Category Archives: Kenya Airways

Lady Lori & FastJet?

The latest round of airline license applications has a curious addition with Lady Lori previously known as a successful helicopter charter company applying for a variation of their current license.

Lady Lori are seeking to introduce domestic flights between Nairobi and Mombasa as well as to obtain rights for international routes from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Juba, Kigali, Entebbe, Maputo and Lusaka.

Across the border is successful FastJet who have not been shy about their ambitions for Kenya. But their license to operate which they intended to obtain via an investment in Kenya’s Fly540 airline has been stuck somewhere in the government red tape while their Tanzania business has thrived and they are now the leading airline there. Recently, FastJet came to a settlement with Fly540 ending their acrimonious relationship.

Could Fastjet now be starting afresh with an established and licensed operator? Lady Lori is applying for the above routes with the intention to fly Airbus A320 aircraft – which happen to be the only aircraft flown by FastJet.

FastJet, as a low cost operator has made the A320 the only airline in it’s fleet and one that made a few people wondered how Fly540 with a mix of ATRs and Bombardiers would integrate. Lady Lori offers a fresh start in this regard.

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Understanding Low Cost Flights

Though FastJet and JamboJet applied at about the same time for aviation licenses to fly in Kenya, FastJet started in Tanzania in November 2012, and a year and a half later, JamboJet, a Kenya Airways subsidiary has launched flights in Kenya.

As low-cost carriers, there are some differences which passengers here, especially current Kenya Airways customers, may not be able to understand.

Cost of tickets: Going by the FastJet model, which JamboJet also has, there is the unique pricing of tickets. While they advertise low prices of tickets e.g.Kshs 2,850 ($35) to Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu, not all seats on the flight cost that. The price applies to just a few and as soon as they are bought (preferably several days or weeks in advance of a flight), then the next batch of seats becomes available, at a higher rate. This goes on until fares bought on the day of the flight might be comparable or even more than the cost of a full-fare airline.
Extras: Next is that the airline makes money on many extra items – things that you take for granted on Kenya Airways, are items you pay for on JamboJet; these include luggage (only 10kg hand luggage is free), meals (Kshs 500 for a sandwich, and Kshs 200 for a soda) and even seat selection (costs Kshs 710 to pick a specific seat that’s tinier than a Probox as per @themacharia).
Children: On FastJet international routes, children aged less than 12 years are not allowed to travel unaccompanied. But on JamboJet domestic, this is allowed at a fee and the child must be met by a parent/Guardian within 20 minutes after arrival or additional fees will be charged.
Luggage: With JamboJet, a passenger is allowed to purchase a maximum of 64 kg of checked-in baggage. The only free baggage is the 10 kg hand luggage. Also, it is cheaper to pre-book and pay in advance for baggage than pay at the airport. On FastJet, a passenger can pay for excess weight at a rate of $5 per kg up to a maximum of 32 kg.
Delays: If a FastJet flight is delayed by 1 – 2 hours, the airline will provide regular communication on flight status, and if the delay is 3 – 4 hours, refreshment vouchers of up to Tsh 8,000 ($5) may be provided. If over 5 hours delay, FastJet will communicate a flight cancellation and refunds will be issued from the head office or there will be a free transfer to (their) next available flight. So if a flight is canceled for operational, weather, or other reasons, the T&C states that FastJet will not provide flights with alternative airlines or hotel accommodation in the event of overnight delays or cancellations.
Changes All fares are non-refundable. On JamboJet, itinerary changes must be made 1 hour prior to departure – and if at the time of change, the original fare is not available, the passenger will pay a higher fare

Also, in other markets, low-cost carriers operate from smaller airports which have lower landing fees or taxes. In Kenya, an equivalent would be flying from Wilson airport or Orly Air Park as opposed to JKIA.

For now, JamboJet operates on relatively short flights to Kisumu, Eldoret and Mombasa so you won’t notice that there’s no free meal service. JamboJet also has permission from the Kenya government to fly to Wajir, Malindi, Lamu, Juba, Hargeisa, Kisangani, Pemba, Moroni, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Bujumbura, Kigali, Dzaoudzi, Goma, Mwanza, Antananarivo, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and Addis Ababa. Over in Tanzania Fastjet flies to Mbeya, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro, and also flies to South Africa and Zambia.

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Arrives at Kenya Airways

On April 5, Kenya Airways (KQ), received The Great Rift Valley – their first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in Nairobi.

KQ’s new B788 arrives

KQ Managing Director, Titus Naikuni, said their aircraft were 3-4 years behind schedule and thanked the airline staff, passengers and salespeople for putting up with older aircraft in the interim. He added that plans are still on course for KQ to get more Dreamliner planes every month between June till October 2014. KQ Chairman, Evanson Mwaniki who was onboard the 16-hour non-stop flight from Paine Field, Washington to Nairobi, said they been assured at the highest levels of Boeing that the 787 program’s teething problems had all been sorted. He said each Dreamliner with engines cost the airline Kshs. 11 billion (~$130 million seems low), while the new Boeing 777-300’s arriving were Kshs 18 billion ($211 million) and yet they are competing for routes with Gulf nation carriers with seemingly unlimited pockets who could order 100 aircraft while KQ ordered 9. He made three requests of the Government; to expedite bilateral air service agreements, sort out double taxation that penalizes the airline and also expedite VAT refunds.

Tracking the Great Rift Valley

Transport Cabinet Secretary, Engineer Kamau said the government of Kenya and KQ had worked on new terminals (Greenfield started, Terminal 4 ready in July), and new aircraft (777, 787) and invited the President to use Kenya Airways for trips and for KQ to use the President who travels a lot and get themselves on his agenda for such trips.

Also at the launch was the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, who said terrorism was a global challenge and that, while Shabaab was associated with Somalia where it gained a foothold in the then-lawless state, it is now losing ground in terms of financing, recruitment, and training. He thanked Kenyans for their tolerance and accommodation of business people and said Somalia was on track for a first election in 45 years in 2016 in which women would also vote.

President Kenyatta said KQ had more of a global reach than Kenya embassies so was in essence first ambassadors for the country and that in his personal experience it had the best pilots and crew in the world. Later he noted that pilot costs are heavy, and that KQ’s labour is less productive than Ethiopian Airlines and that it was necessary for the airline to simplify operations and get better staff productivity. He also said that Angola had agreed to open an embassy in Nairobi – a relief to many as Kenyans applying for visas have to do so via Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Engine cool-down after the extra long flight

The new aircraft is part of Project Mawingu, the airline’s massive fleet, and route expansion program. It will start on the Paris route in June and in between will be used for familiarization of staff, training, and be showcased to key KQ markets. At the launch, a General Electric representative thanked the airline for having over 100 of their engines in the fleet, while a Boeing VP said KQ had designed and selected one of the best Dreamliner interiors on offer.

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KQ’s 787 Countdown

About four years behind schedule, and eight years after Kenya Airways placed an order, the airline is getting ready for delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. KQ now has a teaser Dreamliner video on YouTube, and this image of their first aircraft on Facebook.


KQ 787 at Everett, Washington

From the All Things 787 blog, at least three KQ Dreamliners are in the production stages with ZA655, a Boeing 787-800, with GE GEnx-1B engines, undergoing final assembly at Everett, Washington

Two Dreamliners were expected in 2010 and four in 2011, but after production delays at Boeing, KQ is now expected to take delivery of the first 787 around April 2014.

Boeing did bring a 787 to Nairobi in 2011 during the Dreamliner World Tour, and Ethiopian Airlines who are the only African airline that currently flies the aircraft, seem to bring one to Nairobi each week.

EDIT: At #Mindspeak chat session on January 25, KQ CEO Titus Naikuni explained the delivery schedule of Boeing 787s to Kenya Airways as:

1. April (1st week) 2014
2. June
3. July
4. August
5. September
6. October

So KQ gets new 6 787’s in 2014, and another 3 in 2015, as they retire their Boeing 767 fleet and return all of them, but one, to their owners. They will also add a second Boeing 777-300 in June and another in August, and plan to refurbish their current fleet of 4 Boeing 777-200’s.

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Guide to Abu Dhabi

Getting There: There are direct flights from Nairobi to Abu Dhabi on both Kenya Airways and Etihad that cost $600-700. There’s also Qatar Air with a stop-over in Doha and Emirates Air to Dubai, but which ends with a bus ride to Abu Dhabi City (it’s about a 150KM drive, and rather too short for a jet flight).

Sunset at the Yas Marina F1 track

Prior to departure, your airline would usually have arranged for a visa in Nairobi which is emailed ahead of the trip. The costs of the visa may vary depending on who’s doing your booking, and it can sometimes be free if you pay for a full holiday package. Mine cost $82 and included (a surprise) medical insurance that covered the trip.

On arrival. Clearance from the airport would have been quite fast, but it took about 1.5 hours as most people had to have an eye scan (picture) taken first and the queue was very long. Many tourists were arriving for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) and there were long queues for the scan, and for a rubber stamp after from a very tired official who was taking many cigarette breaks.

Getting Around: One company operates all the taxis you see around Abu Dhabi. Their website advises passengers of their rights such to see driver’s ID, have the electronic trip meter running, have the air conditioner on in the car, and they can refuse to share the taxis with other passengers – sometimes there’s a shortage of cars at busy times, and the in-car computer advises taxi drivers to go to certain points where there are many people waiting for rides.

The computer also cautions taxi drivers if they exceed the speed limit. The city is a marvel of wide highways, with fast moving traffic, and a level of orderliness that will be shocking to Kenyans. Traffic lights are strictly observed and it’s rare to find a traffic jam in the city.

The taxi journey from the airport to the hotel was about 50 Dirhams (AED) while a trip to a mall or office will be about 20 Dirhams. If staying longer than a week, one should learn to use the city bus system. With the heat and large spread of the city, walking long distances is not feasible.

Roaming Rates

Staying in Touch: Roaming rates are atrocious so get a local SIM card such as from Qtel or Du. This can be obtained at the airport in the case of Du and a line costa AED 100 (about Kshs 2,500) for a combination of call minutes and data that can also be topped up. Also, Wi-Fi is standard at many hotels as there are a lot of intentional business visitors.

Where to Stay: There are many international hotel brands in Abu Dhabi such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Rotanna, Ritz Carlton, Westin, Intercontinental, Hyatt, Sofitel, Fairmont, and Radisson. Some of these are located at Yas Island which overlooks the formula one track that has a race in November each year.

The National newspaper was available in the hotel lobby for all guests free every day, and most hotels have discrete bars on the top floors serve alcohol to guests. Standard rooms with bed & breakfast go for about $100-250, and this comes with the standard international breakfast buffet, along with a touch of local foods like porridge, humus, sticky rice, seaweed soup etc.

Gold Souk

Shopping & Sight-Seeing: Abu Dhabi is considered one of the more expensive cities for visitors and it will cost an equivalent of about $50-100 per day for 2 to 3 taxi rides and meals around the city. (Excluding hotel costs).

Credit cards are widely accepted in most places, except in taxis which only take cash in local currency. The UAE Dirham can be exchanged into about a dozen other currencies (Singapore, India, Euro) and the dollars (fixed at about $1 = 3.6 AED) at forex bureaus in malls and the airport.

There are a few large shopping malls (Marina mall, Abu Dhabi mall) and Souks (markets) like the gold souk that is located in the Madinat Zayed shopping centre. For transit flyers (using Abu Dhabi airport), the duty free section there is rather tiny, and pricey, compared to the selection at Dubai airport. But if you fly in with the Eihad, the national carrier, showing your boarding pass around town may entitle you to discounts at some hotels, restaurants, car rental, and recreation sites.

Practice your pit stops at Ferrari World

Sights to see include the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and lot’s of unique architectural towers. Others popular with tourists include the Corniche which is a 6 KM long park where you can cycle, jog, even swim in the heat, and another is Yas Water World. But one of the most unique sites here is Ferrari World Abu Dhabi on Yas Island where adults and kids can can spend hours on a variety of motor stuff – roller coasters, virtual reality tours of the Ferrari factory, view the history of Ferrari racing, race karts, eat, shop for merchandise, and still not cover the entire complex.

With more time, you can do other stuff like take a desert drive, boat ride (from Yas Marina), or go to other cities like Al Ain and Dubai which is about 1.5 hours max away on a ‘real’ super highway.

Odd Points: Abu Dhabi is a Muslim country, but one that’s quite moderate in terms of what’s forbidden. Still there are signs cautioning visitors to dress modestly, and not to engage in public displays of affection, or consume alcohol in public.

Also the taxi drivers who are an international mix from many countries like India, Pakistan, Philippines, Algeria etc. are the people you are most likely to have a long conversation with during a brief stay. You encounter foreigners at almost all service points – with hotels, shops, malls, restaurants all staffed by a similar mix of foreigners, that you will wonder where the local Abu Dhabi residents are!

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Bankelele

Nairobi writer on Banking, Finance, Technology, and Investments

Category Archives: Kenya Airways

Lady Lori & FastJet?

Understanding Low Cost Flights

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Arrives at Kenya Airways

KQ’s 787 Countdown

Guide to Abu Dhabi