Biz news
Airlines
– Want to start an airline? Boeing has created a site to guide your operations into this very risky business. (From Randy’s Journal – a Boeing VP’s blog!)
– Kenya Airways now offers flight status information via phone to passengers at 20/= per SMS.
– There was a small story on the KTN news indicating that Five forty aviation (Lonrho air) which will launch air services to Mombasa this month will be priced as a low cost no frills airline.
– Pan Africa airways (which is hiring crews for F27 and B737aircraft) has also been licensed to operate from Nairobi to Mombasa, the coast and Loki.
– Jet Airways of India plans to launch flights to Nairobi next year
Banking: Kenwsitch and Pesa Point are collaborating to enable ATM customers to access each other’s networks.
Opportunities
Jobs
from the daily papers
Financial accountant – Nairobi at the Institute of security studies. Apply to jobs@issafrica.org by 24/11
Internal audit manager at Oserian flowers. Apply to jobs@oserian.com by 22/11
Pricewaterhousecoopers: (i) Financial effectiveness [senior consultants and consultant](ii) IT effectiveness [senior consultants and consultant] (iii) governance, risk & compliance/financial management in the public sector [senior consultants and consultant] (iv) governance, risk & compliance/internal audit services [senior consultants and consultant] (v) manager, human resource consultancy (vi) Human resource consultant [senior consultants and consultant]. Apply to the human capital manager at recruitment.ke@ke.pwc.com by 30/11
Asian languages: Last year a Confucius Institute opened at the University of Nairobi teaching Chinese languages. Now Kenyatta University if offering a diploma course in Japanese languages as a 2 year program beginning in January 2007 (application deadline is 24 /11)
Tender: The Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACA) has advertised to procure an interview recording system (that works). KACA also plans to open an office in Mombasa.
Competition is always good news; it increases choices for consumers and ensures that only suppliers providing quality services remain in the market. It is probably correct to assume that our airline industry is headed for better times. The timing is also good; it comes just in time for the 2008 football World Cup in South Africa. Kenya could serve as a major transit hub (or stop over) for World Cup goers from Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. What remains is for the government to expand the country’s aviation infrastructure. Just renovating airports (Moi, JKIA and Kisumu) is not enough. Airport staff needs to be more efficient in processing travelers’ immigration paperwork. Airport security (I should say corruption) need to be taken care of, lest we find ourselves in another Artur brothers security bleach.
Sigh… KQ has to deal with an inefficient KAA. KQ pulled out of the Nbi-Kisumu market coz of the pathetic state of the runway!
I hope KAA gets its act together in the next 3 years coz as Kenyanomics points out… Kenya can benefit from the “hub” as well as overflow tourism from S.Africa.
Wow… KQ is attracting a host of competitors… Jet Airways & Emirates are among the world’s fastest growing airlines…
I can see why KQ is building REGIONAL capacity since it can become the codeshare partner for many of these airlines esp to South & Central Africa…
With the potential in Kenya for airline market share, what are the chances Air France and Lufthansa will come back? Or will it be hard for those big dogs to compete with the likes of Pan African, Jet Airways and Lonrho Air? Lonrho today completed a 43% US$6 million acquisition of Norse Air Limited with the intention of expanding passenger travel across Africa and beyond (they currently operate aircraft for the UN, Red Cross, World Food Program, etc).
East African skies are becoming the battleground for African air transport supremacy. Airlines from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa are bringing the battle to KQ, Africa’s only substantially private airline. KQ’s archrivals (Ethiopian and South African) have already made their offensive moves.
Ethiopians have applied for landing rights to fly the lucrative Nairobi-Entebbe route. South Africans tried to take over struggling national carriers in Uganda and Tanzania, but both deals never materialized. KQ retaliated by purchasing 49% of Precision Air, which doubles as Tanzania’s finest and fastest growing airline.
I will not be surprised to see big airlines re-enter East African-EU route. Their re-entry will be good for competition, and as we all know, the more are always merrier.
KQ’s problems on the Kisumu route have less to do with KAA and more to do with the planes it runs against East African Safari Air. They’re expected to resume flights with different planes.
Kenyanomics: Mombasa route getting lot of competion now. KQ doing wll but JKIA pales in comparison to Jo-Burg airport as a regional hub. Hopefuly the refurbished airport will be enable this by 2010. KQ, SAA and Ethiopian are alll going to face competion from the Mid-East giants
coldtusker: I don’t think the runway is the story at Kisumu.
As for India – Kenya route there’s some politics too with agreements for more flights/seats between air authotities. Jet Air will take a bit longer to launch
Mitzy; I don’t think they will be back soon since they are now privately run meanign the route will have to make good economic sense – no more state airlines flying routes for prestige. Also KQ just launched to Paris. Lonrho seem pretty active – looking forward to see what their defintion of “low cost no frills” is
propaganda: I agree, EASA’s fokker jet was much more popular than the KQ turbo-prop to Kisumu.
Well, well,about time KQ got some competition,good for us travellers and bad for shareholders(like CT).
Kenya is so well positioned to be a regional hub but a lot needs to be done.first of all,we need at least 5 runways(we have just one now),secondly,KAA needs to be privatised pronto to stop all the corruption at the airports.thirdly,of course we need decent looking terminals with modern amenities.
I think with african economic traffic shifting to the east,we could become the gateway to africa by air and sea.
props & banks: Maybe its just me…
The TRUTH – Do you believe KQ or KAA?
Knowing KAA’s history including the “airport passes” given to the Arturs…
KQ could use their 737s but I doubt Kisumu’s runway can handle 737s coz of length & load bearing capacity.
kudri – I’d rather have competition coz fare reductions will save me much more! LOL…
mitzy – Air France is allied with KQ thus AF acts as a feeder to KQ in France, Germany, Switzerland & Italy.
KQ is a strong Regional airline & that’s where its building capacity . The new 737-800s & (to come) 787s are regional aircraft.