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Kenyan Airways, Uganda Airlines in talks over interline, other deals

Published

11 months ago

June 30, 2023

Talks have commenced between Kenya Airways (KQ) and Uganda Airlines for interline and re-protection deals in an effort to expand access to several new locations.

KQ chief executive, Allan Kilavuka disclosed that the talks were at an advanced stage and would likely begin the transfer of passengers to one another’s networks.

“The talks are on but the timelines are as soon as we can agree and do the set-up. These (deals) fall within our partnership pillar, which is part of our strategy. It is also in line with our pan-African strategy,” said Mr. Kilavuka.

On its part, Ugandan Airlines says it wants to complete the agreement before the year is through in order to increase income.

“Conversations are ongoing with Kenya Airways for both interline and re-protection. A lot is going on between the two, and we hope to have an agreement by the end of the year,” Peggy Macharia, country manager of Uganda Airlines in Kenya, said.

Under an interline agreement, travellers can check in once for all of the flights on their itinerary, obtain boarding cards, and transfer luggage from the original airline without having to pick up and drop off the original airline’s baggage.

While a re-protection enables the airline to transfer its passengers to a rival carrier with whom they share a destination when it is unable to fly to a certain destination due to a mechanical issue or scheduling change.

Kenya Airlines has a public-private partnership structure, although the Kenyan government is the company’s largest shareholder (48.9%), while Uganda Airlines is 99.9 percent privately owned by an undisclosed individual or individuals, with the government owning just 0.0001% of the airline’s shares.

Related Topics:Featured Kenyan Airways Uganda Airlines

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

5 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.