Jambojet Aims To Finalize Its 10-Year Network Strategy

Kenyan LCC Jambojet is drawing up a 10-year network strategy that will determine whether it eventually moves beyond its all-turboprop fleet into jet aircraft, according to managing director and CEO Karanja Ndegwa, who has led the airline for more than six years.

Speaking to Aviation Week on the sidelines of the recent Aviation Africa conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Ndegwa said the carrier, now in its 12th year of operations, is firmly focused on its fleet of De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops. The airline currently operates nine Dash 8-400s and plans to expand to 11 aircraft by early 2026 and 16 by 2029. Two additional aircraft are scheduled to join the fleet next year.

“The Dash 8-400 remains central to our strategy due to its suitability for short-haul routes and its ability to operate at airports with infrastructure limitations,” Ndegwa said, adding that sticking to a single aircraft type supports the airline’s low-cost model by keeping operations efficient and reliable.

The turboprop, which Ndegwa says holds 57% of Kenya’s domestic market, has a range of roughly 800 miles. Beyond about a two-hour flying time, Ndegwa said, the economics shift in favor of jets—a threshold that is now shaping the airline’s long-term thinking. “In the next one year, we will be settling on what our 10-year network strategy is,” he said. “Once we’re able to determine that, we’ll sit with the Embraers, the Airbuses, the Boeings, and look at the economics.”

Jambojet, based out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, flies nine routes, all domestic except for routes serving Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Entebbe, Uganda. Ndegwa said the airline is also updating regulatory paperwork for further regional expansion into Tanzania and South Sudan, with fresh route announcements possible next year.

On finances, Ndegwa said the carrier’s net profit margin fell from around 11% last year to about 7%, as fuel costs—driven up by the conflict in the Middle East—rose from 19% to a peak of 27% of operating costs before easing back to roughly 23%. He credited the Dash 8-400’s fuel efficiency, which burns around 100 kg of fuel per hour compared to up to 2,400 kg for a jet, with helping the airline remain profitable through the crises.

Jambojet operates a codeshare with parent carrier Kenya Airways, but Ndegwa said the two rarely compete head-on. Kenya Airways serves a legacy, business-focused market, he said, while Jambojet’s turboprops are suited to thinner regional routes and shorter runways that larger jets cannot economically serve. On busier corridors such as Mombasa, both carriers fly, with Jambojet operating around 10 to 11 daily flights versus roughly six for Kenya Airways.

On sustainability, Ndegwa pointed to the Dash 8-400’s lower carbon emissions, along with operational measures such as gradual descents that reduce fuel burn and single-engine taxiing on the ground. The airline is also working with Pratt & Whitney on efficiency improvements. Jambojet’s Dash 8-400s are powered by PW150 engines.

The airline has also expanded into cargo since 2022, using spare capacity on its passenger aircraft rather than building a standalone freight operation. “It allows us to add value to the network we already operate,” Ndegwa said, pointing to domestic routes linking Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Eldoret as effective for moving perishables such as fresh produce and seafood.

Looking ahead, Ndegwa said Jambojet aims to roughly double its available seat kilometers over the next five years.

“We are looking to grow passenger numbers from around 1.5 million annually to between 2.8 million and 2.9 million, while continuing to push for the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market, which will be critical in unlocking African aviation’s full potential,” he said.