Thairu: Nigerian market second behind SA, as Kenya Airways begins 10 flights to Lagos
…Carrier to resume Abuja flight, to pick one other city next year
Chief Commercial and Customer Officer of one of Africa’s biggest airlines, Kenya Airways, Julius Thairu said efficient air connectivity is the only viable way to link the vast geographical space of Africa, stressing that doing so through air travel has the potential to boost trade, economy and confer other benefits to the continent.
Thairu was in Nigeria to meet the Kenya Airways team and to support them for the incredible job they have done by positioning Kenya Airways as a strong brand to get a huge share of the Nigerian market and to meet trade partners and bankers on repatriation of the carriers’ funds said Nigeria is an important market for Kenya Airways and is the second biggest market in Africa behind South Africa.
Consequently, as a way of boosting capacity and spreading its wings to vital cities in Africa, Thairu disclosed that the East African carrier would from this week increase frequencies to Lagos to ten from seven, explaining that with time, “We will increase to two daily flights to have good connectivity truly.”
Aside from that, he said, “We are strongly considering a new city to fly to in Nigeria. We are looking at Abuja and probably sometime next year for that to connect Kenya and beyond. We have been in existence since 1977 and have been flying to Lagos since 1988 and we pride ourselves as an airline that puts Africa first, connect Africa. Our mission is to propel and drive prosperity in Africa. There is a big gap when it comes to connectivity.”
Nigeria, according to the airline chief is important for Africa, saying that Africa is waiting on Nigeria and his belief that the continent will never move forward if Nigeria does not lead the way.
He says, “You need a country with a big population that has that economic might. For me, what even makes Nigeria of interest is the cultural impact it has on Africa. Most African countries can relate to the culture in Nigeria and there is a lot of Nigeria’s influence in my country be it fashion, music, or movies. It is not about money, it is whether you can influence and drive culture Nigeria, I see it as a country that must move forward and it also represents the unique challenges we have in Africa.”
“I believe that the solutions to those challenges must come from us, must come from Africa. No one else will be able to figure out our issues and determine how we want to govern ourselves. We have to create an African way. We don’t necessarily fly the right products.
“I ask why Nigerians prefer to go to Dubai and not to Kenya. I have asked myself what is it that I need to do in Kenya. The government needs to figure out if they want Nigerians to go to Kenya. Is it an attractive shopping experience? There are things we need to do and there are things that we need to do with other stakeholders to ensure that we get Nigerians to number one in the number of people coming to Kenya”.
“Currently, when I look at the arrival statistics to Kenya on tourism, Nigeria is number 16. It was a small number of 36, 200. For me, a country of more than 200 million people is a small number. It is less than a hundred Nigerians per day coming to Kenya if break down the number. We are also challenging ourselves including the tourism board, and hotels and encouraging Nigerians to come and Nigeria will be doing the same to attract people and travel between our countries.
Speaking further on poor air connectivity in the continent, he stated that the desire to connect the region is the big reason the country backed the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) that removes borders which enhances connectivity and supports the Free Continental Free Trade Area, again removing all those trade barriers, to promote more business among African carriers.
He said, “Tourism is big in Kenya and one of our Foreign exchange-earners. We have also changed our approach to focus on the big African market. The government has been very intentional in focusing on Africa and getting people in Africa, especially Nigeria to come to visit our country. We want to play our part as an airline by enhancing connectivity and access between Nigeria and Kenya
