KQ seeks to milk holiday season with more Paris, Amsterdam flights

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The airline currently operates seven flights a week to the two routes but anticipates higher demand between July and August as more people fly to and from Europe and North America.

Kenya Airways will from July 13 next year increase flights to and from Paris and Amsterdam by three on each route, seeking to cash in on the summer peak season that stretches for two months to September.

The national carrier will have the additional flights on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays out of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with returns on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The airline, known as KQ by its international code, currently operates seven flights a week to the two routes but anticipates higher demand between July and August as more people fly to and from Europe and North America.

The Paris route will see a new morning departure out of Nairobi, with return flights from Paris in the evening, arriving in Nairobi in the morning.

“Our schedule enhancement will help meet customer demand that is usually more during this period,” Mbuvi Ngunze, Kenya Airways’ chief executive, said in a statement.

“It will also provide our passengers with more flight choices hence more flexibility and convenience connecting to other destinations in Africa and Europe.

Kenya Airways says it will revert to its usual schedule on these routes in September 2017.

Amsterdam and Paris are key for Kenya Airways since most of its clients connect to other European countries through the two cities, even more than they do through London.

Europe accounted for 21 per cent of Kenya Airways’ turnover (equivalent to Sh24.4 billion) in the year to March 2016 with its biggest market remaining Africa at 61 per cent or Sh70.9 billion.

The airline closed the year with sales of Sh116.15 billion with the balance coming from the Asian market.

Earlier this year, the cash-strapped airline sold its Heathrow slot for Sh5.3 billion, just months after rescheduling flights to London in order to keep its aircraft from being grounded for longer hours.

KLM, which owns slightly more than a quarter of KQ, entered into a joint venture agreement with the national carrier in 2001.

The two carriers fly about a million passengers to 43 destinations every year, including Paris and Amsterdam, and generate approximately $500 million (Sh50.5 billion) in revenue.