Kenya airways to start direct flights

Kenya Airways has confirmed it will launch flights to the Indian capital city of New Delhi from May 15th 2012. The service, which will depart from Nairobi, marks Kenya Airways’ 57 global destination and second in India. The launch of this new route highlights the airline’s efforts to provide seamless travel and accessibility to travellers from Africa to Indian subcontinent and vice versa. The new route highlights Kenya Airways ambitious growth plans to expand its network as part of its ten year growth strategy. “New Delhi is the second city after Mumbai that we will be flying to India, we intend to open four more destinations in the sub continent as part of our ten year expansion strategy,” said Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways chief executive. Naikuni noted the destination has great business prospects as New Delhi is one of the largest cities in India, and the most preferred city in terms of information technology, investments, healthcare and government relations. India’s economic growth has averaged around seven per cent each year since 1997, making it one of the world’s largest emerging markets. According to industry forecasts, traffic flows between sub-Saharan Africa and India are expected to grow at a rate of 7.1 per cent per annum over the next decade. Kenya Airways remains the fastest growing airline in the continent and is pursuing a network expansion strategy that targets to link all African countries with the world, making it the airline of choice for travellers in the continent. India has been aggressively promoting trade with Africa as it seeks to gain access to the continent’s emerging markets. The new route to Delhi seeks to expand and promote the bilateral and commercial relations between India and the African region.