SAFARILINK TURNS 9 AMID GREAT PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
When Safarilink started operations in January 2004, a total of 7 staff worked with CEO John Buckley, including Anu Vohora who was tasked with selling and marketing the new airline’s services.
That month Safarilink flew 29 passengers with two leased aircraft but 9 years down the line and going into the 10th anniversary year, it is a very different picture. John now has 77 staff to look after, Anu still being at the core of things as it was 9 years ago, the fleet grew to 11, mostly owned state of the art planes ranging from 13 to 37 seats, and in a busy months Safarilink carries up to 13.000 passengers from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the national parks and the Kenya coast, in scheduled and charter operations.
It is little surprise that Safarilink is today recognized as the leading safari airline in Kenya, safe, reliable and punctual, connecting tourists from around the world to, from and in between the country’s key national parks. Operating out of the ALS building where not only the offices are located but check in counters and a cafeteria too, passengers are checked in there before being transported to the KCAA security checkpoint from where all passengers are now being processed.
Being the first scheduled safari airline in East Africa to go carbon neutral, Safarilink in addition to their extensive tree planning programme with the Bill Woodley Mt. Kenya Trust supports the Colobus Trust in Diani where for every passenger flown to Ukunda a donation is given to the trust to continue with their work to protect the habitat of the various troops of Colobus monkeys residing in the remaining patches of coastal rainforest along this stretch of beach. The same support is extended to the Lewa Downs Wildlife Conservancy where again, for every passenger a donation is given to the conservancy for their day to day work. These and other one off support to conservation has earned Safarilink the EcoTourism Society of Kenya’s Eco Warrior Award for the third year running in late 2012, received by both John and Anu as shown in the picture below. Happy 9th and continued Happy Landings.
