Airlines jostle for space in local airspace

By John Oyuke

The East African airspace is bracing for increased competition as more airlines gear up to grace the over 140 million people market.

Signs of increasing airline services emerged last week after two airlines announced efforts being made to increase passenger numbers.

Brussels Airlines was the first to announce that it introduced a new Airbus A330-200 on the Nairobi route. The airline, which has spent 30 million euro (Sh3.5 trillion) upgrading its long-haul flights, is introducing comfortable flatbed seats in its Business Class, generous seating comfort in Economy Class, trendy design and revolutionary entertainment technology to its flights.

RwandAir followed the announcement by Brussel Airlines by disclosing that it has revised a schedule to include nonstop flights on the Mombasa-Dubai route from February 1.

Expensive Connections

In the revised schedule, the airline will be flying Kigali-Dubai via Mombasa every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, giving Mombasa residents an alternative to the expensive connections that have been the only option for passengers.

 “We are happy to now offer such product and are confident to gain additional passengers in the process,” Commercial Director, Bert van Stege said.