► KENYA: Kenya Airways' LCC, Jambo Jet, to launch in 1Q 2014 - Naikuni.

Dr Titus Naikuni, the Managing Director of Kenya Airways (KQ), has announced that his airline's Low Cost subsidiary, Jambo Jet, will be operational during the first quarter of 2014. The news comes after Willem Hondius, a former executive with Dutch LCC Transavia, was recently appointed CEO of the startup.

Patrick Mutzenberg

Quoted by Kenya's CapitalFM during the airline's AGM in Nairobi, Dr Naikuni said JamboJet would source its fleet from Kenya Airways (ch-aviation lists them as B737-300s) before new equipment was acquired.

“We will be targeting a market in Kenya. We will be targeting Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret as the demand and infrastructure grows,” he said.

On Kenya Airways' financial performance for the upcoming year, in light of its net loss of USD92million (KES7.86billion) for its 2012/13 Financial Year, Dr Naikuni said he was confident that the airline would post a profit this year on the back of recently introduced cost cutting measures as well as newer aircraft whose improved fuel efficiency had led to a reduction in the airline's fuel bill.

“Revenues have improved and costs have gone down in this five months of the 2014 financial year attributed to the new Embraers which are more fuel efficient compared to the older 737s,” he said.

In light of the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport fire and the recent Al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall in the capital, Dr Naikuni said business had not yet been adversely affected and advised the international community not to issue travel advisories against travel to Kenya.