A Kenyan based airline, Fly540 has acquired a 50 seat CRJ 100, a move the company said would strengthen the airline's regional services.

The airline Operations Director Nixon Ooko, in a recent statement sent to Daily Monitor said: "The Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) will be deployed on the Nairobi-Entebbe route and will reduce the flight time to 50 minutes. With a range of 1,815 kilometres, CRJ aircraft will be the mainstay of the airline's expansion drive in East and Central Africa and the Great Lakes region."

He added: "Starting January 7, 2010, Fly540 will introduce three flights a week between Nairobi and Bujumbura using the CRJ 100 jet. This will be the first of several new routes planned for 2010."

Fly540 is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Presently, it operates in the three East African countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

The airline commenced operations in November 2006 with daily flights between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The aviation industry in East Africa has steadily been growing over the years, although it recently registered a dwindle because of instability in the global economic.