Kenya Airways cargo division (KQ Cargo) and Astral Aviation, two leading cargo operators in Africa, have signed a codeshare agreement, which is the first of its kind in Africa.
The agreement will boost trade between the African continent and the United Arab Emirates by leveraging the strengths of the two cargo operators in the Nairobi cargo hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Kenya Airways’ cargo director, Dick Murianki, believes that the partnership will provide both airlines’ cargo customers with “more options to boost trade between the UAE and Africa” and lead to a more efficient schedule and increased capacity for African traders wishing to bring in goods from the Middle East.
Sanjeev Gadhia, Astral Aviation’s chief executive, agrees. “This codeshare agreement, a first among two major players in the cargo sphere in Africa, will lead to a more efficient schedule and increased capacity for African traders wishing to bring in goods from the Middle East,” the CEO noted.
The codeshare builds on previous co-operation between the two airfreight carriers. In fact, “KQ Cargo and Astral Aviation have had a long-standing commercial cooperation for the past 20 years, and this partnership is a continuation of our efforts to strengthen collaboration and partnerships amongst African airlines and to boost intercontinental trade while driving sustainable development of the African continent,” Murianki said.
Kenya Airways and Astral Aviation have had a commercial and interline cooperation for cargo for the past 20 years and the new agreement builds on their efforts to strengthen collaboration and partnerships amongst African airlines.
Recently, during the pandemic, Astral Aviation contracted Kenya Airways’ Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliners’ repurposed as freighters to carry Covid-related cargo from Guangzhou to Nairobi for onward delivery across Africa.
The partnership is expected to drive sustainable development of the African continent.
