by Joe Pike
Last updated: 12:10 AM ET, Fri July 13, 2018
For Sebastian Mikosz, CEO and group managing director of Kenya Airways, securing the carrier's first flights from North America to Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, Africa, was about a lot more than potential business.
"I know you don't always hear a CEO say it's not about the money, but this was more about restoring pride into the company," Mikosz told TravelPulse during a celebratory event held in New York City Wednesday night. "I feel like this is a very symbolic project. It showed that we were willing to stand up and fight until we landed these fights."
The carrier's first nonstop, daily flights between East Africa and the U.S. will come in the form of flights from New York City's John F. Kennedy on October 29. The plans were officially announced in January, bringing relief to Mikosz, whose main mission since taking over as CEO just over a year ago was to lock down these flights.
"I've been with the company for 13 months and the second question people would ask me after asking for my name was, 'When are you getting flights from New York?,'" said Mikosz.
The airline already serves Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Asia. With more than 40 American multinationals located in Nairobi and many more across Africa, the launch of daily flights is expected to further spur trade between America and Africa.
The flights will also represent the fastest connection from East Africa to New York, with a 15 hours duration eastbound and 14 hours westbound.
The ultra-long-haul flight, unique to Kenya Airways network, will require four pilots and 12 flight attendants, as well as 85 tons of fuel each way.
The airline will operate its Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a capacity of 234 passengers. The flight will depart every day from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi at 11:25 p.m., arriving at JFK airport in New York at 6:25 a.m. the following day. The new flights will depart from New York at 12:25 a.m., landing at JKIA at 10:55 a.m. the following day.
This schedule will allow connections to and from more than 40 African destinations through Kenya Airways' hub in Nairobi. Mikosz said it was almost two years ago that the planning process to get the new flights began by the airline.
"It's a bureaucratic process that requires around 15 permits," he told TravelPulse. "It's a multi-layered challenge. There's just a long list of everything you need to do to get into the U.S. market.
"So, to finally secure these flights is a tremendous achievement for us. Now we need to sell tickets."
And who will most likely be buying those tickets?
Mikosz said Nairobi is an ideal fit for the "more mature, premium leisure" traveler.
"This is not a backpacker destination," said Mikosz. "This is a destination for people who are prepared to spend a few thousand dollars a week."
And as far as future flights in the U.S. go, Mikosz told TravelPulse that Kenya Airways would be interested in expanding to the Texas, Minnesota and Atlanta markets because of the large portion of African diaspora in those gateways. Other U.S. markets Mikosz said Kenya Airways would be interested in expanding to include Washington, D.C and Boston.
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