African low-cost airline Fastjet is set to launch flights between Tanzania and Kenya next month after securing clearance from the Kenyan government.
The carrier plans to begin daily routes between Dar es Salaam and Nairobi and Kilimanjaro to Nairobi from January 11 – one-way fares start from $50 excluding tax. Fastjet also wants to add services between Zanzibar and Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and Mombasa later next year.
Fastjet CEO Ed Winter hailed the announcement of services to Kenya as “an important milestone” in the Tanzania-based airline’s development.
“Nairobi and Dar es Salaam are not only key travel destinations, and two of the busiest airports in the region, but also hubs with extensive regional and international networks,” he said.
“Expanding the network into Kenya marks an important milestone in Fastjet’s strategic development and is a significant achievement for the company, its staff and shareholders.”
Fastjet is confident it can expand further in 2016 as it expects to receive international route approvals in Zimbabwe “very soon” which will allow the creation of a network from the country. While the application for an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in Zambia is also due to be completed in early 2016.
Less positively, Fastjet has admitted that its revenues for both 2015 and 2016 are likely to be “lower than anticipated” due to “current challenging market conditions and currency headwinds”.
The airline said that the prolonged presidential election in Tanzania had reduced the demand for business travel by government workers and civil servants, but it was “proactively taking steps to manage” operating costs and overheads to cope with this downturn.
“The company remains confident that these actions will ensure it continues to be well placed to capture the significant growth potential in the African aviation market,” added Fastjet in a trading statement to investors.
“The board believes 2016 will be a year of network growth and that the group is expected to be cash flow positive for the next financial year.”