Airlines scramble for a share of domestic business

Nairobi; Kenya: Kenya's premier tourist airline, Safarilink, has launched direct flights to Lodwar in Northern Kenya, as it expands its footprint in the region.
Safarilink has begun flying five times weekly between Nairobi and Lodwar via Lokichar in Turkana County. This becomes the 13th destination to which the carrier provides daily scheduled services. The new route will be operated by a 35-seater, DeHavilland Dash 8.
Apart from the Nairobi-Lodwar route, also attracting new players is the Nairobi-Mombasa route. Only weeks ago, SouthEast Airlines- a subsidiary of African Express Airways entered this route and now has a daily schedule at an all-inclusive ticket price of Sh 4,950.

SouthEast joins other airlines plying the Nairobi-Mombasa route which includes Kenya Airways, Jambo- a subsidiary of KQ and Fly 540. Other airlines including Jetlink has already pulled out and is yet to resume operations on the Nairobi-Mombasa route.
"Today's commencement of operations to Lodwar and Lokichar is a significant milestone in our operations. These flights will contribute significantly towards spurring economic development in Northern Kenya by opening up the region not only for tourism but also investment and development of other sectors," said John Buckley MD Safarilink Aviation.
The airline will operate daily flights, departing from Wilson Airport in Nairobi at 0700 hours to arrive at Lokichar at 0815 hours, before proceeding to Lodwar, where it will be landing at 0845 hours. The return flight, on each of these days, will depart from Lodwar at 0900 hours, to land in Nairobi at 1020 hours.
Lokichar is home to recent oil finds and further exploration activities are ongoing. Lodwar is the headquarters of the expansive Turkana County. The county also has key tourist attractions, including the Cradle of Mankind, Lake Turkana and Sibiloi National Park.
Safarilink flies to all key tourist attractions including Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo West, Naivasha, Nanyuki, Lewa Downs, Samburu, Lamu, Kilimanjaro, Loisaba and Migori. It also provides charter flight services across the East African region. During the busiest periods of the year, it carries over 14,000 passengers per month.
The launch of Safarilink's flights to Lodwar was attended by Turkana County Governor, His Excellency Josephat Nanok, and speaker of the Senate, Hon. Ekwee Ethuro together with Turkana Central MP, Hon. John Lodepe among others.