This is a good thing for Kenya
and for Africa in general
Katrina Hanson
Cargo capability
At the time of the launch,
aircraft were only carrying
cargo on the return leg of the
journey, from JFK into Nairobi,
because Kenya Airways was
asked by the US Transportation
Security Administration not to
move cargo into the US until
December 1. Since this time,
cargo has also been uplifted on
the outbound leg from Nairobi
to JFK – and beyond.
The 787 aircraft used to
operate the route is estimated
to carry a payload in the
region of 4,000 kilogrammes
of freight outbound on a full
passenger load from Nairobi.
Bellyhold cargo being carried
includes courier cargo and
typical Kenyan exports, such as
fl owers and vegetables, Hanson
explains. “I think we’re going
to possibly disappoint some
passengers because we won’t
have enough capacity to
offer everybody everything
because we only have limited
space,” she says of the route’s
anticipated popularity with
shippers.
Freight currently being
fl own from JFK into Nairobi,
meanwhile, consists largely of
diplomatic cargo because of
the number of US embassies
around Africa. “Only
diplomatic cargo that can be
fl own on a non-US fl ag carrier
is carried. The traffi c that
has to be fl own by a US fl ag
carrier, according to certain
regulations, will still come
through Europe and is then
carried by Kenya Airways on
a fl ight out of Europe. But the
stuff that can go on a non-US
fl ag carrier has been travelling
on fl ights from JFK into Kenya
and beyond,” she explains.
“We’re also carrying general
cargo like car parts, computer
equipment, some ambienttemperature
pharmaceuticals
They’ve been very vocal in
the press, saying how this is
a good thing for Kenya and
for Africa in general and also
in connecting not just cargo
but families, between the US,
Kenya and beyond. There’s
a lot of African families in
the US.” She adds that the
dramatic time-savings offered
by the direct service will be
a benefi t to the community
at large. “From the US into
Kenya it’s going to save so
much time because you don’t
have to bring the shipment
into London or Europe to get
it transferred across, wait for
the next fl ight and then ship it
back out.”
The outlook
Hanson is enthusiastic about
the airline’s ground-breaking
new route. “There’s a lot of
buzz about it – it’s exciting.
A lot of the bigger customers
are approaching us, so we’ve
got good support.
AMI, Panalpina and
Schenker have all
shown interest in
putting their cargo on
Kenya Airways fl ights
to Johannesburg,”
she remarks, adding
that Kenya Airways
has a reliable partner
in Avia Cargo. As for
others following suit,
she speculates that we
may see some more American
carriers opening up their doors
into Africa. “I know for a while
Delta was talking about coming
into Kenya, so we may see
some US carriers coming in.”
Kenya Airways has certainly
achieved a successful fi rst few
months with the direct service
between East Africa and the
US – with every indication that
the route will remain lucrative
and popular with passengers
and cargo customers alike.
as well as aircraft parts.”
Hanson elaborates on
her reference to ‘Kenya and
beyond.’ “It’s not just to
Nairobi – it’s going onwards to
places like Lusaka in Zambia,
Juba in South Sudan and
Johannesburg in South Africa,
amongst other destinations.”
On the matter of
temperature-controlled
requirements for
pharmaceuticals and
perishable cargo, the ability to
control the temperature in the
aircraft hold, combined with
the cold storage facilities at
the airports, suffi ce to ensure
the integrity of the shipments
being fl own, says Hanson.
Several new AKEs and pallets
were ordered to accommodate
the upswing in cargo, but
the airline doesn’t anticipate
the need for any specialist
equipment, like temperaturecontrolled
ULDs.
Louis the labradoodle arrives in JFK
(below) and the fi rst direct fl ight
departs from Nairobi (right)
Regional impact
It has taken a while for a route
like this to materialise for a
number of reasons, Hanson
goes on to say. “We had to
satisfy all the security protocols
– the TSA had to make sure we
were fully versed in what they
expected in terms of all the
screening for the airport – and
also the aircraft availability,”
she explains. “We need two
aircraft to do this route and
we didn’t have them because
some of our aircraft were out
on lease. They’re now back into
the fl eet, so that’s given us the
aircraft to launch JFK, which is
really exciting.”
As for the effect on the
regional industry, Hanson
is certain that this new
route will have a widespread
positive impact. “The Kenyan
Government and the Kenyan
Chamber of Commerce are
fully behind the fl ights.
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