Air fares down as Fastjet flies to Nairobi-Kenya

FASTJET has expanded its pan-African network with daily direct international flights from Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro to Nairobi, and daily domestic flights from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. Fastjet inaugural flights from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, Kilimanjaro to Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar all took off on Monday, January 11, 2016, marking an important milestone in Fastjet’s international and domestic route expansion. The daily return flights to Zanzibar are expected to make it easier for more Tanzanian and international visitors to travel to Zanzibar, boosting tourism and business and contributing significantly to the Spice Islands’ economic growth. The launch of Fastjet flights to Nairobi from two of Tanzania’s busiest airports kick-starts a new era of choice for passengers who have suffered prohibitively high fares on flights between two of Africa’s fastest growing economies. 

The impact of Fastjet flights into Kenya has already been considerable, demonstrated by the fact that fares with competing airlines flying between the two countries suddenly dropped by as much as 40 per cent on the day that Fastjet announced that it would commence flights between Kenya and Tanzania. “The fact is that competition is good for consumers. It brings choice and it brings air fares down,” says John Corse, Fastjet General Manager for Tanzania. The airline expects to add more flights to its new Kenyan routes as consumer demand increases for its service, and it has already indicated that it expects to launch flights between Zanzibar and Nairobi as well as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa later in 2016.