Nairobi is to become Virgin Atlantic”s fourth African destination with the launch of a daily service on 1 June 2007. The route will be operated by an Airbus A340-300 with 34 Upper Class, 35 Premium Economy and 171 economy seats.
Virgin Atlantic chairman Sir Richard Branson commented: ”Around 500,000 people fly to Nairobi each year to enjoy the beautiful Kenyan scenery and wildlife it has to offer at its outstanding game reserves with large numbers of passengers also flying to and from America, via London. It is also the leading hub providing a gateway for the whole of East Africa and the Indian Ocean. Nairobi is an important city in its own right with many international institutions based there.”
Kenya Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife”s permanent secretary Madame Rebecca Nabutola said in response: ”Virgin Atlantic is an airline we have actively pursued for the past few years to begin flights to Kenya and we are overjoyed with their decision to add Nairobi to their route schedule. Virgin Atlantic”s quality, high standards and distinction as one of the world”s premier airlines is what we have been pursuing and we know that they will build not only the visitor travel to Kenya but also the business travel sector from the UK and North America.”
Kenya Tourist Board”s managing director Dr Ongong”a Achieng added: ”This announcement by Virgin Atlantic is great news for Kenya”s tourism. In the last few years we have focused on delivering quality to travellers to Kenya and Virgin Atlantic is a key component in this initiative. We have seen significant increases in the demand for Kenya in Europe and North America and this is great news for those markets, which we are sure will be flying Virgin Atlantic in droves.”
2007 will also see new Virgin Atlantic routes to Chicago (April) and Mauritius (October) bringing its total destination up to 27.