Kenya Airways inks interline deal with Emirates to offer more travel options

NAIROBI, June 12 (Xinhua) 

Kenya Airways and Emirates said Monday they had signed an interline partnership that will offer increased travel options for customers between Africa and the Middle East.

The deal will allow customers of both airlines access to new destinations on the two airlines' networks within a single itinerary.

Julius Thairu, chief commercial and customer officer at Kenya Airways, said the partnership will provide the ideal gateway for their customers as the airline seeks to increase connectivity between Africa and the Middle East through Emirates' hub in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"Partnerships like these are key in aviation as they take advantage of mutual scale and efficiencies to provide customers with more seamless travel options," Thairu said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Under the deal, Emirates customers will now be able to fly to 28 destinations on the Kenya Airways network using Nairobi as the gateway, such as Nampula, Bangui, Bujumbura, Kigali, Dzaoudzi, Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, Kilimanjaro, Juba, Zanzibar, among many other regional points.

The deal also enables Emirates passengers traveling via Dubai to book a single ticket itinerary from or to Mombasa, one of the most popular leisure destinations in Kenya.

Similarly, Kenya Airways passengers traveling from Nairobi and Mombasa will now be able to access the Emirates' network and seamlessly connect through Dubai to 23 destinations across West and South Asia, the Far East, the Indian Ocean, and the Middle East such as Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Ahmedabad, Beirut, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Seoul among others.

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer of Emirates Airlines, said this new interline agreement will enhance connectivity for Emirates' customers and provide them with more travel choices across the continent.

"We look forward to deepening our relationship with Kenya Airways, offering greater network opportunities and improving connections for both of our customers," Kazim added.

The interline deal came after Kenya Airways launched direct flights between Mombasa and Dubai which offers customers four weekly flights.