Fly direct, the relationship is closer

New connection stands to inject more energy into business ties

Soon after a Boeing 777-300ER landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport late in the afternoon of Nov 19, applause broke out among its 400 passengers as they celebrated history in the making.

They were passengers on Kenya Airways' inaugural direct flight linking Nairobi and Guangzhou, which does away with a longer trek, via Bangkok.

Before the flight, on which I would travel as a guest of the airline, I had just flown from South Africa and was anxious to nab a business-class seat, but they were all taken and I had to be content with economy class. But this would be no normal economy class flight.

At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport the departure lounge had been transformed into a party hall. Seats had been replaced by tables full of buffet food and beverages, with cocktails on offer; and Chinese decorations including fans, couplets with lucky words and red lanterns, and at the front of the room was a stage for an inauguration ceremony.

Amid these festivities I chatted with a South African woman who told me she has a clothing and textiles business and that she needs to travel to China every couple of weeks to buy products.

"If I was going to Guangzhou from Johannesburg, I had to fly with South African Airways to Hong Kong and then take trains or travel by road to wherever I was going. The tickets were also expensive. The Kenya Airways flight is a bit complicated for me because I have to transfer in Nairobi, but I don't need to take all my baggage to the railway station when traveling to and from Guangzhou."

Kenya Airways says the non-stop flights between Nairobi and Guangzhou, three times a week in each direction, come as trade and tourism connections between Kenya and the Far East strengthen, and Kenya works on cultivating China as a key market.

Kenya itself lacks the demand to fill more than 1,000 seats a week on such a direct flight, but the airline is obviously pinning its hopes on flights to and from other parts of the continent, particularly western Africa, feeding demand. Kenya, on the horn of Africa, is in a good position to connect Africa with the rest of the world, similar to its rival Ethiopian Airlines.

The flights also depend for their success on increasing ties between Africa and China generally. Guangzhou has become home to an African diaspora of more than 300,000, which is driving the fast developing business relationship between the country and the continent.

The stereotype that China has the firm upper hand in this relationship is belied by the fact that Africans are keen to travel to China to find products that suit their own markets and conditions. That is why Guangzhou, surrounded by the most diversified factories in southern China, has become the favorite of many African traders and other international business people.

It is a pity that few Chinese airlines are flying African routes, although with such a great market and potential, African airlines including Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Egypt Air and even Air Mauritius are developing their muscle in flying to China, competing with other international airlines.

One hopes that Kenya Airways' new flights will not only feed present demand but will create more potential business opportunities for Africans and Chinese.

One hopes, too, that the airline has realized that passengers, after a 10-hour flight, and preparing to face a new day in a distant continent, would appreciate it if the airline went the extra mile and gave out tooth brushes and toothpaste.

The author is China Daily's correspondent based in Nairobi. Contact the writer at lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/29/2013 page9)