Jambojet to buy four aircrafts for new expansion

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Jambojet, a low-cost subsidiary of Kenya Airways, plans to buy four aircrafts in the next 18 months to support its local and regional expansions.

The airline’s CEO Willem Hondius said during the carrier’s maiden international flight to Entebbe on Feb 15 that they expect delivery of two used Bombardier Q400 aircrafts in June and two new ones next year.

He said the Kenyan government, on Jambojet’s behalf, has already applied for rights for the carrier to fly to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Congo, Tanzania and Burundi.

“The applications were made in October last year and we are hopeful that by the end of the year we shall have started flights to at least two of these countries,” he said.

“To expand, we need to increase our capacity. We shall therefore get four more aircraft by early next year, increasing our fleet size to eight.”

One way ticket to between Nairobi and Entebbe has been priced at Shs 400,000 subject to revision in future. Hondius said they are considering two options to acquire the planes since the business does not have enough cash for outright purchases.

This development comes nearly two years since Jambojet was granted regulatory approval to fly to 16 routes including Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba and Bujumbura.