National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has signed an interline agreement with South Africa’s regional carrier, Airlink. The deal will enable Kenya Airways customers flying to South Africa to connect with Airlink operated flights to Windhoek, Durban, Gaborone, Maseru, Pemba, Maputo, and Port Elizabeth.
The agreement will also enable Airlink passengers to book a through ticket to Nairobi, Kenya, and enjoy connections to other KQ destinations within Africa. These include Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Kinshasa, and Bujumbura.
The pact strengthens aviation ties between Kenya and Southern Africa.
“As global economies continue to reel from the effects of the pandemic, such strategic partnerships are critical. These new routes will positively impact the flow of trade and tourism across the region by offering our customers convenient travel around the continent,” Julius Thairu, KQ Acting Chief Commercial Officer.
Airlink, an airline, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, was established in 1992 and is an independent, privately-owned and BBBEE airline. It offers travellers a wide choice of flights across its comprehensive network of Southern African destinations, which it serves with a fleet of more than 50 modern jetliners.
This comes just days after KQ signed a deal with DR Congo national carrier to make it easier for the KQ customers to access Kinshasa directly from Nairobi and ply Africa and international routes jointly.
The deal will see Kenya Airways and Congo Airways partner in areas of mutual interest, including aircraft maintenance, training and sharing of excess capacity also included in the two-year agreement, whose overarching objective is viability and sustainability of the airlines, is a route and code sharing provision aimed at expanding the carriers domestic, African and international networks.
