Kenya Airways adds triangular Dreamliner route linking Nairobi with Paris and Amsterdam

Flight KQ164 departs Nairobi at 08:30 local time, arriving in Paris at 16:10. It then leaves Paris at 17:40 for Amsterdam, landing at 18:55. The return flight departs Amsterdam at 20:35 and arrives back in Nairobi at 06:10 the following day.

This marks Kenya Airways’ only one-stop European service currently. In contrast to Ethiopian Airlines—which frequently operates one-stop flights—Kenya Airways has limited such services in recent years; its last similar routing was in 2020 between Nairobi, Geneva, and Rome.

Last summer, Kenya Airways operated nine weekly nonstop flights between Nairobi and Paris. However, with some aircraft out of service and a desire to keep morning departures for better connectivity, the airline has added Amsterdam as a tag-on destination for certain flights.

London Gatwick recently became part of Kenya Airways’ network as the carrier could not secure more slots at Heathrow Airport. During the pandemic period when slots were available, it operated up to twice daily into Heathrow but now serves Gatwick three times per week due to slot constraints.

Currently, Kenya Airways offers daily services from Nairobi to both Amsterdam and London Heathrow; six weekly (rising to daily in winter) flights to Paris CDG; and three weekly flights to London Gatwick.

Over the past two decades, several changes have occurred within Kenya Airways’ European operations. Services to Geneva and Rome ended in 2020; Istanbul Atatürk was dropped in 2007. The airline’s total weekly Europe-bound flights increased slightly from 21 in September 2005 to just 23 today.

Kenya Airways remains partly state-owned and continues to face financial challenges—including losses, high debt levels, cost concerns, political involvement, frequent leadership changes, and slow growth.

“Unsurprisingly, various changes have occurred to its European network in the past 20 years. According to Cirium Diio data, Geneva and Rome flights ended in 2020, while those to Istanbul Atatürk ceased in 2007 (as was used at the time; it's on the European side of the Bosphorus).

Twenty years ago, in September 2005, Kenya Airways had 21 weekly flights to Europe, which has only grown to 23 now. Perhaps that's a blessing from its perspective. With its current baggage, if it were larger, it'd probably be even more loss-making.”

Kenya Airways operates primarily out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and was founded in 1977.