KQ eyes North Rift with flights to Eldoret town

• The national carrier expects to launch the new flight mid this month at a time when the Eldoret International Airport has become a hive of activities with reintroduction of the direct cargo flights from Middle East.
• The company will charge the lowest fare when it unveils operations on the new route.

Kenya Airways is expected to heighten competition on the Eldoret route when it finally launches the much awaited flight to the town this month. This will be its 59th destination with a fare of $59 (Sh5,000).

Fly 540 and Jetlink have dominated the route in recent years, but the entry of Kenya Airways is likely to raise the stakes.

The national carrier expects to launch the new flight mid this month at a time when the Eldoret International Airport has become a hive of activities with reintroduction of the direct cargo flights from Middle East.

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The company will charge the lowest fare when it unveils operations on the new route.

Introductory fare

Communication manager Chris Karanja said that the Sh5,000 return ticket is an introductory fare and that the company hopes to remain competitive in the future. “The fare that we are offering is in line with our theme of a special rate to our 59th destination in our network,” he said.

However, Mr Karanja added that the airline would charge about Sh9,000 after the offer, but he did not disclose when it would conclude.

Mr Richard Chepkwony, head of tourism in the North Rift, said that operations by KQ would promote domestic tourism.

“This is good news to the people of the North Rift because we expect the numbers of the local tourists to go up because of the increase in flights,” said Mr Chepkwony.

He added that competition would force airline operators to lower their fares in order to attract and retain customers.