A Safarilink charter plane at the Ukunda airstrip. File Photo | Gideon Maundu | NMG Domestic airfares from Nairobi have plunged to a low of Sh2,800 one way as demand for flying falls after a rush during Christmas week that saw tickets hit Sh16,000.
Local carriers cut ticket prices in line with the fall in the number of travellers leaving the city after Boxing Day, offering relief to passengers and losses to airlines that looked forward to a Christmas boom after being ravaged by Covid-19.
Jambojet charged as low as Sh2,800 for a one-way ticket to Kisumu on a 6am flight on Monday, almost matching public service vans that charged Sh2,500 from the capital to the lakeside town.
Safarilink chief executive officer Alex Avedi said the low tickets are to encourage travellers to make post-Christmas travel to different destinations.
“This is a way of encouraging post-Christmas travel by offering promotional rates to different routes in the country, but again, fares are demand-driven and the low price tickets simply means that passenger numbers have gone down,” said Mr Avedi.
Kisumu and Mombasa are now the premium routes following the collapse of travel to Kenya’s national parks and reserves on reduced number of tourists.
This year, the coronavirus outbreak has brought adventures in Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti to a halt.
Airlines reckon that demand for travel during Christmas failed to match last year’s in an economic setting marked by layoffs, job cuts and business closures.
Domestic carriers resumed flights in mid-July after the government cleared travel while international flights were restarted on August 1.
The Sh2,800 air ticket to Kisumu from Nairobi is a significant drop from Sh15,100 that budget carrier Jambojet charged for a one-way ticket to the lakeside city on the eve of Christmas.
Jambojet will charge Sh5,100 one way to Kisumu today (Tuesday) highlighting low demand for air travel after the Christmas season on a route that witnessed high bookings last week.Passengers travelling on Kenya Airways will pay Sh4,850 for one way to Kisumu on Thursday with fares declining further on Friday this week with tickets set at Sh3,930 to the same destination on selected flights.Nairobi to Mombasa route, which saw high demand for passengers on Christmas eve, with fares soaring to high of Sh16,100, has also been hit by low travel.Fares dropped hit low as Sh5,000 for a single ticket.Local tourists thronged the palm-fringed beaches in Mombasa where they were also attracted by discounts on […]