[LuganoPirate]

LetsFly. Good to know they have good yields in Business. Kenya is very popular with Swiss tourists and many are happy to pay extra for their annual long haul getaway sitting in a more comfortable cabin, so it may not be just business travelers supporting the route.

Germans on the other hand often use companies such as TUI for their holidays and TUI have their own aircraft so do not book with LH and this may explain the lower yields in the Business cabin.

[FDOS_UK]

superchris – 08/10/2015 16:53 BST

These Privatair Boeings are not ‘old’ 737s, they are new build Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) or Boeing Business Jet 2s (BBJ2) that have been configured to provide a decent ride for mid haul flights.

Given the choice of Y in one of these or on a 777 with 10 abreast, it’s a no brainer.

[KSHaggag]

I am convinced that LH is flying to NBO to capture the leisure traffic and not the business one .This explains the small capacity on offer ,however I do iterate that Swiss is doing a fantastic job there and could assume the full responsibility of East Africa alongside SN who is also an Africa Expert on behalf of Mami LH who has little experience if any in East Africa .
LH ,please focus on your strengths ;it is not because you own Swiss now that you give yourself the right to mess up the whole scene .
Twenty years ago ,Swissair and Sabena were the strongest european carriers in Africa ,plus AF for the French speaking areas of course ( for cultural reasons ) .Leverage the Swiss strong points and let them expand in Africa instead of you doing a lousy job there ;on the other hand ,focus on growth in areas where you are expert e.g. North America ,China ,etc..

[dutchyankee]

@KSHaggag

While SN may have been an African pioneer and specialist, I don’t think you can call an airline who made a loss every one of its nearly 78 year history, bar one year when owned by the original Swissair, an expert in anything other than losing money. Sabena’s historic links and routes to Africa were often due to colonial links. Swiss and previously Swissair have been flying to Dar Es Salaam via Nairobi three times a week since I lived in Dar in the 90’s up to now, so perhaps LH is being cautious for good reason. Obviously, if the loads had allowed/warranted Swiss would have increased their rotations, and I would venture to say that any rumor to their increasing in March would be due to the explosive economic growth in DAR as opposed to uplift from NBO.

[TominScotland]

KSHaggag, the leisure focus (about which you may well be right) is the odd aspect for me. Other European carriers (BA, KL) make their money, I understand, not so much from passengers but from cargo, especially perishable goods – flowers and vegetables etc. Clearly a 737 is not suited for that market.

[KSHaggag]

Yes ,TominScotland !

All the Germans I know who have been flying btw Germany and NBO over the last two decades have been flying via Zurich ; is this not enough of a reason to please LH and invest in the Swiss connection to NBO further ?

[dutchyankee]

@TominScotland and KSHaggag

LH started a dedicated all cargo 777 service to NBO in 2014, so cargo uplift Is covered.

Would I ever fly a 737 8 hours to NBO when I could enjoy a LX flight, heck no, but LH must have studied the opportunities and want to tread lightly. I thought LH created a new leisure airline for these kind of routes?

[LetsFlyNow]

@dutchyankee
Indeed LH to NBO was not to be operated by the mainline but by the cheaper Cityline. Yes, there’s also Eurowings but LH figured or must have seen Swiss’ books and decided that there should be some connecting traffic as well.
Condor too offers a triangular routing to Nairobi then to Mombasa and Kilimanjaro.

Kenya is indeed a very popular destination for German tourists but as LP said, most travel by TUI etc. and the gulfies.

I’m going on holiday to Kenya in December and i’ll fly EK prefering to take the A380 from MUC and a 777-300ER from DXB. And this being a leisure trip, i looked at the price and it was far cheaper than LH. And the only difference in time is only about 2-3hrs given from MUC i’d have to connect in ZRH or FRA anyway.

[KSHaggag]

I wonder why the leisure subsidiary of LH being Eurowings or Germanwings or whatever would not assume this route .

There is a clear trend in the LH approach this upcoming winter schedule to open up new leisure destinations e.g. Tampa ,Cancun ,etc but I wonder whether cheap ,low yield ,leisure traffic justifies that expansion among which NBO .
Usually airlines use Privatair BBJ to cover thinner “business “routes like DUS/EWR ,DUS/ORD ,etc in the past and currently FRA/Pune ,also SK from CPH to EWR but it is rather unlikely to see that Privatair being operated on a leisure ,low business traffic route ..

[dutchyankee]

@KSHaggag

Exactly my point, hasn’t Lufthansa created a leisure subsidiary with older A340’s specifically for this purpose. They are starting Tampa apparently with that subsidiary.

[KSHaggag]

Hi Dutchyankee,

The new FRA/TPA will be operated with a mainline LH older A343 but refurbished with three classes on board : New Business Class ,New Premium Eco and Economy ..The leisure /low cost subsidiaries will operate out of Cologne to targeted leisure markets .

[dutchyankee]

Thanks KSHaggag, I had no idea, I thought it was going to be their EuroWings subsidiary with LH longhaul planes.

[KSHaggag]

As far as I remember having read that Eurowings will get its fleet from a Turkish operator ..SunExpress ..???? ..not sure …something like that .

Cheers ,

[transtraxman]

The website of Privatair is not up to date. However, as you notice from the drop down tag in the “Aircraft Selector” you can see that each aircraft is configured for the needs of each customer. Therefore, either Luthansa is using the same aircraft as on its other routes to Damman and Pune, or another aircraft has been configured for its needs.

http://www.privatair.com/aircraft/bbj2-lufthansa-32c-60y.html

[KSHaggag]

It seems now that all legacy carriers opting for a Privatair aircraft just take the same configuration of 20C 66Y ; LH and SK currently .

[Author]

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