Airlines double fares as x-mas holiday nears

Domestic airfares have more than doubled ahead of Christmas on increased demand with some routes recording full bookings in the days to December 25.

Jambojet ticket prices for flights originating from Nairobi to Mombasa and Kisumu have topped the Sh20,000 mark on tickets sold in recent days from lows of Sh8,300 to Sh11,000 during the weekends in low seasons.

As of Friday, flights to Mombasa were fully booked until Saturday and available seats starting Sunday were going for Sh19,500.

“We have seen an increase in bookings, it is after all the festive season, it happens during this time,” said Mr Karanja Ndegwa, the chief executive officer of Jambojet.

The first plane out of Nairobi left as early as 06:30 am for the one-and-a-quarter-hour trip to Mombasa while the last flight left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 21:30 hours to 22:45 hours.

For the Saturday night flights out of Nairobi for Mombasa, only nine seats were yet to be booked by 3 pm Friday afternoon going for Sh19,500 while all Sunday trips were fully booked.

Only one seat was yet to be booked for the 08:25 am flight to Mombasa on Monday, while Tuesday and Wednesday, which is Christmas day, were fully booked.

Last year, Jambojet was charging Sh12,200 for a one-way ticket to Mombasa on December 23rd from Sh8,200 a month earlier.

Flights to Kisumu from the capital city typically go for between Sh6,000 to Sh8,000 but in the days leading up to Christmas, charges have gone up to Sh19,500 all fully booked until December 26th.

Only two seats for the Saturday morning flight were yet to be bought for Sh19,500 on Friday.

All flights from Nairobi to Eldoret were fully booked until Boxing Day, going for Sh7,000.

The move that comes as a big boost to the airlines' earnings is likely to inconvenience thousands of travellers planning to spend their holiday in Mombasa.

Domestic outbound flights from Nairobi to various towns including Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret are fully booked ahead of the festivities.

Skyward Express’s saver, value and plus packages were fully booked on December 20th except for the Sky Elite package going for Sh15,780 to Mombasa.

The quoted fares are based on Friday’s bookings and are likely to continue rising as the Christmas holiday approaches.

The prices on all routes are set to come down from Christmas Day and after the New Year celebrations as the number of those seeking to travel reduces significantly.