DOES UPCOMING COMPETITION DRIVE KENYA’S LCC’S TO BECOME MORE USERFRIENDLY?
(Posted 29th December 2015)
Jambojet’s CEO Willem Hondius earlier in the week confirmed that the airline was considering the launch of a more flexible fare structure, building on the present single fare which includes one piece of hand baggage of fixed dimensions and a system allocated seat. The fare depends on the time of booking, normally the cheapest available at Kenya Shillings 2.950 but rises to nearly full fare levels other full service airlines charge when booked on the day of departure. Passengers who want a specific seat will pay a further 410 to 580 Kenya Shillings, depending on where the choice seat is located and checked baggage too attracts additional fees. No free snacks or drinks are provided on board and such services are only available against cash payment.
Rebooking prior to departure too attracts a significant added charge while a no show by the passengers means that s/he have to purchase a new ticket no matter the circumstances, something which has in the past caused major complaints when a flight into Nairobi for instance was late making passengers miss their onward Jambojet flight to other destinations within Kenya.
The new added fare structure Jambojet is considering reportedly includes a more flexible fare, of course higher than the base fare, to allow in particular regular business travelers greater freedom to rebook in case of the need to stay longer than initially planned.
Jambojet is a subsidiary of national airline Kenya Airways and has recently reported a profit of Kenya Shillings 57 million for the first six months of this financial year. The airline presently serves Kisumu, Eldoret, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa and Ukunda with a mixed fleet of two leased Bombardier Q400NextGen’s and two Boeing B737-300 aircraft leased from parent corporation Kenya Airways.
The granting of an Air Service License to Fastjet PLC’s Kenyan franchise operation has rattled local LCC’s and hybrids in Kenya. So has the start of flights by Fastjet Tanzania from Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro to Nairobi – flights from Zanzibar to Nairobi and from Dar es Salaam to Mombasa are reportedly following soon after the inaugural service on the 11th of January – as this is the first time another LCC is entering the Kenyan market. ‘When Fastjet starts their flights from Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenyans for the first time can get an experience with them. They will not only look at the fares but also at seat comfort and punctuality. If Fastjet manages to get a good market share between Tanzania and Kenya it will help them to become popular with our travellers by word of mouth. Then, when they get their AOC in Kenya, they can already capitalize on brand recognition. The challenge I see for them are the routes they were given. Their fleet aircraft is an Airbus A319. Even Jambojet with their Boeing B737-300, which has almost the same number of seats, found it difficult to fill that aircraft on the routes to Eldoret and Kisumu. They tried to combine the two destinations and you remember the complaints. Now they use a turboprop which is the right size similar to smaller jets used by other so called LCC’s like the CRJ’. I know that they are flying five times a day from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza and twice a day to Mbeya but there the market may be bigger. Here in Kenya is the market for Eldoret and Kisumu still a bit low compared to Mombasa. I guess it will depend on their fares when they launch in Kenya but I still think their A319, while ok for Nairobi to Mombasa, will pose issues on some of the other routes which KCAA gave them’ said a regular aviation source from Nairobi with insight into the market like few others.
One thing is for certain though that as and when Fastjet attains their AOC in Kenya and has launched flights from Tanzania to Kenya, will reshuffle the deck of cards substantially for the Kenyan aviation industry. Already have airlines reacted and introduced new lower fares on the route between Dar es Salaam and Nairobi ahead of the Fastjet launch on the 11th of January 2016. A similar trend is expected for routes within Kenya and the talk about a new fare structure is no doubt already eying the upcoming competition and paving the way to stay in the air by meeting passengers expectations and demands.
