KQ targets business travellers in codeshare deal with Hong Kong

National carrier Kenya Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines increasing its frequency between Nairobi and Hong Kong to daily flights with an eye on the growing trade between the two cities.

KQ, as the carrier is known by its international code, currently flies three times a week to Hong Kong but the new agreement with its Asian partner increases this to a daily flight.

The codeshare deal between the two airlines will also see Hong Kong Airlines book its customers flying to Nairobi from Thailand on KQ — which presently operates one daily flight to and from the Bangkok’s capital.

“This code-sharing partnership will enable us offer our customers seamless connection, especially for our passengers in the region who mainly travel to these Asian cities for business,” KQ chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze said in a statement.

Code-sharing allows airlines to sell seats on their aircraft — marketing carrier — as if they were their own.

The passengers are later transferred onto the partnering airline — the operating carrier.

Hong Kong, the world’s 9th largest trading economy, is one of the forces behind China’s emergence as a global economic giant.

Over the past decade, China has become Kenya’s largest source of foreign direct investment.

Kenya imported goods worth Sh321 billion from China in 2015 compared to Sh249 billion the previous year, a jump the Economic Survey 2016 associates with the “substantial increase in import expenditure for railway construction materials”.

Other imports included mobile phones, lamps, fabrics, medical kits and cables.

KQ currently flies directly to Guangzhou and to Beijing as well as Shanghai through a codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines.

Hong Kong Airlines, a 10-year-old airline, has a fleet of 34 aircraft which fly to more than 30 cities across the Asia Pacific region including Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, Sapporo, Bangkok, Bali and Okinawa.

The privately-owned airline does not fly to Africa and is therefore banking on KQ’s continental network to boost its bookings.

“The codeshare enables KQ passengers to choose from our flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok connecting their journey to and from Nairobi with much flexibility,” said Mr Li Dianchun, Hong Kong Airlines chief commercial officer.

“Hong Kong Airlines launched the route to Bangkok in 2010 and now the city has become one of our best connected destinations with 34 weekly flights.”

Kenya Airways has in recent years been expanding its codeshare agreements with several Asian airlines seeking to get a slice of the business that comes from the continent.