The additional flights set to commence on 3rd September will see an increase in Jambojet flights on Monday, Friday and Saturday from the current 3 flights to 4 flights on each of those days. The airline will also be introducing an early morning flight on Sunday to meet the weekend demand.

Jambojet CEO Willem Hondius says the decision was pegged on increased demand on the route.

“Since inception, we have experienced immense growth in Kisumu due to our very affordable fares and thus it is time we give our customers more flexibility and convenience for travel,” Hondius said.

“Kisumu which was the airline’s second destination after Mombasa is mostly frequented by businessmen from the larger western region as well as corporate travellers whose regional offices are domiciled in Kisumu, Kakamega, Mumias, Kisii and Bungoma,” he further explained.

The larger western region has seen tremendous growth within the tourism sector over the last three to five years. The expansive Western tourism circuit is ranked highly as one of the country’s leading hospitality destinations, with notable new hotels, accommodation and conference facilities coming up spurred on by devolution.

Kisumu leads the fray with the establishment of high-end hotels in the lakeside city including Acacia premier, Pinecone, Le Savannah, Royal City, Imperial, The Vic, Sovereign, Jumuia, Parkview Safari, Grand Swiz and Kisumu Hotel.

The region has demonstrated its ability to host major conferences and seminars including the recently concluded Devolution Conference that was held in Kakamega town with 6,000 delegates in attendance.

The airline which operates, arguably, one of the youngest fleets on the continent consisting of four Dash 8 Q400 propeller powered aircraft, is currently the main airline flying to all major local routes.

Locally, Jambojet flies to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Malindi and Ukunda and has introduced its first regional route with two daily flights to Entebbe.

According to Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Tourism stakeholders in the coastal city termed the initiative by Silverstone Air as a bold step bound to give the tourism sector a ‘fabulous boost.’

They said the scheduled two times a week domestic flights were poised to further promote domestic and business tourism in the coastal region.

The Sh. 10, 000 one way flights and Sh20, 000 return flights will see the plane fly Kisumu-Mombasa route twice weekly on Fridays and Sundays.

The small aircrafts will be departing from Kisumu at 1pm arriving at the coastal town at 2.30 pm and setting off on the return path at 3 pm to land at the lakeside airport at 4.40 pm.

Branch and Business Development Manager of Express Travel Group Ltd Silvano Njeru said the move by the low cost carrier will justify further investment in tourism facilities in Mombasa.

“The move is timely and is set to boost tourism, air transport connectivity and trade between Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu,” said Njeru.
Managing Director of Deans Travel Ltd Patrick Kamanga says any new route getting into an airport stimulates tourism, trade and investment.
He urged other domestic airlines to follow suit and provide low cost flights so as to create as much connectivity as possible.

Mombasa Deputy Governor Dr. William Kingi commended the management of Silverstone Air for the bold move in starting the new service adding that tourism was a major priority of the county government.

‘This new air service means a lot to Mombasa as it will bring even more visitors in the future’ said the deputy governor during the launch ceremony at the Nyali Sun Africa Beach Hotel on 4 March.

Dr. Kingi says the launch of the domestic air flights will boost business and open up investment opportunities between the two cities.
“This will not only boost leisure tourism, a major economic contributor to the Mombasa economy, but will also help facilitate investment,” he said.

Silverstone Sales and Marketing Manager Patrick Oketch says that for the first two weeks after inception, the airline will be operating on Fridays and Sundays but soon will add Wednesday to its flight days with timings remaining the same.

Oketch said Silverstone will apart from the Dash 8-100 aircraft also deploy a Fokker 50 and Dash 8-300 saying both have capacities to carry 50 passengers.
“Our target is to connect the 47 counties because we believe that connectivity is the only way the devolved units will achieve economic progress,” he said in Mombasa.

The airline made its maiden flight to Lodwar last Friday as it intensifies expansion drive through new routes, reports the Standard Digital.

It will make daily flights to the far-flung region from Wilson Airport in Nairobi. “We have been working hard over the past few months to be able to launch our airline routes,” said Chief Executive Mohamed Somow. In the past three months, the airline has launched daily flights to Kisumu, Ukunda, Malindi and Lamu.

Silver Stone Air was launched in October last year, initially only serving the popular South Coast tourist destination, Diani, as well as operating flights to Kisumu. For more details click here

This will see the Nairobi based budget airline become the first regional low cost airline with an introductory fare of Ksh 11,330 (incl. taxes) one-way. Customers will be able to purchase tickets from the airline’s robust online book portal – Jambojet.com, sales office, call centers or at their preferred travel agent.

Willem Hondius, CEO Jambojet said “We are delighted to launch direct service to Entebbe, a much-anticipated addition to our network where we will offer frequent and new flyers even more affordable fares. This new route will connect businesses in Kenya and Uganda while also appealing to leisure travelers, offering them the opportunity to experience the ‘Pearl of Africa’.

Hondius further noted that the airline has seen an upward trend on its domestic traffic; “We are optimistic that the regional flight will spur the airline’s growth as well as foster regional integration at a national level.”

The airline currently operates a relatively young fleet of four Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The route will be served with the recently acquired 78 seater; turboprop Bombardier Next Gen Q400 as it plans to venture into other regional destinations.

The airline currently operates to Eldoret, Kisumu, Malindi, Mombasa, Nairobi and Ukunda.

The flight schedules will operate as follows:

Morning

Nairobi (NBO) to Entebbe (EBB) JM8520 departs 09:10 arrives 10:30

Entebbe (EBB) to Nairobi (NBO) JM8521 departs 11:00 arrives 12:20

Evening

Nairobi (NBO) to Entebbe (EBB) JM8524 departs 17:30 arrives 18:50

Entebbe (EBB) to Nairobi (NBO) JM8525 departs 19:20 arrives 20:40

Serving the popular South Coast tourist destination, Diani, the airline will also operate flights to Kisumu, effective 10 October.

In a statement the airline said that flights will operate with a dash 8-100 series aircraft which has capacity for 37 passengers, but added that it also has at its disposal another aircraft with a capacity for 50 passengers.

Silver Stone Air will fly twice daily to Kisumu and one flight per day to Ukunda. Below are the timings:

Kisumu

Morning flight
Wilson 07h00h – Kisumu 07h40
Kisumu 08h00 – Wilson 08h40h

Afternoon Flight
Wilson 16h30 – Kisumu 17h10
Kisumu 17h30 – Wilson 18h10

Ukunda

Wilson 10h30 – Ukunda 11h40
Ukunda 12h00 – Wilson 13h10

The introductory fare on both the routes will be KSHS4500 one way, open for bookings on the Silver Stone Air website www.silverstoneair.com

All flights will depart From Wilson airport from the Airlink Building adjacent to the aero club. Additionally, group charter flights are also available to any of the destinations within Kenya and East Africa at affordable rates