Fastjet (Dar es Salaam) has incorporated a company in Kenya - Fastjet Kenya (Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) - as part of its goal to establish a Kenyan base. The Tanzanian LCC said in a statement that in order to comply with Kenyan airline ownership laws, 51% of the equity of fastjet Kenya is owned by a Kenyan national while it will hold the remaining 49%.
With the setting up of the joint-venture, fastjet Kenya has embarked on its quest to secure an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) with the recent submission of its Air Service Licence (ASL) application to the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
"The ASL is a significant step toward obtaining a full Air Operating Certificate which will allow the commencement of operations domestically within and internationally from Kenya," it said. "The KCAA has indicated that the application, along with all other applications, will be gazetted in Kenya on Friday 29 August 2014. The public hearing will be held 21 days after publication, following which a decision will be rendered by the authority."
In its initial stages, fastjet was to have entered the Kenyan market through Fly540 (FFV, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) though this option was soon rendered implausible given the tense relationship that developed between fastjet management and Fly540 founder and managing director, Don Smith. As a result of their differences, fastjet said it had also considered investing in the now defunct JetLink Express (Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta). However, in late June, fastjet announced it had ended all legal and financial ties with Fly540 paving the way for the founding of Fastjet Kenya.
Another subsidiary, Fastjet Zambia (Lusaka), is also undergoing certification in Zambia with a planned year-end launch date having recently been announced.
