Kenya Airways has signed two new airline partnerships: a codeshare with JetBlue and an interline agreement with South African carrier CemAir, significantly expanding single-ticket booking options for U.S. travel advisors building African itineraries.
Under a new unilateral codeshare agreement that launched in March, Kenya Airways is now placing its flight code on JetBlue-operated routes connecting through New York JFK. This enables advisors to book single-ticket journeys from 10 U.S. markets directly to Nairobi.
The JetBlue feeder cities are Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Atlanta; Phoenix; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and San Juan. Kenya Airways currently operates four weekly flights between JFK and Nairobi.
"By expanding our network through New York, we are providing our customers with more choice and seamless access to key destinations across the United States," said George Kamal, acting group managing director and CEO of Kenya Airways.
CemAir partnership
In a separate move to bolster its intra-Africa network, Kenya Airways signed a strategic interline agreement with Johannesburg-based regional airline CemAir.
Connecting through Johannesburg and Cape Town, the deal opens up single-ticket access to major Southern Africa safari hubs. U.S. travelers flying Kenya Airways can connect to 10 South African domestic destinations, including Hoedspruit (a primary gateway to the Greater Kruger area) and Kimberley as well as regional points such as Maun, Botswana (gateway to the Okavango Delta), and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.