Delta Issues Statement Regarding Postponement of New Service to Kenya and Liberia
June 2, 2009
Written by kenyanobserver, in AROUND THE US, BUSINESS, Featured, KENYA
June 2nd, 2009 2:05 PM
Just got a call back from Delta Airlines and this is the statement they sent to me by email;
Delta Issues Statement Regarding Postponement of New Service to Kenya and Liberia
Customers being reaccommodated on Delta’s SkyTeam partner airlines via European hubs
ATLANTA, June 2, 2009 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has been notified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the Transportation Security Administration will require more time to approve Delta’s planned direct flights to Nairobi, Kenya and Monrovia, Liberia. Delta in response issued the following statement:
“Delta regrets any inconvenience to our customers caused by the postponement of our new direct service to Kenya and Liberia. The airline is proactively contacting customers to reaccommodate them on long-established connecting flights offered by our joint venture partners Air France-KLM and other SkyTeam member airlines, which carry Americans to these destinations in Africa through their European hubs.
“Delta appreciates DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s continued focus on finalizing approvals for Delta’s direct service to Africa as quickly as possible. Delta in October 2008 notified the U.S. government of its plans to offer new service to Kenya and Liberia. However, Delta was informed only yesterday by DHS that it would require additional time to approve these new flights.
“Africa continues to be an important region for Delta. Delta is the only airline offering scheduled service between the United States and Africa, currently serving six destinations in five countries: Accra, Ghana; Cairo, Egypt; Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and Dakar, Senegal. This week Delta upgraded its service between Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa, to a nonstop flight operated with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft featuring 180-degree full flat seats in its BusinessElite cabin.”
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With declining tourist numbers in Kenya and a global economic crisis where the US is worst hit, somehow I couldn’t see Delta investing in the Kenya route. At the same time, Kenya has little to offer to the US politically compared to the likes of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania all of which unfortunately are too small to warrant direct US flights.