December 25,2019
On Christmas day of 2019, I took my first flight in Air Tanzania, from Entebbe to Kilimanjaro.
I was looking forward to this flight not because it’s a new airline for me, but because this would be my first time on what looks like the best regional airliner ever built: the Airbus A220…
…To my surprise (and also dissapointment), the Air Tanzania plane that arrived at my gate was not the A220, and instead, a Dash 8 Q400. I was looking forward to my family of 5 taking up the whole first row of economy in front of the engine, but now it made sense why the seat numbers on the boarding passes didn’t match those on the original tickets. I don’t know what happened, but for some reason there was a change of planes. Although I was dissapointed, I haven’t flown in a q400 in years and I kind of missed that experience.
When I got on the plane, however, I was again dissapointed because instead of the view of the beautiful PW1500G turbofans, my view was completely blocked by the Q400 engine and this was probably the least attractive view you can get in a window seat (besides a seat with no window obviously). Here is what the view looked like:
As you can tell, this is not a good seat to sit in if you want a scenic takeoff. Luckily for me, there were plenty of empty seats in the back. However, I think the coolest seats in this plane are in front of the propeller because it looks really cool seeing that giant fan spinning that makes the plane fly. Just one warning though: If it is your first time flying in a turboprop and you happen to sit right next to the props, beware that it will be super loud during takeoff. Back when United had these, I used to fly between Albany and Washington and I just remember how noisy they were on takeoff. However, I like that turpoprop sound and I think it looks really cool next to or in front of the propeller.
And so I played the game of “musical chairs”, the kind that is played on flights when I go to any seat that doesn’t have any people in it. However, this didn’t last long because it turns out the door wasn’t closed yet.
I wish this would’ve been my seat for the whole flight, but at this point, all of the seats up front were taken. Here’s the thing about the ‘musical chairs’ game in flights: It’s a bit of a gamble. I always think the plane is finished boarding but then at the last minute, a whole group of people comes in, which is what happened here. I didn’t want a view of the engine and nothing else so I sat down in the back. Soon after we took off and to my surprise, it was still a bit noisy in the back. However it was significantly quieter and I could enjoy the sweet sound of the PW100 turboprops.
Alright so now I am starting the in depth review of Air Tanzania’s in flight product. When I got into the seat, I was not amused. Even before takeoff, my neck was hurting because the seat was hard and awkwardly shaped and it felt too upright and stiff. The closest I can compare this to is American Airlines. In fact, the seats on this plane were some of the worst I’ve ever sat in and were unbarable unless reclined. The thing is that the seats hardly reclined at all, however it was more comfortable with the seat reclined.
The interesting thing was that the seat was uncomfortable but the leg room was actually really good. In fact, this was the biggest surprise of the flight. The seat pocket was extremely basic- with just a safety card and a sick bag, as shown in the photo below.
Now let’s talk about the apperance of the cabin. This is not the determining factor of airline quality, but it does have its extremes. Unfortunately this plane has received the lowest of the low. This was definately one of the filthiest planes I’ve ever flown in. It was old and dirty everywhere. The worst were the toilets. Since the Q400 is such a tiny plane there is no space at all in the lavatories but this wasn’t the worst part. The door was broken and didn’t even lock properly. Never before had I been in a plane with a broken lavatory door. And don’t even get me started on the smell of that tiny bathroom.
I was not at all impressed with the cabin of this plane. I think this must have either been a hand me down from United or it just wan’t maintained enough.
One of the most important aspects of an airline is their inflight service. Although I wasn’t impressed with some other aspects such as comfort and cabin cleanliness, I’d say that the service was decent. It was not anything spectacular like KLM but it was enough for this short flight, considering the service started immediately after takeoff. No lunch was provided but the crew handed out cashews for a snack because lunch wasn’t really neccesary on a 1 hour flight. There was also drink service, with a selection of fruit juice and soda. Soon we were already landing in Kilimanjaro and my first flight was coming to an end. with that being said, here is the final verdict:
I still have other flights on this trip with Air Tanzania so I’m wondering if it will be better or worse. But from this flight, I think it’s a mediocre airline. It’s not terrible, but still was dissapointed by the quality. Although the service was good, everything else was lower than my expectations. It is not the best airline I’ve flown in, but it is also not the worst. It would be better if the cabin was much cleaner and better maintained, and if the seats were more comfortable. As of now, I am wondering if the A220 will make me have a more positive experience. I will (hopefully) take the A220 on the journey back home. More reviews coming soon…
Carlo's Travels and Reviews 
