China Southern starts new route to Nairobi

Airbus 330s fly direct three times a week from Guangzhou

The first flight in China Southern Airlines' new direct route between Guangzhou in China's Guangdong province and Nairobi on Aug 5 showed why the Kenya Tourism Board is happy.

The inaugural flight on the route, which will run three flights a week using Airbus 330 jets, brought many Chinese tourists to Kenya, with at least two tour groups among the passengers.

One of the tourists was Fang Fang, who joined a 38-member tour group organized by China's biggest online travel agency, Ctrip.

Fang said she would be very hesitant about visiting Kenya if there were no direct flight with a Chinese airline.

"I have been looking forward to coming to Africa for a long time. When I saw there was a direct flight, I made a reservation back in May," she said. "If there were no direct flight, I would have to think about where to transfer and I would think twice before coming."

Officials with the tourism board, which signed an agreement with the airline on Aug 5, said the route will bring in more tourists. China Southern is China's largest airline in terms of number of aircraft. The Airbus 330 used on the route is a medium to long range, twin-engine jet airliner that Airbus says is one of the most commonly used widebody aircraft in operation today.

China is the fastest-growing outbound tourism market in the world, and data shows that the number of annual outbound tourists in China has reached 110 million, said Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director of the Kenya Tourism Board, at the welcome ceremony for the Nairobi flight. He said the development of tourism and civil aviation should happen "hand in hand".

"China Southern Airlines has an intensive flight network in China and Southeast Asia. We hope we can make full use of it to attract more and more tourists, not only from China, but also from Southeast Asia and many other countries all around the world," he said.

Fang, the visitor, said the direct flight saved her a lot of time and there was no language barrier for her given that all the flight staff members were Chinese.

Kenya Airports Authority also welcomed the direct flight, saying it would strengthen Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a hub for East Africa.

"This route from Nairobi to Guangzhou has a lot of importance. It will strengthen the development of this airport as a hub for this region. It will be a gateway for people all across Africa going to China through Nairobi," said Yatich Kangugo, managing director of Kenya Airports Authority.

"We do really want to see more airlines bringing us people from China who are coming here either for business or holidays."

Zhang Zifang, the carrier's chief operating officer, said the flight would make it more convenient for Chinese residents to visit Africa, given that they would be able to transfer to about 40 African destinations through the Guangzhou-Nairobi route.

Contact the writers through houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/07/2015 page3)