Germany carrier–Lufthansa will increase its frequencies to Nairobi, becoming the latest major European airline to identify Kenya’s capital as a major route in post-pandemic recovery.
In what it terms “positive booking trends’ Lufthansa Group now says it will effective June 3, expand its current connection from Frankfurt, Germany into Nairobi for the summer flight schedule from five to seven weekly flights.
The additional flights will arrive from Frankfurt in Nairobi at 20:30 on a daily basis while the returning flight will depart each evening from Nairobi at 22:25 (local time).
Kenya's tourism sector is also set to continue reaping from direct leisure flights from Germany, as the group moves to maintain the four weekly flights between Frankfurt and Mombasa for the summer flight plan operated by the its leisure carrier– Eurowings Discover.
This brings the total capacity offered between Kenya and Germany to eleven weekly flights.
Lufthansa Group has had a strong commercial focus on leisure destinations in the region and already offers three East African destinations through its Eurowings Discover network: Mombasa, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.
The latest developments come as Lufthansa re-affirms its commitment to East Africa, by relocating the commercial responsibility for the passenger business back to Kenya.
Lufthansa Group has appointed Kevin Markette as the new General Manager for the East African region, effective March 1.
This encompasses Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya.
“With his position and team permanently based in Nairobi, he will be able to better focus on the needs of our local customers and through a physical presence in the region be closer to the market,” the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.
Markette succeeds André Schulz, who has been appointed Head of Region Middle East, Africa, South Asia & CIS at Lufthansa Cargo.
In his new function, Markette reports to Philippe Saeys-Desmedt, Senior Director of Sales Sub-Sahara Africa, Lufthansa Group.
“We draw upon Kevin’s vast global experience, including that on the African continent to enhance our market position. Seated in Nairobi, he will quickly forge new relationships in the region,” said Philippe Saeys-Desmedt, Senior Director of Sales Sub-Sahara Africa, Lufthansa Group.
He previously headed several teams within the sales and customer servicing organisation of the Lufthansa Group across various cities, including New York, Atlanta, Accra, Dubai, Lagos, Karachi and Johannesburg.
"East Africa is undoubtedly one of the most important markets for us on the continent, and our booking figures reflect that the region is particularly popular with holidaymakers from Germany and abroad," Markette said.
Lufthansa’s move comes as global travel continues its recovery in the post-pandemic era, with the increasing demand for further capacity being felt throughout various markets worldwide.
Last month, Air France KLM announced plans to expand its frequency by introducing new routes, with Nairobi among key destinations.
Air France KLM Group projects that it will register at least 16 per cent more seats than in 2022 in terms of capacity in East Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana.
This is back to the 2019 level when the pandemic hit the aviation sector.
In Kenya, the airline is projected to register 19 per cent more seats than in 2022.
This return to the pre-pandemic ambition is attributed to increased business travel post the August 2022 general elections and renewed interest in Kenya as a destination.
“Kenya and the region remain a top priority of our network,” KLM general manager, East and Southern Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana, Marius van der Ham said.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects a return to profitability for the global airline industry in 2023, as airlines continue to cut losses stemming from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to their business in 2022.
In 2023, airlines are expected to post a small net profit of $4.7 billion (Sh613.4 billion)-a 0.6 per cent net profit margin. It is the first profit since 2019 when industry net profits were $26.4 billion (Sh3.44trillion).
In 2022, airline net losses are expected to be $6.9 billion (Sh900.4 billion), an improvement on the $9.7 billion (Sh1.26 trillion) loss for 2022 in IATA’s June outlook.
This is significantly better than losses of $42 billion (Sh5.5 trillion) and $137.7 billion (Sh17.9 trillion) that were realised in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
