17 January 2007, by Elly Wamari in Nairobi, Kenya. A flourishing air transport sub-sector in Kenya just got an international boost, thanks to the entry of a UK business into ownership stakes. Lonrho Africa, whose investments across the continent are mostly in hotels and lodges, recently acquired a 49 percent ownership of a fledgling domestic airline company called Five Forty Aviation. The new airline is being marketed under the banner Fly540, and that, therefore, is the title it is more commonly known by.
With Lonrho Africa pumping in about US$1.5 million into the company"s coffers to gain the part ownership, Fly540, which is being touted as a "low-cost" airline, just got a boost to hoist it a little higher for a foreseeable tough competition with the imposing Kenya Airways.
The latter is Kenya"s flagship airline company, and one of the largest in Africa. It has actually been voted the best airline in Africa several times over the past years, boosting its image. Internationally, Kenya Airways enjoys a partnership with the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM).
With such a solid base, Kenya Airways undoubtedly reaps the biggest share of the estimated US$72 million annual worth of the domestic air transport business. The entry of Fly540 into the country"s air ways is accordingly a bold effort, given the goodwill that Kenya Airways has earned over the decades it has been in operation.
That is possibly the reason Fly540 comes in as a "low-cost" alternative. The company wants to make an impression on potential airline consumers, who have been kept off flying between the country"s major cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu because of not so low air fares.
Fly540 begins its operations during a peak season, and also on the most lucrative route, which is Nairobi to Mombasa. The timing gives it a good start because it serves well for getting the attention of a high number of consumers.
Flights to Malindi, also a tourist attraction alongside Mombasa on Kenya"s coastline, and to Kisumu town by the shores of Lake Victoria (Africa"s largest lake, and the second largest in the world) are also on the agenda of Fly540. The ambitious company is also targeting destinations within the larger East Africa region in the New Year, before flying across towards West Africa.