Nairobi, KENYA: National carrier Kenya Airways commonly referred to as KQ has introduced daily non-stop flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
Passengers on Thursday were given the opportunity to book the airlines maiden flight that is scheduled to officially start operating on 28th October 2017.
The flights that will last for 15 hours are scheduled to depart Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 10:25 pm every day and arrive at 6:25 am in New York, US.
This is a reduction from the current flight time of over 22 hours, including lengthy layovers at Amsterdam and London.
A look at KQ website shows that the current booking rates as of 11th January 2018, the flight goes for about $989 (sh. 101,960.96) for economy flex starting October 28th, 2018.
Each trip will have 4 pilots, 12 flight attendants, a maximum of 234 passengers – 204 in Economy and the rest in Business Class of KQ’s Dreamliner aircraft.
The direct flights are expected to boost Kenya’s tourism.
According to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) data about 100,000 tourists from the US (for leisure and business) visit Kenya every year, making the US Kenya’s largest source market for tourists.
Kenya recently implemented a raft of recommendations by the US government to enhance security, among them separation of passenger arrival and departure terminals, clearing the flight path and fencing off the airport.
Last year February, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave Kenya the Category One rating, paving the way for direct flights subject to other permits being received by the airport and KQ.
The move by KQ comes as it’s subsidiary Budget airline Jambojet increased its flights from Nairobi to Mombasa from 22 to 39 flights per week.
