Regional low-cost carrier Jambojet plans to launch flights to Entebbe, Uganda, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by March 2027 as it ramps up fleet expansion in a push for regional growth.
The budget airline, which currently operates only one international route from Mombasa to Zanzibar, has confirmed plans to relaunch its Entebbe route, which it closed during the Covid-19 disruptions, and start a new one to Dar es Salaam, as it grows its fleet from 11 to 13 aircraft in the short-term.
Jambojet’s board chairman, Ayisi Makatiani, said this is the first phase of the airline’s growth strategy, which will see it triple its fleet to 30 planes over the next five years, allowing it to launch new routes beyond domestic and regional markets.
“The idea is to begin to expand the network…the growth will not just be adding planes and routes, but also figuring out how to restructure, especially as we continue to be profitable,” he told Business Daily.
“This year, we’re going regional, adding Entebbe and Dar es Salaam, to be supported by new planes that we will receive later this year, with the routes expected to be operational by March next year. But also, on local routes, we want to increase frequencies.”
Jambojet last Friday received a Bombardier DHC-8-400 plane, bringing its total aircraft fleet size to 11, and expanding its total operational capacity by about 11 percent, helping boost passenger numbers and revenues.
With the additional capacity, the carrier has already added 22 weekly flights — five to Eldoret, four each to Mombasa, Diani, and Kisumu, three to Malindi, and two to Lamu — meeting additional demand on the routes. The extra flights bring its total weekly frequencies to 224, up from 202.
“With the additional capacity, we expect our revenue to increase to Sh17.2 billion, and passengers to hit 1.5 million. For the first quarter, we’re way ahead of last year, but slightly behind budget by 2 percent because of the late arrival of the new aircraft,” said Jambojet CEO Karanja Ndegwa.
Jambojet last year saw a 5 percent growth in revenues to Sh14.4 billion from Sh13.6 billion in 2024, while passenger numbers stagnated at 1.2 million due to the prolonged grounding of one of its planes.
The newly acquired Bombardier DHC-8-400 has a maximum capacity of 68 passengers. Jambojet expects two more aircraft in the short term – one by the end of September and another by March next year – which will support the launch of the Entebbe and Dar es Salaam routes.
Entebbe was Jambojet’s first regional route and marked its initial expansion beyond Kenya in 2018, but it was suspended following operational challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside the Kigali and Mogadishu routes.
Its only other thriving regional route, to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was suspended last year following renewed conflict in the eastern DRC region, leaving only the Zanzibar route.
Its return to Entebbe and entry into the Dar es Salaam route will intensify competition on some of East Africa’s busiest regional corridors, where it will face established carriers including its parent Kenya Airways, Uganda Airlines, Air Tanzania, and Precision Air.
