National carrier Kenya Airways is set to become the first airline to have a direct link between Africa and Vietnam when it commences flights to Hanoi in March this year.
The flights will benefit from Hanoi’s population of over 7 million people. The city has been estimated as one of the fastest growing city in the world in terms of GDP by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Kenya Airways will use its Boeing 787 Dreamliner to provide strong connections to the key markets in Africa. The carrier will work closely with Vietnam Airlines to diversify its flights to Japan, Malaysia, Korea and China.
Kenya Airways’ Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mbuvi Ngunze said that the potential of Vietnam as a country with strong economic growth and a growing middle class is significant.
“Vietnam has shown a considerable and stable economic growth over the recent years, including an increase in trade with Africa. As the first airline to directly connect Vietnam to Africa, we are sure to leverage on this growth. Together with our SkyTeam partner Vietnam Airlines, we are very confident the addition of Hanoi to our network will be a success,” Mr Ngunze noted.
In the last one year, Kenya Airways has deployed its new fleet of six B787 Dreamliner aircraft for commercial service, mostly on routes to Asia and Europe. Most recently, the Dreamliner took its inaugural flight to London, one of KQ most prominent routes. Three more Dreamliners are scheduled to arrive in 2015.
With the introduction of the B787 Dreamliner, new routes and cities are now accessible from Nairobi economically, which has paved the way for Hanoi as an additional destination.
