East African airlines are competing for a share of the Asian market by introducing flights to India to meet high demand, intensifying competition with established players like Kenya Airways.
Uganda Airlines is the latest entrant on the route, with flights on the Entebbe Mumbai route starting next month just days after Kenya Airways ramped up its frequencies to the destination.
The route, Uganda Airline’s longest destination, will see the carrier fly to Mumbai three times a week starting October 7.
The carrier will utilise its wide-body aircraft A330-800neo with a capacity of 258 passengers for the Mumbai route.
The entry of Uganda Air to India now means all three East African carriers – Kenya Airways, Uganda Airlines and RwandAir now fly the route, giving passengers more options.
Air Tanzania is currently flying cargo to Mumbai after acquiring a larger aircraft, but it’s yet to start passenger service on the route.
Kenya Airways ramped up frequencies to Mumbai days after IndiGo, India’s largest airline by both fleet and passenger numbers launched direct flights between the Asian Country and Nairobi.
KQ announced two daily flights to Mumbai as the carrier sought to expand its customer base in the wake of stiff competition from India’s low-cost carrier which commenced flights from the same city to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
IndiGo launched direct flights between India and Nairobi’s Jomo Kenya International Airport (JKIA) on August 5 with the inaugural flight from Mumbai landing with 173 passengers on board.
The launch of the route marked IndiGo’s Air’s entry into the African Continent with Nairobi serving as the 27th international and 105th overall destination.
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