Jambojet (JM, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) CEO Willem Hondius says the budget carrier is looking to acquire additional aircraft ahead of the launch of its maiden international flights.
The Dutchman told Shipping & Logistics magazine that the LCC was looking at either acquiring new or second-hand aircraft. Though he did not specify their type, Hondius has in the past mentioned using B737-700s to replace its B737-300 fleet.
The Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) subsidiary currently operates three B737-300s and two Dash 8-400s (leased from DAC Aviation East Africa (Nairobi Wilson)) on flights from Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta to Eldoret, Kisumu, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa, and Ukunda locally.
According to Hondius, while JamboJet posted a modest KES57 million (USD547,000) profit for the first half of its 2015/16 Financial Year, an increasingly tight domestic market means the LCC has now decided to turn its attention abroad. As such, JamboJet plans to serve Entebbe, Mogadishu, Juba, and Dar es Salaam initially before expanding further into East and Central Africa.
The exact date for the launch of international operations is unclear given that JamboJet's most recent application for international traffic rights was deferred by the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
