Competition for the Nairobi- US route has taken on a new dimension after US-based, Delta Airlines announced direct flights from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, via Dakar, Senegal.

The airline, which is the only major US carrier that flies to Africa becomes the first to fly direct to the US from East Africa.

Currently, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and SN Brussels are some of the airlines that offer links to the US.

Delta operates its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airline also maintains hubs at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and Salt Lake City International Airport.

In May 2008, the Kenyan and US government signed an open skies agreement that will enable the expansion and liberalisation of the bilateral civil aviation relations between the two countries, with tourism being one of the major winners.

Inaugural flights start on June 3. Passengers will not only save on money but on time as well. Travellers depart Nairobi at 20.10 and arrive in Atlanta at 08.00 in time for breakfast.

The airline is offering limited-time special introductory return economy fares from Nairobi to Atlanta, via Dakar, from $1,789 inclusive of taxes and surcharges.

However, tickets must be purchased no later than April 28 for travel between June 3 and September 15.

Swiss International Airlines, flying via Zurich to Chicago and Atlanta, US charges $2,183 for the air ticket, while Emirates connecting through Dubai to Houston, US charges $2,561.

According to Bobby Bryan, Delta’s commercial manager for West and East Africa, the new four-times weekly flight will be the only direct service to the US from Kenya and will offer passengers convenient connections via Delta’s Atlanta hub to over 150 business and leisure destinations throughout the US including Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, this new flight will provide connections between Kenya and Senegal. Via Nairobi, passengers can also take advantage of several good connections to other East African cities such as Kigali, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa operated by SkyTeam partner, Kenya Airways.

Delta’s direct service between Nairobi and Atlanta with operate using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with up to 216 seats in a two-class configuration featuring 35 seats in Business Elite – Delta’s award-winning business class service and 181 in economy class. The new flight from Nairobi will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Delta is the leading airline connecting Africa to the US. By June 2009, Delta will be the only carrier to operate service between North, East, South and West Africa and the United States and will operate from nine cities in seven African countries. Delta currently operates flights from Cairo, Accra, Dakar, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Lagos.

Delta Air Lines is the world’s largest airline. From its hubs in the US, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to 368 destinations in 66 countries and serve more than 170 million passengers each year.

Due to the saturation of aviation in the US, Delta has been expanding in the past two years internationally with Africa being one of its target markets. Currently it operates in two destinations in South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana.