National airline Kenya Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Delta Airlines on the Nairobi-New York route, in a bid to improve connectivity to US and Canada.
The codeshare partnership will see travellers on board the Nairobi-New York direct flight access 11 US cities and four Canadian cities using Delta Airlines, providing more connectivity and efficiency.
“As part of our commitment to the New York route, we are proud to be a part of this partnership that will open up opportunities for our customers to access more destinations in North America through the John F. Kennedy Airport,” KQ chief executive Sebastian Mikosz said.
In October 2018, Kenya Airways launched a direct flight from Nairobi to New York, opening up opportunities for both business and leisure travellers.
According to the Central Bank, KQ flew 28,000 passengers on the route within the first two months of operation, with a target of 99,000 passengers before the end of 2019.
At the beginning of the year, KQ had to cut the initial seven weekly flights to five due to less travel registered in the winter season.
The airline will resume its seven weekly Nairobi-New York flights in June to take advantage of peak travel season over the summer.
Last month KQ partnered with Alitalia in a similar codeshare agreement expected to take effect beginning June.
Kenya Airways will expand its offer to Italy and Europe by placing its ‘KQ’ flight code on Alitalia’s services from Rome to 16 Italian domestic destinations and to 9 international destinations.
The agreement will also see apply its ‘AZ’ code on services operated by Kenya Airways beyond Nairobi to a further 19 African destinations.
