Kenya’s low cost carrier to expand regionally in 2018

Kenya’s low cost airline Jambojet plans to begin international flights beginning in 2018, company officials said on Tuesday.

Jambojet CEO Willem Hondius told a media briefing in Nairobi that it has already applied to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for an international air service license.

“We expect to get approval for international flights in June so that we begin operating in the rest of the East African region beginning in 2018,” Hondius said Jambojet launched its new Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.

The airline which has a fleet of four airplanes, is planning to add an additional aircraft by the end of the year to aid its expansion plans. Jambojet is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kenya Airways.

The budget airline which began operations in 2014 currently operates 70 flights weekly in seven destinations in Kenya.

Kenya has already signed bilateral air service agreements with all its East African neighboring states that allows Kenyan airlines to operate regionally.

Hondius said his airline plans to operate in all towns in East Africa that are within two and a half hours of Nairobi by air.

The airline is targeting Mogadishu, Addis Ababa, Juba, Entebbe, Bujumbura, Kigali, Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo and Dar es Salaam.

The CEO said that they will target flights that will complement Kenya Airways operations in East Africa.

“Due to our business model, we will service customers with limited travel budgets and so we will not be in direct competition with Kenya Airways,” he added.

Jambojet said that regional expansion will help the airline expand its revenues given the stiff competition in Kenya’s aviation sector. Enditem

Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh

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