Kenya Airway’s direct flight from Nairobi to New York is eagerly awaited, as it is set to increase economic growth for the East African region and entertainment industry.
KQ will have the inaugural flight on Sunday to John F Kennedy International Airport. This follows Kenya’s approval for Category One status by the US Federal Aviation Administration in April 2017, and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s elevation to the status of a Last Point of Departure.
The flight is expected to boost the country’s trade and tourism industries, with entertainment, which is currently gaining recognition from American artistes, expected to create more revenue to the organisers.
The country has seen hundreds of entertainment events with US-origin artistes, attracting revellers and people from East Africa and across the continent.
Thousands of revellers flocked Mombasa Golf Club on October 9 2016 for a thrilling performance from renowned RnB singer Chris Brown.
The fans came from as far as Nairobi, Uganda and Tanzania, and paid Sh10,000 as minimum entrance fee and Sh50,000 for VIP seats for a 90-minute performance.
MUSIC INDUSTRY DELIGHT
Events Managers Association of Kenya board member Chris Kirwa says it has always been an expensive affair to fly artistes, especially jazz instrumentalists, when one has to cater for flight charges from their respective states.
“As an organiser, you book a flight connecting Washington DC to Amsterdam then to Dubai before getting to Kenya. Sometimes it’s through Texas to New York then Qatar, taking more than 20 hours,” Kirwa said.
“It causes jet lag in a person, yet they have to perform in hours. I hope it will make everything easier now.”
KQ will deploy a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which has the capacity to carry up to 234 passengers in a three-class seating configuration.
Kirwa called upon the national carrier to woo travellers to use the airline even after the inaugural flight.
“Some artistes specify the airline, class, even calling to have a seat close to the window under technical rider. We hope they will prefer to use KQ now,” he said.
Renowned hip hop music artiste Rick Ross performed in April 28 at the Carnivore in an event organised by NRG Wave.
In August 4, Kenyans also enjoyed an amazing time after six international acts performed for the Terminal Music Weekend at the KICC. The event was named “Terminal” as its aim is to bring people together from all walks of life, just like an airport terminal.
It marked the biggest music weekend ever held in Nairobi, and featured Keri Hilson, Bobby V and Horace Brown, alongside local talents Habida, Sage and June Gachui on the first day.
Big Shaq, WSTRN and Big Tobz, alongside local talents Khaligraph Jones, Steph Kapella and Shukid performed on the second day.
Organisers plan to hold the Terminal Music Weekend every year, bringing international acts and making it a game changer in the Kenyan entertainment industry.
IMPORTANCE OF AMERICA
For the tourism sector, the direct flights are expected to have Kenya in Americans’ bucket list and increase the number of tourists by 50 per cent to 169,364 in June 2019.
The US is currently one of the world’s best-performing outbound markets, according to World Travel Monitor.
A report by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation also indicates that the US is the world’s second-largest tourism source market after China, with a strong outbound demand fuelled by shown resilience in strong economy, which has increased the purchasing power of travellers.
Tourism CS Najib Balala says the US is Kenya’s top and best-performing tourism source market, accounting for nearly 12 per cent of total international arrivals in Kenya in 2017.
Tourist arrivals from the market have grown by 17 per cent from 97,883 in 2016 to 114,507 in 2017. The sector is aiming to increase the number of tourists from US by 50 per cent to 169,364 in June 2019.
In 2017, tourism expenditure from the US increased by 9 per cent to reach Sh13.5 trillion, which is Sh1.2 trillion more compared to 2016.
Previously, tourists from North and South America would connect to Kenya and Africa through Europe.
Kenya Tourism Board now anticipates selling Kenya as a more accessible destination for tourists from the Americas, as the direct flight to Nairobi will be seven hours down from the previous duration of approximately 24 hours. The journey will take 15 hours duration eastbound and 14 hours westbound.
“We hope the reduced travel time will make Kenya the preferred long-haul tourism destination and increase tourist arrivals from the US into Kenya,” Balala said in a statement to the Star.
Balala said KTB has made priority products to be promoted in the US market. These include wildlife and safari, adventure, culture and heritage and special occasions, such as anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, among other top and signature experiences that Kenya has to offer.
KTB seeks to leverage on themed social media campaigns with specialised tour operators to push conversation around adventure, culture and eco-tourism.
It is also pursuing partnerships with East Coast-based tour operators in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford and Kenya Airways.
“KTB has also been conducting roadshows to enhance the competitive positioning of Kenya’s portfolio in the US and Canada distribution channels,” he added.
DOOR TO E AFRICA
The direct flights will also open up the East Africa region, with travellers from Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Mauritius, Rwanda and Ethiopia accessing the US through Nairobi.
Kenya Airways already flies to Africa, Europe, Middle East, Indian sub-continent and Asia. Apart from raising Kenya’s global profile as a travel destination for tourists and business people, it is expected to increase the number of international organisations choosing to set a hub in Africa.
Already, there are 48 American multinationals and global organisations with regional centres in Nairobi. These include the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Google, IBM, General Electric and Pfizer.
The flight is also expected to have a direct impact on the Kenyan economy, from generating direct and indirect employment opportunities through trade.
Direct cargo shipment is set to begin on December 1, after the aircrafts get temperature-controlled systems, opening up more markets for exports.
Kenya’s exports to the US as at July 2018 were valued at Sh7.07 billion ($69.9 million), with those for the first six months of the year estimated at Sh32.9 billion ($325.9 million). The value of exports totalled Sh57.8 billion ($572.2 million) in 2017, up by 3.6 per cent from Sh38.3 billion ($379.5 million) in 2016 and up by 75.8 per cent from 2007.
The top export commodities included woven apparel, knit apparel, coffee, tea and spice, edible fruit and nuts, ores, slag and ash, nursery products and vegetable oils.
US foreign direct investment to Kenya was Sh40.9 billion ($405 million) last year, a 7.5 per cent decrease from 2016.
REGULATORY CHECKS
The journey to grant JKIA the green light has been fraught with security regulatory checks that have seen the international airport undergo assessments and audits since 2008, when the two countries signed open-skies agreement to allow direct flights.
In February last year, it attained category one status from the Federal Aviation Administration to grant it direct flights to the US, but further underwent a security audit last October to determine security preparedness.
Another audit in May showed the airport attained 78.5 per cent status rating, above the global average of 62 per cent International Civil Aviation level.
KQ’s managing director and CEO Sebastian Mikosz said opening of the US destination completed an ‘essential piece’ for KQ’S network, cementing its position as one of the leading African carriers.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will be among the dignitaries in the first departure. He will fly under business class from the Nairobi airport at 11.25pm to land in New York at 6.25am the next day.
KQ has started selling tickets for its maiden direct flight to New York, for which economy class fliers will pay Sh89,000 both ways. It announced it has received over 7,000 bookings.