Aviation firm Renegade Air Limited is set to start direct flights to Kisumu next month, stepping up competition for passengers on the route that is also served by carriers such as Kenya Airways’ Jambojet, Safarilink, 748 Air Services and Fly540.
The company that currently operates flights to Wajir said the new service to Kisumu will originate from Wilson Airport in Nairobi two times per day.
Passengers on the two routes will pay on average Sh5,000 on a one-way air ticket – which is relatively lower compared to its competitors on the route.
Budget carrier Jambojet charges up to Sh10,000 to carry passengers on the Nairobi–Kisumu route while 748 Air Services charges Sh5,800.
“We are set to launch scheduled passenger flights to Kisumu from Wilson Airport in Nairobi on August 26,2021” the airline’s sales and marketing manager Patrick Oketch told the Business Daily in an interview yesterday.
"The launch of our operations on the Kisumu route coincides with our renewed expansion plans across the country."
The carrier, he said will deploy a Dash8-Q300 type of aircraft on the route.
The flight types can carry up to 50 passengers on a single trip.
“This is also an opportunity for us to promote tourism in the counties," said Mr Oketch.
The airline that mainly operates charter services and cargo is planning to launch Kisumu flights few years after it started passenger flights to Wajir from its hub in Nairobi.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) first awarded the little known carrier a three-year service license in 2015 to operate 10 prime routes.The agency said then that the airline had been cleared to operate on routes connecting Nairobi to main business and tourism destinations including Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Malindi, Lokichogio, Kigali, Marsabit, Loyengalani, Ileret, Kapese and Nariokotome.The airline was also cleared to conduct aerial work services in Kenya and the rest of Africa using a range of aircrafts based at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
