Kenyan low-cost carrier JamboJet swings to first-half profit

Kenyan budget airline Jambojet said on Monday it made pretax profit of 53.3 million shillings in its first half ended September from a loss of 244 million shillings ($2.4 million) in the same period last year.

Jambojet, which operates a Boeing 737 and leased Bombardier planes between major Kenyan cities, was started by national carrier Kenya Airways last year, to take advantage of growing demand for air travel services.

This driven by a growing appetite for low-price flights in preference to lengthy bus trips on dilapidated roads.

Passenger numbers rose 14 percent during the period, meaning its planes were 75 percent full, up from 60 percent full in the same period in 2014.

Jambojet says it controls 35 percent of the local budget airline industry in Kenya. Its parent company Kenya Airways made a pretax loss of 11.9 billion shillings in the same period.