Fastjet Kenya....Not?
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Fastjet Kenya....Not?
Fastjet Extends Network Coverage to Kenya from Jan 2016 | Airline Route
Kenya Airways are still cheaper on the same routes plus i get a free meal and checked in luggage!
Not sure how long they will last with just 1 daily flights yet Kenya Airways has 7 to DAR and 4 to JRO daily!
Kenya Airways are still cheaper on the same routes plus i get a free meal and checked in luggage!
Not sure how long they will last with just 1 daily flights yet Kenya Airways has 7 to DAR and 4 to JRO daily!
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KQ have halved their prices - presumably as a temporary loss leader - since Fastjet announced it was taking bookings. That's routine practice to try to ward off new competitors and it's the kind of benefit Kenyan travellers have long been waiting for.
Although KQ will probably put their prices up again soon, I think they are misguided to tackle Fastjet head on since they aren't direct competition to a full-service airline. I've seen some stats which show that a third of Fastjet's passengers in Tanzania had never flown before.
Fastjet will expand the market and some of their passengers will eventually upgrade to a full-service airline, thus benefiting KQ.
Although KQ will probably put their prices up again soon, I think they are misguided to tackle Fastjet head on since they aren't direct competition to a full-service airline. I've seen some stats which show that a third of Fastjet's passengers in Tanzania had never flown before.
Fastjet will expand the market and some of their passengers will eventually upgrade to a full-service airline, thus benefiting KQ.
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What surprises me most is how they are still in business yet since launch in 2011 they have just been running on losses. Not sure if they still own fly540 Kenya as Ghana was sold and Angola suspended. All in deep losses too.
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Raski,
My flight was just 3 weeks ago. Of the 4 flights I've had on Fastjet, only one has departed within 30 minutes of scheduled departure time
easyGroup still has a 9.9% shareholding in FJ and will doubtless be keen to see the company succeed, but the Tanzanian economy is rather uncertain at present until President Magufuli's new government sets a budget. However, he has already started cutting back of government expenditure and expenses for government employees. It also can't help that the Tanzanian shilling has weakened a lot against the US$. The company also still employs a significant number of expatriate pilots and the new government is already pushing for more Tanzanians to be employed, bringing pressure on companies to train and employ more nationals (though there are nowhere near enough qualified national pilots at present). However, losses are still running at US$10 million and passenger loads are still only 60% in Tanzania.
It's good to see that at last there is a company to offer competition to KQ on the NBO route and it is going to be interesting to see how 2016 plays out for the company as it moves into its fourth year of operations in Tanzania still not having made a profit.
My flight was just 3 weeks ago. Of the 4 flights I've had on Fastjet, only one has departed within 30 minutes of scheduled departure time
easyGroup still has a 9.9% shareholding in FJ and will doubtless be keen to see the company succeed, but the Tanzanian economy is rather uncertain at present until President Magufuli's new government sets a budget. However, he has already started cutting back of government expenditure and expenses for government employees. It also can't help that the Tanzanian shilling has weakened a lot against the US$. The company also still employs a significant number of expatriate pilots and the new government is already pushing for more Tanzanians to be employed, bringing pressure on companies to train and employ more nationals (though there are nowhere near enough qualified national pilots at present). However, losses are still running at US$10 million and passenger loads are still only 60% in Tanzania.
It's good to see that at last there is a company to offer competition to KQ on the NBO route and it is going to be interesting to see how 2016 plays out for the company as it moves into its fourth year of operations in Tanzania still not having made a profit.
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Watching the financial news regarding Fastjet: it's my view that until these kenyan routes were announced that further fund raising would have been impossible and the company would have drifted out of business. I think that they now have a lifeline and fresh funding will be available via a rights issue. This should keep them as a going concern until into 2018 and hopefully by that time they can be breaking even on more than the occasional month.
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The LCC model is still very new in that part of Africa. People still regard travelling by air as luxury so when it comes to travelling they expect full a service even if it's a 10 minutes flight!
Does FJ offer full service? With just 1 flight a day what happens when they are overbooked? My money is still with KQ. They may not be all that great or polite but at least i know they have multiples of flights a day and i *may* get a full service (depends on the stewardess moods).
All in all FJ will have to be very patient on this one as it will take a longer time even with MSA route launch plus don't forget JJ may soon also enter the same route market.
Does FJ offer full service? With just 1 flight a day what happens when they are overbooked? My money is still with KQ. They may not be all that great or polite but at least i know they have multiples of flights a day and i *may* get a full service (depends on the stewardess moods).
All in all FJ will have to be very patient on this one as it will take a longer time even with MSA route launch plus don't forget JJ may soon also enter the same route market.
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Fastjet currently have two planes in France undergoing maintenance. As soon as they get one back, I think you will see it deployed as a shuttle to NBO.
They average around 90% punctuality (+ or - 15mins) but they did have a bad couple of days in mid December.
They average around 90% punctuality (+ or - 15mins) but they did have a bad couple of days in mid December.
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Jambo
Jambojet and Fly540 will be hard to beat.
No need for ''full service'' on short flights !
Most important thing will be a correctly working booking website.
Jambojet's isn't working 60% of the times i try.....
No need for ''full service'' on short flights !
Most important thing will be a correctly working booking website.
Jambojet's isn't working 60% of the times i try.....
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Fastjet to withdraw from Malawi
It seems Fastjet also has problems in Malawi and is to withdraw from that country. The company is citing the depreciation of the Kwacha and the Malawian government's refusal to grant 8th freedom cabotage rights for flights between Lilongwe and Blantyre.
The Malawian Minister of Transport told a press conference that the decision not to award the LCC cabotage rights was based on the poor quality of infrastructure at Blantyre's Chileka International Airport. The Minister said:
The last flight from dar to Lilongwe will be on 8 February
The Malawian Minister of Transport told a press conference that the decision not to award the LCC cabotage rights was based on the poor quality of infrastructure at Blantyre's Chileka International Airport. The Minister said:
Fastjet should blame its business model and not the country for its decision to withdraw from Malawi. “They should just say they have failed in business instead of finding the government as scapegoat. Their fares were too low to sustain in the airline business. They had very few passengers. They thought by offering low fares they would attract more passengers but this never happened.”
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I read that Fastjet were told they would get the nod for Blantyre but protectionism kicked in and it didn't happen. Since Fastjet needed Blantyre to make that route viable, they had no choice but to cancel Llongwe. Presumably if things change, they will start it up again.
