Kenya Airways Adds Three Weekly London Gatwick Flights to Ease Heathrow Pressure

Kenya Airways has strategically bolstered its presence in the United Kingdom by launching three weekly flights to London Gatwick Airport, supplementing its existing daily service to Heathrow. 

The inaugural Gatwick flights, scheduled for Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, are projected to break even within their first year of operation. This expansion is a calculated response to capacity constraints and high costs at Heathrow, positioning the airline to capture a greater share of the lucrative UK market.

The move underscores Kenya Airways' ambition to enhance its long-haul capacity and reinforce Nairobi's role as a pivotal transit hub for both regional and continental travellers. According to Julius Thairu, Kenya Airways' Chief Commercial and Customer Officer, London remains the airline's most profitable international destination, accounting for over 10 percent of its overall turnover. Demand for the Heathrow route is consistently strong, operating near full capacity throughout the year.

However, infrastructural limitations and prohibitive costs at Heathrow have prompted the airline to seek alternative avenues for growth. Thairu notes that securing additional slots at Heathrow would require investments "in the hundreds of millions of dollars," making the Gatwick option a more viable and commercially promising alternative.

Landing slots, which are designated time windows for arrivals and departures, are highly coveted assets in international aviation, especially at congested airports. Heathrow, traditionally favoured by legacy carriers, has become increasingly difficult to access due to scarcity and escalating slot acquisition costs. Kenya Airways currently operates a single daily landing slot at Heathrow, having previously sold one of its premium early morning slots to Oman Air in 2016 for approximately Sh5.3 billion.

Allan Kilavuka, Kenya Airways Group CEO, emphasises that the new route provides crucial flexibility for both leisure and corporate travellers. The dual London access points aim to benefit a broad spectrum of passengers, including tourists, business executives, students, and members of the diaspora reconnecting with family. The Gatwick expansion is expected to increase Kenya Airways' UK vending capacity by 40 percent, adding approximately 700 new seats weekly. 

Unlike the New York route, which took nearly three years to turn a profit, the Gatwick flights are expected to achieve profitability much faster, due to lower congestion levels, enhanced scheduling flexibility, and improved cargo handling efficiency. The airline anticipates that leisure travellers will constitute 70 percent of the passenger flow on the new Gatwick route, with business travellers making up the remaining 30 percent. 

A growing student demographic has also emerged as an area of strategic focus. While British Airways maintains a dominant presence on the Heathrow corridor, Kenya Airways aims to diversify entry points and offer an alternative to existing flight patterns. Thairu acknowledges British Airways, along with other African carriers active in the UK market, as "main rivals." Kilavuka describes the decision to expand to Gatwick as "a blend of commercial foresight and national interest," projecting its long-term value in elevating Kenya's status within the continental transport ecosystem. 

Despite the optimism surrounding the Gatwick expansion, the airline's management faces challenges related to aircraft availability, with the new route currently operated by its long-haul night fleet. Discussions around fleet expansion and route optimisation remain central to sustaining growth in this segment. 

The 2024 UK-Kenya Trade and Investment report indicates that total trade between the two countries reached Sh318 billion (£1.8 billion), with Kenyan exports to the UK rising by 8.1 percent. Additionally, the tourism sector continues to thrive, with international arrivals reaching 2.394 million, placing the UK among Kenya's top five source markets.