Nairobi — Precision Air, in which Kenya Airways has a 49 per cent stake, made its inaugural direct trip to Mwanza from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last Friday.

This opens a new financial stream for the national carrier that registered a loss of Sh5.6 billion for the year ending March 31, on account of a ballooning fuel-hedging loss.

The introduction of the route brings to 13 the total number of destinations served by Precision Air in East Africa, and a total of 381 departures a week.

The direct route doubles the frequency of flights between Mwanza and Nairobi from four to eight each week.

Previously, it flew four weekly flights to Mwanza via Kilimanjaro. The number of passengers has increased from 216,990 in 2004 to 538,305 this year.

Businessmen can now connect through JKIA to South Africa, Dubai, London, Entebbe and Doha.

"The direct flight to Mwanza will ensure that flying time is minimised. The route is to a large extent a business travellers' traffic, especially fishing and the mining industry, which is growing very fast," said the airlines chief executive officer, Alfonce Kioko.

There is also a class of travellers who use flights for connection to other destinations, he said.

Precision Air has 49 per cent of the market share in Tanzania, and has a turnover of Sh5 billion.