Emirates and Kenya Airways Sign Interline Agreement

Dark/Light Mode (13/06/23)  Emirates (EK) and Kenya Airways (KQ) have signed an interline agreement that will give travellers access to new destinations on the two airlines’ networks on a single itinerary that includes seamless baggage check-in to their final destination.

Emirates customers can now fly to 28 destinations on the Kenya Airways network using Nairobi as the gateway to destinations such as Nampula, Bangui, Bujumbara, Kigali, Dzaoudzi, Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, Kilimanjaro, Juba and Zanzibar, as well as many other regional points across Africa.

Additionally, as part of a bilateral interline arrangement, Emirates passengers travelling via Dubai can also book a single ticket itinerary from or to Mombasa, one of the most popular leisure destinations in Kenya.

Emirates began operations to Kenya with the launch of flights between Nairobi and Dubai in 1995, and since then it has steadily grown the route to 14 weekly flights, having flown over 5 million passengers through the years.

Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 reg: 5Y-KZG. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

“We are pleased to ink our first partnership with Kenya’s flag carrier,” said Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates. “Kenya is a strategic gateway in our Africa network, and this new interline agreement will enhance connectivity for Emirates’ customers and provide them more travel choices across the continent. We look forward to deepening our relationship with Kenya Airways, offering greater network opportunities and improving connections for both of our customers.”

Kenya Airways recently launched direct flights between Mombasa and Dubai offering customers 4 weekly flights.

The flight from Moi International Airport, Mombasa marked the second hub, other than its Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, that the carrier connects passengers directly to the UAE.

KQ currently operates ten weekly flights to Dubai from Nairobi using a mix of B737-800 and the Dreamliner B787-800.

Thanks to the interline agreement, Kenya Airways passengers travelling from Nairobi and Mombasa can now access Emirates’ network and seamlessly connect through Dubai to 23 destinations across West and South Asia, the Far East, the Indian Ocean and Middle East such as Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Ahmedabad, Beirut, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Seoul, among others.

“This partnership will provide the ideal gateway for our customers as we seek to increase our connectivity between Africa and the Middle East through Emirates’ hub in Dubai,” said Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial and Customer Officer Kenya Airways. “Partnerships like these are key in aviation as they take advantage of mutual scale and efficiencies to provide customers with more seamless travel options.”

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