Lufthansa says it will deploy an A340-300 between Frankfurt and Nairobi four times a week beginning September this year, up from the current three weekly flights.
This news is of interest as it shows that Kenyan international traffic might be recovering following terrorist action, economic troubles and Ebola worries which cut passenger numbers. Lufthansa general manager for Kenya and Ethiopia Tobias Ernst said demand has been rising on the route in the nearly nine-month period since service resumption, prompting the expansion plans.
“There is huge demand including from corporate and leisure travellers, family visitors, entrepreneurial Kenyans, missionaries, humanitarian sector personnel, diplomats, and NGOs along the route hence the need to upscale,” said Tobias Ernst, Regional Manager for Lufthansa in East Africa. He added that the weekly flights would further increase to five times around December this year to cater for increased traffic during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Lufthansa previously relied on code-shared flights with partners Swiss and Brussels Airlines to connect its passengers to Nairobi.
He said the increased capacity and frequency would boost business prospects for its subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo, which continued to offer four weekly cargo flights for from Nairobi, moving fresh flowers, horticultural produce and fish destined for Europe. “The wide body aircraft entry also means more cargo space for our customers,” said Ernst.
(culled from www.aviationnews-online.com)
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