East Africa’s air travel faces another round of re-organisation as two major airlines end direct flights from the region to key destinations in Europe in October.
In October, British Airways will terminate direct flights between Entebbe, Uganda, and the UK’s main Heathrow airport while Brussels Airlines will stop direct flights from Nairobi to the Belgian capital Brussels.
The exit of British Airways from the Uganda route after 24 years means the airline will now have Nairobi as its hub in the region. British Airways ended direct flights between Heathrow and the Tanzania commercial capital Dar es Salaam in March 2013, also citing lack of commercial viability.
According to a statement by the regional commercial manager, east and southern Africa Edward Frost, the Heathrow/Entebbe flights have been suspended as “they are no longer commercially viable.” “Unfortunately, we have concluded that our services to Entebbe are no longer commercially viable,” a communication from the British Airways International Media Team reads in part.
A statement on the carrier’s website shows that the last flight from Heathrow to Entebbe will depart on October 2, 2015 while the return flight is expected to depart from Entebbe to Heathrow on October 3.
Code-shared flights
Another British carrier, Virgin Atlantic, stopped flying the Nairobi route in September 2012, five years after it made its maiden flight, linking its decision to a difficult operating environment as a result of increasing costs and a weakening European economy.
But as others exit, some airlines such as Lufthansa are making a re-entry into the East Africa route. Lufthansa is expected to resume direct flights from Frankfurt to Nairobi on October 24 after an 18-year absence from the country – taking over from its junior Star Alliance partner Brussels Airlines which has been flying to and from Nairobi since the start of its operations in 2002.
“We are delighted that Lufthansa is making a comeback to Nairobi as one of its destinations. This is bound to have a positive impact on Kenya’s tourism sector, considering Germany is one of our key source markets,” Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) managing director Muriithi Ndegwa said in June.
KTB will be banking on the German airline’s expansive network in Europe, North and South America to attract more visitors and help salvage the country’s tourism industry that has been battered by travel advisories in the wake of the recent spate of terrorist attacks.
The re-entry of Lufthansa, however, spells trouble for passengers from Belgium and beyond who have for decades travelled with Brussels Airlines to Nairobi. They will now have to fly via Zurich on Swiss or via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.
The Nairobi-Brussels route has been critical for partner states of the East African Community (EAC) who have been negotiating new economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with the European Commission that sits in Brussels.
Belgium’s flag carrier Brussels Airlines will concentrate on West African markets.
Resumes flights
Lufthansa resumes flights from Frankfurt to Nairobi, starting with four weekly flights using the Airbus A340-300 aircraft and five weekly flights from December 17, to cater for increased traffic during the festive season.
Lufthansa has relied on code-shared flights with partners Swiss and Brussels Airlines to connect its passengers to Nairobi. Its subsidiary, Lufthansa Cargo, however, continued to offer four weekly flights from Nairobi, moving fresh flowers, horticultural products and fish destined for Europe.
Brussels Airlines, which currently serves 15 destinations in West Africa, also plans to strengthen its capacity in the region. However, the airline will retain flights out of Entebbe, Bujumbura and Kigali in the East African region.
Besides Lufthansa, China Southern Airlines is also expected to start its direct flights from Guangzhou to Nairobi in August 5. According to a statement from the airline, the carrier will codeshare its service with Kenya Airways.
The launch of China Southern Airlines flights to Nairobi, however, means that the national carrier will lose out on passenger referrals that it has been getting as travellers who wish to connect to other Chinese cities from Guangzhou will now prefer to use the Asian carrier.
“We have for long wanted to fly our planes to the Kenyan market but regulatory issues have been a problem and we expect the new move will boost our growth,” Li Dongliang, the Chinese airline’s Vice-President in charge of the Sales Division told a media briefing in Nairobi in April.
The East African
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