295. A game changer for Africa? Air Asia to launch Kuala Lumpur - Nairobi. An overview of why Nairobi and why now with Paul Carroll, Chief Commercial Officer, Air Asia Group

In this episode, we focus on a carrier that has recently announced it will be launching services to mainland Africa for the first time.  Air Asia will launch Kuala Lumpur - Nairobi on 15th November with a 4 weekly service and deploy an Airbus A330-300 comprising 12 business class and 365 economy seats.  I am joined by Paul Carroll, the Chief Commercial Officer of the Air Asia Group and together we cover An introduction to the Air Asia offering and business model Why Nairobi was chosen as the first entry point in Continental Africa and why now? How strong are the commercials on the route? What has the reaction been in the short time since the route was announced and put up for sale? How important is the Chinese market in the route's success? How will Air Asia stimulate the market to support the growth it will need to ensure the route is viable and successful? Why start with 4 frequencies per week? Are there plans for partnerships/ interlines with African carriers? What is the distribution strategy in Africa? Connect/ Follow Paul on LinkedIn here If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to the podcast to never miss another episode and share this episode with someone in your network who would benefit from listening.