Kenya Airways will cut New York flights to one weekly when it resumes operations in that route on October 29.

KQ says the Covid-19 has affected demand for flying worldwide, hence the need to scale down on the number of flights operated on some routes.

Kenya Airways chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka said the flights will, however, be upgraded once the demand for flying picks up.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has affected travel demand worldwide. It will be a gradual resumption starting with one weekly service. As we are doing with all the other routes, we will monitor the trends and make the necessary adjustment to the frequency based on demand,” said Mr Kilavuka.

The airline was operating five flights to New York before the Covid-19 pandemic that saw the carrier ground all its aircraft in early April.

Kenya Airways had started direct flights to the US in October 2018, cutting the journey to 15 hours on the long-haul route tapped as part of an effort to revive the airline’s fortunes.

Kenya Airways had forecast its daily direct flights to the US, which it launched for the first time in October 2018, would boost annual revenues by more than 10 percent in 2019 and 2020.

The long-haul route aimed to encourage more business and tourist travel, with the US being one of Kenya’s biggest source of visitors.

The carrier had delayed the flights to New York and China when it resumed international flights on August 1.

However, the China flights have already resumed, earlier than it had been projected after the carrier received authorization from the Chinese authorities.

“We resumed our flights to China and this was earlier than we had expected. The reason for this was an approval that we had sought was received earlier than expected,” said Mr Kilavuka.

The carrier is currently operating one flight to Guangzhou, a city it has been flying previously.

“We will review the frequency based on passenger demand and adjust accordingly to cater for our customer requirements,” the CEO said.

Kenya Airways on January 31 suspended all flights to and from China amid a virus outbreak that had killed more than 200 people in Beijing and had spread to 18 countries at the time.

The virus had by yesterday infected more than 14.5 million people and killed more than 600,000 globally.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Kenya-Airways-cuts-New-York-fights-to-once-a-week/4003102-5614740-sbqk3az/index.html

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said earlier this month that the country’s tourism, the sector hit hardest by COVID-19, was now on a recovery path after months of downturn.

Kenyatta, who spoke during a virtual meeting with elite Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya’s new goodwill ambassador for tourism, expressed satisfaction with the measures being taken by stakeholders in the hospitality sector to protect tourists from the pandemic.

“Safety is not really just a government issue. It is an individual choice. To remain safe and by so doing, keep everybody else safe,” he said in a statement issued after the meeting.

Kenyatta urged Kenyans and visitors to continue observing outbreak-containment protocols.

Kipchoge was in the Masai Mara Game Reserve with his family to witness this year’s annual wildebeest migration.

The president says Kenya is ready to receive tourists and encouraged local and foreign travelers to take advantage of the prevailing low rates to visit the country’s famous sites.

“We have also opened up our skies, and flights are coming. We welcome all those who choose to come,” he says.

The East African nation’s tourism sector had slumped to its lowest level in decades following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, as restrictions put in place locally and internationally curtailed travel.

Since March, the sector has lost 81.8 billion shillings ($770 million), roughly half of its average annual revenue, Tourism Minister Najib Balala says.

The pandemic had literally grounded the industry to a halt, with over 2.3 million employees sent home, a majority on unpaid leave and the lucky ones receiving half pay.

All the top hotels, lodges and destinations were shut down over the past months as they grappled with the lack of visitors.

During the meeting, Kipchoge said he was grateful to represent his country as a tourism goodwill ambassador and assured the president that he will do his best to promote the country as a top travel destination.

Balala says hotels in the Maasai Mara were fully booked, mostly by local tourists, for the current high season and encourages Kenyans and inbound travelers to visit destinations across the country.

Source: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202008/18/WS5f3b1c8ea310834817260e0b.html

Qatar Airways has made refund payments totalling over $1 billion since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

The $1.2 billion figure covers over 600,000 passengers, with 96 per cent of refund requests since March now having been processed.

The carrier said that it is currently processing all new refunds back to the original form of payment in less than 30 days.

Qatar Airways also said that 36 per cent of passengers had chosen alternatives to refunds, including exchanging tickets for future travel vouchers, or swapping tickets for Q Miles.

At the height of the crisis the airline said it was getting over 10,000 refund requests per day, leading it to increase automation capabilities (allowing customers to request refunds and travel vouchers online), and redeploying staff from other areas of the business including cabin crew and ground services.

Consumers’ association Which? recently reported that several UK airlines are failing to refund passengers in the timesframes agreed with the Civil Aviation Authority, singling out Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and Tui and calling on the government “to give the CAA the clout to effectively hold airlines to account”.

Commenting on the news the group’s CEO Akbar Al Baker said:

“With the impact of Covid-19 on global travel, passengers have had to change their plans at short notice and it has been difficult for them to plan ahead with any certainty. What they want and deserve are flexibility and reliability, and in Qatar Airways we hope they find an airline they can trust.

“The amount we have paid out in refunds has undoubtedly had an impact on our bottom line, but it is our duty to do the right thing by our customers and trade partners and as an airline we are strong enough to mitigate the impact of this.”

Source: https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/08/20/qatar-airways-pays-out-1-2-billion-in-refunds/

 

Weekend air fares to Kenya’s South Coast region have gone up since the resumption of flights last month signalling high demand from passengers seeking to travel to one of favourite tourist destinations as other routes grapple with low numbers

Airlines are charging between Sh8,900 and Sh5,900 for a one way ticket to Ukunda, making it one of the most expensive routes locally.

For instance, Jambojet is charging Sh8,900 for a one way ticket this Friday for a morning flight to Ukunda with only eight seats left, while the midday flight is going at Sh6,900 and the evening one at Sh5,900.

Skyward Express is charging between Sh6,950 and Sh5,950 for a seat to the coastal city with Safarilink asking for Sh6,500 to the same destination.

At this price to Ukunda, the budget carrier is charging more than what Kenya Airways is levying for a one way ticket to Mombasa with a seat going at as low as Sh4,845.

The fares to other destinations such as Eldoret and Kisumu have remained low at Sh4,500 with the North Rift town seeing fares as low as Sh3,900.

Generally air ticket prices in most of the routes have been cheap because of low demand for flying as Kenyans still reel from the effects of the Covid-19.

When the airlines resumed local flights last month, Jambojet on average charged Sh4,800 for a one way ticket to Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu while Fly 540 was charging Sh4,540 on the same routes.

Jambojet said last week it is flying with half seats empty since the resumption of flights on July 15, keeping the prices of air tickets low.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/counties/Weekend-air-fares-rise-on-coast-tourism-demand/4003142-5610270-tiaaie/index.html

 

Kenya is looking beyond the challenges posed by Covid-19 as it seeks to position the country as a top cruise tourism destination globally.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said cruise ship sector will bounce back once Covid-19 pandemic is contained.

Like almost every sector of the economy, tourism has been adversely affected by the effects of the pandemic. Kenya’s Sh1.3 billion cruise ship terminal is lying idle at the Port of Mombasa with six cruise ships which were expected to call this year cancelled due to the disease.

KPA principal communication officer Hajji Masemo said the prospects of the country’s cruise tourism look bright, noting that the agency is collaborating with the Cruise Africa, an association that incorporates the Indian Ocean, to market cruise tourism.

He said for Kenya to tap the full potential of the sector, the Port of Mombasa needs a “home vessel”.

“This means the ship will be domiciled here, start her journeys from Mombasa to other destinations,” he said.

The cruise sector, Mr Masemo added is one of the fastest growing maritime segments in the world.

“It is growing at an average of 20 percent (save for coronavirus times). We are keen to grow this industry as part of exploiting sustainable blue economy,” said Mr Masemo.

Currently, Kenya has more than 400 crew members on aboard vessels globally.

“We are optimistic that despite the pandemic, we can still get cruises to Kenya. But after the pandemic we will have many ships calling at our terminal,” said Mr Masemo.

He spoke after Kenya made its first ship crew change when six Kenyan and a Zimbabwean aboard a Holland America cruise ship arrived in Mombasa after spending six months in the ship due to Covid-19.

The seven disembarked from Ms Westerdam, the Dutch flagged ship at six nautical miles off the Mombasa Port, just a month after Kenya agreed to the new international measures to open up borders to facilitate seafarers’ repatriation.

The seven had to undergo medical checks before they were allowed to disembark from the ship.

Ms Westerdam, one of the Holland America’s largest cruise ship which was sailing from Port Klang, Malaysia had on board about 300 crew from different countries among them Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa which were also in the process of repatriation.

On July Kenya accepted seafarers’ crew change through Port of Mombasa joining other 13 port states in the world.

Kenya Maritime Authority official Luke Samba said the more than 400 Kenyans were aboard different ships when countries locked their borders. Since July, plans to return them home after completing their contracts are underway.

Some 400,000 seafarers are affected on land or on ships with about 10,000 currently trapped onboard ships across the globe due to the continuing imposition of travel restrictions. This is according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). It is said some 200,000 seafarers are urgently waiting to leave their ships since their contracts have expired.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/Kenya-sees-bright-cruise-tourism-prospects/4003122-5610728-po4lgyz/index.html

 

The government has released a list of 130 States exempted from quarantine on arrival in Kenya. 

Some of the countries include; Uganda, US (except California, Florida and Texas), Russia, Turkey, Poland, Rwanda, Cuba and Australia.

Others are: https://katakenya.org/reopening-travel-updates/

 

The list will be reviewed on a regular basis depending on the circumstances on the ground and after a comprehensive global mapping of the intensity of the disease.

All passengers arriving in the country will be required to produce a PCR based Covid-19 certificate whose test should have been done 96 hours before travel.

Kenya uses PCR tests, which directly detect the presence of an antigen, rather than the presence of the body’s immune response, or antibodies.

Some countries use antibody tests which check the blood by looking for antibodies, which may tell if one had a past infection with the virus that causes Covid-19.

Transport CS James Macharia had earlier said passengers traveling out of the country will be required to abide by Covid-19 requirements of destination countries and before boarding, airline operators are under firm instructions to check compliance.

“Passengers arriving after curfew hours shall be allowed to proceed to their hotels but must have a valid passport and boarding pass,” he said.

 

Source: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-08-19-kenya-releases-list-of-130-countries-exempted-from-quarantine/

 

Emirates Airline has announced it will increase its passenger services to Nairobi to daily starting August 17.

The expanded schedule will offer enhanced connectivity for Kenyan customers to Emirates’ growing destination network via Dubai.

Emirates will operate its modern Boeing 777-300ER’s between Nairobi and Dubai on flights departing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

In a statement on Thursday, Emirates said customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors.

It noted that visitors to Dubai should hold an international travel insurance policy covering Covid-19 for the duration of their stay.

Travel restrictions

Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries. 

Last month, the airline said it will cover medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 (Sh18.7m) and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day for 14 days, should a customer be diagnosed with Covid-19 during their travel, while they are away from home.

This cover is provided by the airline, free of cost to its customers regardless of class of travel or destination.

This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until October 31, 2020 (with the first flight to be completed on or before 31 October 2020).

It is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey.

This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onward to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination.

 

Source: https://www.the-star.co.ke/business/2020-08-13-emirates-airline-to-increase-daily-flights-to-kenya/

 

Immigration authorities have put in place high safety standards at Dubai airports.

Tourists and visitors to Dubai will receive a special sticker on their passports that will read ‘A warm welcome to your second home.’

As Dubai prepares to welcome tourists from July 7 onwards, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) has launched the special sticker to make tourists feel at home in the emirate. The immigration authorities have also put in place high safety standards at all Dubai airports, Dubai Media Office tweeted.

How foreign tourists in Dubai can avoid Covid-19 quarantine

 

Visitors are advised to undergo a PCR test with a maximum validity of four days (96 hours) ahead of the date of departure to prove that they are Covid-negative. Tourists with Covid-negative certificates may enter Dubai and explore the city without having to undergo a quarantine or isolation period.

Dubai airports gear up to welcome tourists

If visitors cannot provide proof, they will need to undergo a PCR test once they land at the Dubai airport. Visitors and tourists must hold a valid health insurance before entering the country. It is also mandatory to fill the ‘Health Declaration Form’ prior to embarking upon the journey.

Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai/special-passport-stickers-to-welcome-tourists-to-dubai–

Imagine Mr. Ronald walks into a travel agency with a special request: He urgently needs to go to Japan for business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To visit his company’s plants in the various Japanese cities, he will need to take many different flights on board various airlines in Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. A trip of this nature could pose a challenge for any travel agent! While it is not a problem to find and book available flights in the GDS, issuing the tickets might be a different story as many of these airlines may not be connected to their local payment system (BSP). Often, local airlines are not even participating in the GDS and therefore, their flight schedules, routes and prices are not visible. Is there a simple and time-efficient solution to find the best travel plan for this client? 

This is a perfect example of how Hahn Air provides a “win-win-win” solution to travel agents, airlines and customers. The number one ticketing expert has been offering support with its services for more than 20 years. There is a reason why over 100,000 agencies in 190 markets and more than 350 partner airlines trust in Hahn Air’s services.

Simplicity is key

If travel agents cannot issue an airline ticket after completing a booking, they can simply select Hahn Air as the validating carrier and issue the flight on the Hahn Air HR-169 ticket. Why? Because Hahn Air is an IATA airline with an unparalleled network of partner airlines. It has been specialising in distribution services for other airlines since 1999; its partner carriers can make their flights available to travel agents via its leading ticketing database. With over 350 carriers to choose from, there are plenty of options, even when planning a complicated trip around the world.

Unparalleled network

Hahn Air has even more to offer. With its H1-Air and X1-Air products, it connects travel agents with airlines that would normally not be available in the GDS at all. Under the codes H1 and X1, travel agents can find the services of 90 additional airlines that typically do not have a GDS contract of their own. They can simply be issued on the HR-169 ticket as well.

The Hahn Air Quick Check

With all the choices available, there is a very easy way to find out which carriers or a combination of carriers can be issued on the Hahn Air HR-169 ticket in each market. Travel agents can simply use the Quick Check tool on www.hahnair.com.

Round the clock support

Travel agents today face a lot of complexity when booking a ticket. Whether it is an issue with the GDS or a question about the airline’s services, the Hahn Air Service Desk offers support with all ticketing enquiries 24 hours a day and seven days a week at service@hahnair.com.

Free insolvency protection

Now, imagine that the customer has received his travel plan. With the HR-169 ticket, he can rest assured that even in the event that one of the carriers becomes insolvent, he will get his money back for the unused part of the ticket. Why? Because Hahn Air is the only provider in the industry to offer complimentary ticket protection. Since the introduction of Securtix^® in 2010, over 41 Million passengers have enjoyed the security of Hahn Air’s insolvency protection.  

More than a ticket

In the end, Mr. Ronald will enjoy a smooth trip. He might not even be aware that his journey is facilitated through Hahn Air – just like the millions of passengers that travel with the HR-169 document. “We are strictly a B2B company and do not target travellers directly”, says Candy Kasonkomona, Regional Vice President Southern, Eastern & Central West Africa, Agency Distribution. “However, for Hahn Air’s travel agent partners, we hope that our services make all the difference in the world.”

To learn more about Hahn Air’s products and services, KATA members will join Kimberley Long, Vice President Agency Distribution and Candy Kasonkomona, Regional Vice President Southern, Eastern & Central West Africa, Agency Distribution on Tuesday, August 18^th 2020 in an exclusive KATA Online Industry Meeting.

 

Budget carrier Jambojet has received approval to fly between cities in Kenya without stopping at its hub in Nairobi and also expand into cargo business.

The carrier had sought permission from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to fly directly from Mombasa to Kisumu and from Kisumu to Eldoret- Malindi-Lamu without stopping in Nairobi.

Jambojet acting chief executive officer Ndegwa Karanja said they sought permission to carry conventional cargo within and outside the country where the carrier currently flies.

“With the approval we shall now do conventional cargo that will basically involve the belly freight as at the moment we are not in position to acquire a dedicated cargo flight,” said Mr Ndegwa.

The carrier is also seeking permission to expand its existing international destinations from where they fly at the moment and they have got approval from the regulator to fly directly from Mombasa-Kigali-Mombasa, Mombasa-Entebbe-Mombasa and Mombasa- Dar es Salaam-Mombasa.

Other international routes include Mombasa- Dar es Salaam- Zanzibar-Mombasa, JKIA-Entebbe—Goma-Entebbe-JKIA and JKIA-Kigali-Bujumbura-JKIA.

KCAA had sought public opinion in June before giving approval to Jambojet, which at the moment flies to two international routes in Kigali and Entebbe.

The approval comes at a time when the aviation industry is in turmoil following the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 that saw airlines around the world grounded.

The flights have resumed but Jambojet is yet to start international flights because of strict health guidelines issued by Rwanda and Uganda.

Mr Ndegwa said that apart from the stringent measures, the demand for flying is still low at the moment.

“We have not yet made a decision on when to resume international flights as the demand has remained low since the services resumed,” he said.

The carrier has been expanding its fleet and last year acquired four new aircraft as it sought to expand to regional countries.

The airline will use aircraft B737, implying that the carrier plans to acquire a new high capacity aircraft for regional routes. It will also deploy DHC8 and ATR72 based at the JKIA and Mombasa, as some of its airplanes based at the coastal city.

The Nairobi- Kigali route began in November last year while the Entebbe route started in 2018.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Jambojet-gets-nod-for-direct-Kisumu-to-Mombasa-flights/4003102-5606456-bebva7/index.html