Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) plans to debut its recently delivered B737-800 freighter into service on January 15, 2024, deploying it on the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta-Sharjah-Mumbai International-Nairobi route, Commercial Director (Cargo) Peter Musola said during a conference in India.

As reported by logistics news website STAT Trade Times, the airline plans to operate the route 4x weekly initially given India is a promising market for cargo, with Mumbai acting as a gateway to the country. Kenya Airways plans to initially focus on saturating the cargo market from Mumbai before expanding to other destinations in the country.

"The products include pharmaceuticals, spare parts, machinery, high tech, consumer goods and electronics. India is a strong manufacturing country, and it is becoming a manufacturing giant. Most of these products are in demand in Africa and we want to leverage this as an airline," Musola said.

The airline took delivery of its first B737-800 converted freighter in late November 2023, although it has yet to reveal its identity. It did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. The aircraft will be joined by another converted B737-800 in February 2024. Kenya Airways' current cargo fleet comprises two B737-300(SF)s.