The budget carrier has put its international expansion plans on hold at the moment.
Kenya’s low-cost regional airline Jambojet will prioritize local routes for the time being as it looks to consolidate business within the country before expanding internationally. The airline had to suspend some of its international flights during COVID and has no immediate plans of deploying its aircraft to overseas destinations on a large scale.
Focus on the domestic market
Jambojet does not plan to add any new international routes this year and wants to focus on growing its business within the Kenyan market. Business Daily Africa reports that the budget carrier has no plans to launch new international routes for the remainder of the year.
Jambojet’s Chief Executive Officer Karanja Ndegwa commented, “No additional for the year, the rest (routes) are long-term of two to three years, for now we are focusing on growing internally.”
Jambojet was launched in 2014 as a low-cost subsidiary of Kenya Airways and is headquartered in Nairobi. It operates in seven cities in Kenya, with its destinations out of Nairobi including regional centers such as Mombasa, Malindi, Kisumu, and Lamu.
Earlier this month, the carrier increased the number of flights to Mombasa, Malindi, Eldoret, Kisumu, and Ukunda, following high demand ahead of the Easter holiday.
At the moment, the only international destination where Jambojet deploys its aircraft is the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. As per ch-aviation, the carrier operates six DCH-8-400 aircraft with an average age of four years.
International expansion on hold
Jambojet had to scale back international operations significantly at the height of the COVID -19 pandemic. It stopped flying to Entebbe and Kigali in 2021 and does not plan to resume these services anytime soon.
Entebbe started out as a profitable route for the carrier, witnessing more than 17% growth in 2019 since its launch in February 2018. However, with increasing border restrictions during COVID -19, coupled with extremely low demand, Entebbe became a casualty of the pandemic.
Another route in the pipeline for the carrier is to Dar es Salaam. Last year, Kenya and Tanzania entered into an agreement to boost trade between the two countries, paving the way for Jambojet to start flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
However, the plan is currently in the doldrums, with Ndegwa adding that some issues need to be ironed out before the carrier is ready to start the service.
Goma receives love
One exception to Jambojet’s international operations is Goma. The airline started services to the DRC city in September last year with two flights a week, eventually increasing to three.
To meet the rising demand, Jambojet recently announced that it will further increase its frequency to Goma to four a week in June, stepping up competition with carriers such as RwandaAir that operates on the route.
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