Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Airways have announced a new codeshare partnership agreement, enhancing travel options for passengers flying between London Heathrow and Nairobi, as well as providing connections to popular destinations in the Caribbean.
Effective immediately, customers booking through Virgin Atlantic can now directly purchase flights on Kenya Airways’ Heathrow to Nairobi service.
Conversely, Kenya Airways passengers will soon have the opportunity to connect via London Heathrow to Virgin Atlantic’s Caribbean destinations, including Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented, ‘We’re delighted to launch our partnership with Kenya Airways. As a fellow member of the SkyTeam alliance, we know our customers will enjoy a seamless travel experience, with more opportunities to earn and spend their miles with increased benefits for our SkyPriority members.
‘We’re committed to enhancing connectivity and as the only UK airline to codeshare on the Heathrow to Nairobi route, we’ll be providing more choice and flexibility for customers booking with Virgin Atlantic.’
Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial and Customer Officer of Kenya Airways, commented; ‘We are excited to embark on this transformative partnership with Virgin Atlantic. By leveraging our complementary strengths and networks, we aim to enrich the travel experience for our valued customers, offering them greater choice, convenience and connectivity to key destinations in the world.’
The partnership extends benefits to members of both airlines’ frequent flyer programmes. Virgin Atlantic’s Gold and Silver Flying Club members, along with Kenya Airways Asante Rewards Platinum and Gold members, can avail SkyPriority services at London Heathrow and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, such as priority check-in, baggage handling, and boarding.
In addition to the convenience of the codeshare partnership, visitors from the United Kingdom and other regions outside of Africa now enjoy simplified travel to Kenya, requiring only online authorization instead of a full visa as of January this year.
