The national carrier is in the process of revival after nearly 17 years. It has committed to purchase several aircrafts, including 4 Bombadiers and 2 'unwanted' A330-800 Airbus aircrafts.

As it stands, Uganda Airlines is the only company which will be flying the A330-800 after Hawaiian Airways cancelled its 6 orders earlier this year.

Also Read: Uganda Airlines bad deal for aircrafts no airline wants, explained

Minister of Works and Transport Monica Azuba Ntege has attempted to make a clarification why the government agreed to purchase aircrafts that no any other airline is using.

Her clarification comes barely a week after the signing of the MoU between Uganda Airlines and Airbus in the United Kingdom.

Popularity

Minister Azuba claims the A330 family of aircraft is the most popular in its class and is preferred by the majority of airlines worldwide.

"The A330 family of aircraft has the largest customer base in its class with 105 customers worldwide compared with only 41 customers for its direct competitor the B787," she says.

But, there are 269 orders for the A330neo; 267 orders are for A330-900neo and 2 orders for A330-800, all by Uganda Airlines.

Commonality

The minister says "A330-800 is therefore not a new aircraft but an enhancement of the existing variant" and has similar commonality in terms of "fuselage, technology and operational features".

Also its "range payload advantage, its fuel efficient new engine, revamped cabin and other enhancements".

Maintenance

Azuba benchmarks her clarification on the performance of A330-800 variant. It has a Rolls Royce powered engine and improved technology.

She says the A330 family has a large operator base with 99% spares commonality across the fleets and this lowers maintenance costs.

Best Entry-level

Out of the 30 airlines that started long-haul flights for the first time, 26 of them chose A330, according to the minister.

She says such statistics are an "87% confidence verdict" in favour of the A330.