Kenya Airways yesterday unveiled two new lounges Simba Lounge and Pride Lounge at their dedicated Terminal 1 at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport. The terminals are for the exclusive use of Premier World Passengers and Sky Priority Members who will be flying from or transiting through the Kenya Airway’s JKIA hub.
The Kenya Airways lounges which are on the second floor of Terminal 1A have a contemporary African theme with paintings and furnishings that reflect the vibrancy of Africa. The lounges are state of the art facilities which are designed to match the expectations of premier users for comfort and utmost luxury.
Pride Lounge features a circular layout overlooking the airside. There is a smoking room, washrooms and showers, a kiddy zone and a dinning and working area. There is also piped music which is sectional. The lounge can comfortably seat 260 people.
Simba Lounge has a business experience centre, family lounge, smoking zone, piped music (entire facility), a sleeping room, washrooms and showers and a Dining/Working area. The guests also have a newsstand where they can get access to all the latest international news from around the world with all the major newspapers available to guests. Simba lounge can comfortably seat 60 people.
New Kenya Airways’ Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mbuvi Ngunze talked about how the airline has been working on its ambitious Mawingu strategic plan. He said that they have delivered on the aircraft and the lounge which cost around 1.5 million USD. The lounges are part of the airline’s commitment to customers to deliver a world class experience to its guests.
“These modern lounges are the best airport lounges and are at par with the world’s best. They will perfectly complement the state-of-the-art aircraft that we are acquiring as part of our fleet renewal programme, thus delivering an unmatched experience to guests from start to finish,” Mr. Ngunze added.
Mr. Ngunze challenged Kenyan travel agencies to support their local airline as they were not getting enough sales from the local travel market. He noted that industry players have complained about the quality of service and said that service is the next priority for the airline. The first and second priority being to delivery of lounges where clients can be comfortable and have the best aircraft to fly on.
Mr. Ngunze who took office at the beginning of November said that his primary focus would be on service and bringing it up to world class standards. He compared the relationships between the airline and travel agencies to a marriage where the two were tied together for better or worse and so it was important to make the relationship work and thrive.
Mr. Ngunze reminded guests that Kenya Airways has the youngest fleet in Africa and that this was something to be proud of and to celebrate. The airline has acquired six Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts in the last couple of months but has also brought in other Boeing aircraft as well. The airline is expected to start flying to more destinations around Africa and also expand its destinations in Asia and Europe in the next few years.
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