Jambojet increases Coast flights as flyers rush for holidays

Budget airline Jambojet has introduced additional flights to the coastal cities as it seeks to cash in on the high demand from holidaymakers.

The airline’s CEO Willem Hondius said there has been increased demand for air travel between Nairobi and the Coast forcing the company to increase frequency starting Tuesday (Dec 19).

Jambojet is now operating three flights to Malindi and Ukunda and four to Mombasa per week.

“Yes we have added flights to Malindi (3 per week), Mombasa (4 per week), Ukunda (3 per week plus a third frequency per day between December 19 and 31),” said Mr Hondius in an interview with the Business Daily.

Mr Hondius said all routes that the airline plies have registered high demand. “During the festive season we see demand going up sharply and there is always need to add flights,” he said.

Last week the airline received one of two planes it purchased last month at Sh6.6 billion to cater for increased demand this Christmas season.

The addition brings Jambojet’s fleet to six – two Q400 planes that it acquired earlier in the year and two Boeing 737s leased from Kenya Airways #ticker:KQ, its parent company.

The airline said the remaining plane will arrive later this month. The two planes have been acquired from Danish firm Nordic Aviation Capital.

READ: Jambojet to launch Uganda, Tanzania flights by February

The cost of booking air tickets has significantly gone up as more passengers seek to travel by air. Those who have been booking from last week are paying almost double the price compared with travellers who booked in November.

“It’s still quite last minute unfortunately. However for the festive season people tend to book a bit earlier,” said the CEO.

The airline in May got regulatory approval to fly to 16 regional routes, including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba, Bujumbura, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Goma, Kisangani and Moroni.