Kenya Airways MD Titus Naikuni (left) with Airtel Africa CEO, Mr Christian de Faria
Airtel and Kenya Airways (KQ) have opened a new innovative chapter in the telecoms industry in Africa with the announcement that Airtel will host Kenya Airways as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, (MVNO) on its Kenyan Network. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deliver the MVNO service for the airline, subject to regulatory approvals was also signed.
Under the agreement Airtel will provide network infrastructure services to Kenya Airways. This means the Kenya Airways MVNO will provide cellular mobile services including customer registration, SIM card issuance, billing and customer care to end users without holding a spectrum license.
Dr. Naikuni pointed out that further details on the official launch and related details will be announced at a later stage once the necessary regulatory licensing and related requirements have been completed, a process which has already been initiated with the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA).
In this venture, Kenya Airways, will rely on its existing customer service and sales infrastructure such as its sales offices and customer contact centre.
The MVNO solution will specifically appeal to millions of Kenya Airways guests seeking a convenient, available, accessible and affordable roaming service and experience. Last year, Kenya Airways offered to the market a capacity of 14.1 Million Available Seats Per Kilomotre which represented a 1.8% growth from the previous year.