Leading African airline Kenya Airways commenced the much awaited flights to Luanda in August, the Angolan capital city - giving regional and international travelers from all over the world, direct access to the oil-rich nation.

Kenya Airways will operate the route on a code share agreement with Angolan Airlines (TAAG) twice a week every Tuesday and Friday. To celebrate the launch of the new destination, Kenya Airways has priced the inaugural flight at USD 50, a special fare incentive that has generated excitement in the aviation marketplace.

As a developing country, Angola’s economy is being driven largely by its nascent oil and tourism industries and has been referred to as the Brazil of Africa?

The commencement of flights by Kenya Airways to Angola also marks the milestone addition of the Kenya national carrier’s 50th destination globally and 41st in Africa, further expanding the airline’s route network which has been growing over the years as part of the company’s strategic  initiative to link up major African cities with the rest of the world.

According Dr Titus Naikuni, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Angola is an important destination for the airline because of its rising economic importance as a trading partner for several African and European countries.

JKIA

Naikuni added that Kenya Airways will use the new route to serve business and leisure travelers within Africa and from outside the continent desirous of shorter connection time to rest of Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Far East through its hub at the JKIA in Nairobi.

Apart from its economic potential, Naikuni noted that Angola had proved itself as one of Africa’s foremost promoters of Sport by successfully hosting the African Cup of Nations early this year. He reiterated that Kenya Airways would relentlessly pursue its growth objective this year by adding new routes to its network and improving it’s efficiency on existing ones.

“We are doing this by adding new aeroplanes and establishing additional frequencies on the high traffic routes to ensure we offer more alternative flights to our customers. We expect that by the end of the year, we will have taken delivery of two long-range Embraer 190LRs to serve our regional routes”, he explained.

Naikuni added that the airline was helping passengers with processing Visas to Angola in view of the fact that Kenya does not have an Angolan embassy. He expressed confidence that the two countries would set up missions to enhance diplomatic ties by establishing representation in their respective capitals to promote bilateral relations.