Thursday, October 1, 2009: Kenya Airways has signed a Code Share Agreement with Nigerian Eagle Airlines to strengthen its presence and increase market share in West Africa.
The agreement, to take effect on October 25, 2009, will offer customers of the two airlines extended travel and better connection options in West, East and Southern Africa.
Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Dr Titus Naikuni said: “The agreement will provide a seamless and superior connecting product for our markets which is in line with our route expansion and effective service delivery strategy”.
“If you want to do business in Africa, you must do business in Nigeria. The airline had longed to have a partner in Nigeria and expressed satisfaction at the partnership with Nigeria’s most promising young airline,” he added.
The deal will enable Nigerian Eagle Airlines passengers to connect to Africa and the world through the Kenya Airways hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi including European destinations; Amsterdam, Paris and London and select destinations in Asia, including Dubai, Mumbai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
He said the move was a demonstration that African carriers are now cooperating more than ever before to develop aviation transport.

Naikuni said the airlines will feed traffic both ways to further harness the opportunities of the codeshare and interline agreement premised on reliability and established domestic, regional and international route networks.

Nigerian Eagle Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Dapo Olumide, explained that the pact was a significant achievement for the airline because of Kenya Airways route network, both in the region and beyond. He noted that the agreement with one of Africa’s most viable airlines would pave way for the future of aviation in the continent. “This is a significant achievement for us. We cannot think of a better airline than Kenya Airways because of its route network. This code-share agreement will pave way for the future of aviation in Africa. I have passion for African aviation, which I know will only be developed by Africans,” Olumide said.
Kenya Airways operates one of the youngest fleets in sub-Saharan Africa and serves over three million passengers annually from its base at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. 
The airline recently started direct flights to Gaborone, Botswana and Ndola, Zambia.  Other routes are Congo-Brazaville and Libreville; launched in March and June this year respectively.
Following the agreement, Kenya Airways and Nigerian Eagle Airlines will strive to synchronize their schedules and coordinate luggage handling, which makes transfers between connecting flights less time-consuming.
A Code Share Agreement is a commercial arrangement in which two airlines sell seats on the flight that one of them operates. It refers to a practice where a flight operated by an airline is jointly marketed as a flight for one or more other airlines.
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