The new normal in the aviation industry is that it is growing immensely and it has shown great impacts on Kenyan’s economy from jobs, the flow of trade, tourism, and investment resulting from users of all airlines serving the country, and the city pair connections that make these flows possible.
Kenya is estimated to have more than 400 privately registered planes. The country’s business magnates, politicians and freshly minted millionaires are fast taking to the air as the preferred mode of transport – expanding the market for leasing and private ownership of planes.
Aero Club of East Africa – a lobby group of private aircraft owners – attributes the growth in number of registered planes to Nairobi’s rising status as the region’s business hub and a growing number of wealthy individuals with the means to own and maintain an aircraft.
Skyward Express, is a private airline operating in Kenya. It serves local destinations, from its two operations bases at Wilson Airport for passengers and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for cargo.
Both airports are located in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital city. Skyward Express was established in 2013, by two pilots; one of whom serves as the chairman of the airline, while the other serves as its managing director.
Skyward Express inherited some equipment and some routes from the defunct Skyward International Aviation.
As of April 2021, Skyward Express scheduled services to the following destinations: Nairobi: Wilson Airport (Passenger Hub), Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Cargo Hub), Eldoret: Eldoret International, Airport, Lodwar: Lodwar Airport, Mombasa: Moi International Airport, Malindi: Malindi Airport Lamu: Lamu Airport and Ukunda: Ukunda Airport.
The chairman is Mohamed Abdi and the managing director is Issack Somow. It also has eight destinations and 8 fleet size.
Seven Four Eight Air Services, also known doing for business as 748 Air Services, is a charter airline operating in the passenger and cargo business.
Its head office is in Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The airline was established in 1995 by Ahmed Rashid Jibril, its first managing director. Its first aircraft was a Hawker Siddely 748 giving also the name of the company.
The 748 Air Services fleet has Bombardier Dash 8-100, in service 7 and it carries 37 passengers, this is as of August 2019.
Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, in service 3 and it carries 78 passengers, this is of August 2019.
African Express Airways is a Somali-owned Kenyan airline with its head office at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya.
It is a short-haul airline, which caters to business and leisure Travelers and operates daily departures.
The African Express Airway has 7 destinations and fleet size of 5. McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carries a total of 148 passengers, Douglas DC-9-30 carries a total of 100 passengers and Bombardier CRJ200LR carries a total of 50 passengers.
Airkenya Express is an airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates domestic scheduled and charter services, as well as scheduled flights to Tanzania.
Its main base is at Wilson Airport, Nairobi. Airkenya Aviation became Airkenya Express in January 2007.
The airline is wholly owned by a Kenyan-controlled consortium and has 165 employees.
It carried 100,000 passengers in 2014, as against 120,000 in 2013. It has a fleet size of nine and twelve destinations.
Aircraft Leasing Services is a regional airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It started operations in 1985 with a single two-seat Cessna 150 which was initially leased out to a flying school; and has seen steady growth ever since.
The ALS-Aircraft Leasing Services fleet include; 2 Embraer ERJ 135, 6 Embraer ERJ 145, 8 Bombardier Dash 8 100, 1 Bombardier Dash 8 200, 5 Beechcraft 1900D, 1 Beechcraft 1900C and 2 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan.
Astral Aviation is a cargo airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was established in November 2000 and started operations in January 2001.
It operates scheduled and non-scheduled/ad hoc cargo charters to regional destinations in Africa and to Liege in Belgium. Its main base is in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.
Sanjeev S. Gadhia (Commercial Director). It has a fleet size of five as of April 2021.
Five Forty Aviation Ltd, trading as Fly540, is a low-cost airline which commenced operations in 2006 and is based in Nairobi, Kenya, operating both passenger and cargo services.
Fly540 started operations between Nairobi and Mombasa on November 24, 2006.
The airline’s name refers to its price of Sh5,540 per adult return fare between the above-mentioned cities. The CEO Don Smith.
Timbis Air is a regional airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in November 2009 and operates regional regular schedule and charter services. Its main base is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.
As of February, 2020 the Timbis Air fleet consists of CRJ 100 with two in service, Boeing 727 with two in service, Cessna 208 Caravan with two in service, Antonov 26 with two in service.
Safarilink Aviation Limited is a regional airline based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in 2004 with Mbuvi Nguze as the non-executive chairman. It has 18 destinations and 14 fleets.
Renegade Air is a regional airline based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Renegade Air was founded in 2012.
It now serves the market between Wilson Airport and Kisumu International Airport, using Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 aircraft along this route. It has two destinations.
Freedom Airline Express is an airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates domestic scheduled and charter services. Its main base is Wilson Airport, Nairobi.
Freedom Airlines operates two Bombardier CRJ-200, two Fokker 50, five Embraer 120 ER and one Euro copter EC120. It was founded in 2019 and it has ten fleet size.
East African Safari Air Express Ltd is a Kenyan airline based at Wilson
Airport in Nairobi. Originally East African Safari Air, the airline was rebranded as Fly-SAX after its purchase by the parent company of Kenyan airline Fly540.
Key people are Don Smith, CEO and Charles Wako as the Chairman. It has 17 destinations and five fleet size.
Jambojet Limited is a Kenyan low-cost airline that started operations in 1 April 2014.
It is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It has six destinations and it has six fleet size.
Jambojet flies to 7 domestic routes within Kenya, as well as 1 international destination as of September 2021.
The parent company is Kenya Airways. The Jambojet fleet is Bombardier Dash-8-Q400 Wilson Airport handles about 90 per cent of domestic flights that are mainly made up of chartered and commercial flights to holiday destinations such as the Maasai Mara, Mombasa, Amboseli, Lamu, Kilimanjaro, Diani, Lokichogio and Nanyuki.
It is currently ranked among the busiest airports in terms of aircraft movement in East and Central Africa. Growth in the number of registered aircraft has also triggered a jump in the number of key personnel licensed to work in the aviation industry.
