought a 40 percent share of Air Seychelles leaving the Seychelles government with the remaining 60 percent ownership.

Air Seychelles currently offers cargo and passenger services to destinations within the archipelago itself as well as in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, also has codeshare partnerships with airberlin, Cathay Pacific Airways, Etihad Airways, and South African Airways, extending its network to 39 cities around the world.