Mbuvi Ngunze says more Chinese are flying to Africa for business and leisure. Li Lianxing / China Daily

Having more connections to china central to african carrier's growth plans, says top executive

Wu Xiang was so moved by the beauty of Kenya last year on his first visit to Africa that he is trying to convince his friends in Shenzhen to come to the continent to see the great animal migration this year.

His task is likely to have been made easier since direct flights to Nairobi from Guangzhou, a one-hour train ride from Shenzhen, began in November. Wu, who made his trip before then, was forced to take a circuitous route that stretched his journey to Nairobi to two days. The Guangzhou-Nairobi flight takes 10 hours.

"I am thinking about returning to Kenya because I was unable to enjoy it as much as I could have," Wu says.

The Nairobi-Guangzhou flights that Kenya Airways began in November came soon after the airline marked its 10th anniversary of its first flight to China, says Mbuvi Ngunze, the airline's chief operating officer.

"Until earlier last year we were flying to China three to four times a week via Bangkok to Guangzhou, and three times a week to Hong Kong."

But from April 2013 the indirect flights to Guangzhou became a daily service because of increasing demand, he says.

China is a key market in Kenya Airways' growth plans, he says, and, with the increasing importance of travel between Africa and China, and the introduction of new Boeing 777s, opening the direct route seemed natural.

"We have to be strong in Africa first, and then we can connect Africa to the world. The European market is very mature, the growth market today is Asia, and the trade flow is mainly between Asia and Africa."

Kenya Airways plans to expand its fleet this year, and among the aircraft it will introduce are six Boeing 787 Dreamliners and two more Boeing 777-300ERs, Ngunze says.

"We are phasing out our old aircraft, and after retooling we may end up having the youngest fleet in Africa."

The long-delayed Boeing 787 will fly to Paris and India first, and more destinations in China are being considered.

"Our next two targets are Beijing and Shanghai, subject to slot approvals, in the second half of the year. When you look at traffic flows from outside China, the most popular destinations are Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, in that order."

The inauguration of the airlines' flights to China 10 years ago was driven mainly by trade, making Guangzhou a natural choice as a destination.

Amina Fatima, 47, a Nigerian who has been in the textiles industry for more than 20 years, and who says she has been traveling to Guangzhou for 10 years on business trips, says Kenya Airways' direct flights to the city give her more choice.

Ngunze says: "Ten years ago Guangzhou was the main trading hub in China, but Chinese investments and business opportunities are changing rapidly, so the flow trends are changing too. Previously it was predominantly Africans flying to China but now more Chinese people are flying to Africa for business and leisure, so new destinations in different regions are in urgent demand.

"We have a very clear path and strategy to mobilize our competitive strength compared with other regional or international competitors, but we have to realize that the market is growing and we have to get the best market share by differentiating our products and markets."

With Kenya Airways' expectation of more passengers flying with it to and from China, it is working with the Kenya Airport Authority to upgrade airport terminal facilities, Ngunze says.

The Kenyan government is investing heavily in the hub facilities upgrade, and terminals that will be completed soon will be able to handle 12 million passengers a year by 2018, he says.

Kenya Airways is the only African member of the Skyteam airlines alliance, and it says it hopes to be able to work with other members, including China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, to expand its business in China and Far East.

"Every year 25 million passengers fly within the Skyteam network," Ngunze says. "With China Southern, we have extended our code share operation from Guangzhou-Bangkok to Guangzhou-Nairobi, both direct and indirect flights, and we have even extended the code sharing to Australia."

Zhang Zifang, Party chief of China Southern Airlines, says the new direct route connecting Guangzhou and Nairobi through code sharing is a milestone for his company's push into Africa.

"As the biggest city in southern China, Guangzhou has become the second-largest customer source of flights between China and Africa, so as Kenya Airways and China Southern work together, we will be able to harness the power of China Southern's domestic network to serve both airlines.

lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/28/2014 page8)