Song, dance as low-cost Jambojet airline makes entry into Mombasa

The Jambojet receives a water canon salute

By PHILIP MWAKIO

MOMBASA, KENYA: Moi International Airport Tuesday welcomed the latest kid in Kenya’s aviation industry, Jambojet, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways.

A water canon salute by the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) Fire Brigade and traditional dance troupe were the highlights for the day as the aircraft taxied to a stop at the airport.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 with the carrier’s branding, that features pink-coloured zebra skin patterns on its tail with the rest of its body white, and the name Jambojet.com emblazoned on the sides touched down from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at exactly 11.30 am.

The aircraft had 98 passengers who included media personnel and the Chief Executive Officer, Willem Hondius.

The low cost, no frills airline comes with fewer comforts than are found on conventional airlines with passengers being asked to pay for extras like food and baggage.

Aviation industry analysts and players in the tourism industry at the Coast welcomed the new air service terming it a good move for the local residents.

On hand to receive the aircraft was Mombasa County Executive in charge of Tourism, Job Tumbo and his counterpart in charge of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Mohamed Abbas. Mr Hondius said that after their successive launch, their next target as a low cost operator will be the regional market.

“In the next one year, we hope to start flying to Zanzibar, Kigali, Entebbe, Kilimanjaro and Addis Ababa,” he said.

He added that they will be using the Boeing 737-300 aircrafts that Kenya Airways — which owns the low-cost airline — will be dropping from its fleet and hope in five years’ time to grow their fleet to 10 aircrafts.