Travel Arusha to Zanzibar

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We booked tickets from Arusha to Zanzibar online on an airline named Fly540.com. We'd never heard of this airline before, but the online comments seemed positive. It certainly beat travelling for ten hours on a rough road.

The flight was at 13:30 and we were told to be there 2 hours earlier which made it 11:30 and the taxi driver said it takes an hour to drive to the airport, so we left the Outpost Lodge at 10:30. The driver asked if we were heading to the Arusha airport and N.. confirmed that we were going to the Kili airport which is an hour away. There is an Arusha airport just outside of town, and is for small prop planes that fly small groups to the Safari parks. We had passed this airport on our way to the safari parks. The Kilimanjaro airport is an hour away and is equidistant between Moshi and Arusha. The local Arusha airport is about 10 minutes away from town.

So, we got to Kili airport by 11:30 and when we got inside past security, there was an electronic flight information board showing all the flights for the day. Our flight was not on the list, but that was probably because the Fly540 airline counter was still not open. E.. found a free computer with Internet access and went to the Fly540.com web site. She found a flight that had left the Kili airport to Zanzibar on Christmas morning at 9:30 but none for 13:30. Ummm ... Had we got the wrong date or time? She kept searching the fly540 web site ... Meanwhile, N.. went and asked several official looking people while W.. guarded the luggage. Finally, N.. questioned the security officers and asked to meet the Airport Duty Manager to see if Fly540 would open their check in desk soon. E.. kept searching online, and finally checked her confirmation e-mail. Yes, we are generally reluctant to log in to our e-mail accounts at public terminals due to general security concerns, such as key loggers, ID theft, etc. But, practical usability trumps security. And it turned out we had a flight confirmation for today. We didn't have the wrong date or time, but our flight was out of the tiny Arusha airport and not the Kilimanjaro airport!

YIKES! It was now 12:20. One of the security officers used her personal cell phone to call the Arusha airport fly540 desk to let them know we were coming (N.. paid her for the call), and another security officer ran us outside to try and find a taxi, and seeing none, went and got his personal car, threw our luggage in the boot, and started driving like a rally car driver while talking on the cell phone to somebody in Swahili. When the airport road met the main Moshi-Arusha road, he pulled over and another man jumped into the driver's seat, as the security officer had to get back to work. The security guy explained that this driver would drive us to the Arusha airport, but we must pay the regular taxi fare from Kili to Arusha ($50) and the fare from Arusha to Arusha airport ($20) in US$ to the driver. No problem we said. The driver spoke no English, but N.. pointed to the empty fuel gauge. He drove fast, but well, and found fuel at the third petrol station we passed. After filling up and arguing about the change due, he took off and got us to the Arusha airport by 13:15. Whew! N.. gave him US$100 to pay for the equivalent cab fares and as a Christmas bonus for getting us there on time. We ran in, got our luggage tagged and through security and got to the tarmac with a few minutes to spare before the Fly540 gate agent escorted us to our plane.

Next time, with online reservations, we will always print out our confirmation notices and double check them on paper. So much for being green and saving paper. It's a good thing we went so early, that we had enough time to accommodate changes. So, in the end, it was Hakuna Matata or no problem in Swahili.

The plane was a 12 seater, with one engine and one pilot. As you can see from the shots, we sat right behind the pilot who was joking that if we saw any other planes in the sky, he would rather not know about it. Turns out the plane had multiple radar and GPS navigation systems and could fly on instruments alone if the visibility was poor. The weather was perfect and the rest of the trip was a joy and a relief. The pilot shook hands with us and wished us a Mery Christmas.

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Photos

Arusha airport with view of Mount Meru
The plane is being fueled

E.. and W.. at Arusha airport tarmac
Hurry up and wait!