Kenya Airways has withdrawn flights to Eldoret in a strategic shift meant to give its newly launched low-cost subsidiary JamboJet an easier entry. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Budget carrier JamboJet said it had booked 8,500 travellers by Tuesday on the Sh2,850 one-way tickets to Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.
KQ’s withdrawal from the Eldoret route beginning at the end of the month will pave the way for its new subsidiary’s launch on the route scheduled for April 1.
Kenya Airways has withdrawn flights to Eldoret in a strategic shift meant to give its newly launched low-cost subsidiary JamboJet an easier entry into the agriculture-rich town.
Budget carrier JamboJet said it had booked 8,500 travellers by Tuesday on the Sh2,850 one-way tickets to Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.
The national carrier’s withdrawal from the Eldoret route beginning at the end of the month will pave the way for its new subsidiary’s launch on the route scheduled for April 1.
KQ sent notice of the cancellation to its trade partners Tuesday while also releasing JamboJet’s flight schedule.
“Effective April 1, 2014 Kenya Airways will cease its operations to and from Eldoret. All guests booked on Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Eldoret will be cancelled. Guests shall contact JamboJet directly to make new bookings,” the notice by the airline said.
JamboJet will offer four flights a week as per the schedule. The withdrawal of KQ from the Eldoret route, which ran 14 flights weekly having increased frequencies in June 2013, will leave JamboJet to compete with Fly540 which offers two daily flights to the north rift town.
The announcement came as JamboJet saw Kenyans quickly snap up the low-cost tickets after it officially opened bookings on Thursday last week.
Comparative tickets by commercial carriers are more than double JamboJet’s offer price. More than 3,000 bookings were made on the first day with the number rising to 8,500 as of Tuesday, said JamboJet's chief executive Willem Alexander Hondius in response to Business Daily inquiries.
He said most of the bookings were to Mombasa, which was expected due to the number of flights (five daily) offered on the route.
“This is according to expectations. People really go after the lowest fare available. People realise that fares will go up over time,” he said, adding that 80 per cent of the bookings were made online “which is more than we expected”.
Last week the airline signed a partnership with mobile technology firm Cellulant, which had developed a portal to allow customers to pay for their ticket using mobile money and bank.
