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{
    "id": 493843,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/493843/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 207,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Shimbwa",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1345,
        "legal_name": "Omar Mwinyi Shimbwa",
        "slug": "omar-mwinyi-shimbwa"
    },
    "content": "to fully liberalize the air fares including awarding licenses to other operators to make air travel affordable as a result of fair competition. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Kenya Airways is among ten airlines which are operating the domestic circuit in the country. Others are summarized as follows: - Kenya Airways domestic and international flight and their office inception is 1984; their hub is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The other one is 748 Air Services; this is a charter air services which was incepted in 1994. African Safaris Airways; this is a tourist flight and the hub is in Mombasa among several others. There exist two bodies; there is the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Kenya Competition Authority. Kenya Airways has been in existence for 37 years, first as a State Corporation. After 1996, it existed as a public company in which the Government owns close to 30 per cent shareholding. Despite Kenyans injecting a lot of capital into the national carrier, flying still remains out of reach for the ordinary mwananchi. Indeed, the paradox of owning one of the top airlines in Africa with a global reputation, while domestic air transport remains inaccessible to the majority of our citizens, who have to endure long journeys and lost man hours on our treacherous roads, is a shame for our country. One of the major contributors to the inaccessibility of domestic air transport to a majority of Kenyans is the monopolistic tendencies of Kenya Airways. This behavior is evident in the barriers to entry propagated by the national carrier such as price variation which has ensured that flying remains a preserve of the rich and any new entrant into the industry cannot compete on a fair footing. Indeed, the price of a domestic ticket can vary from as little as Kshs.7,000 to as high as Kshs.30,000. In order for Kenya Airways to further its stronghold in the domestic market, it launched the Jambo Jet, which is a fully owned subsidiary of our national carrier. This is a glaring example of anti-competitive behaviour because the fares of as low as Kshs.2, 850 are less than half the cost of commercial air flights and are designed to price out and completely eliminate competition from the other low cost carriers in our domestic market. Further, Kenya Airways even withdrew from some routes such as Eldoret as a strategy to ease the entry of Jambo Jet. The monopolistic tendency of Kenya Airways is further exacerbated by the inefficiency and lack of action by the Competition Authority of Kenya and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The Competition Authority Act of 2010, states that any conduct which amounts to abuse of a dominant position in a market in Kenya or a substantial part of Kenya is prohibited. The abuse of dominant position includes directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling price or other unfair trading conditions. Therefore, the inaction of the Competition Authority as Kenya Airways continues to exhibit uncompetitive behaviour may indicate a lack of capacity or reluctance by the authority to perform its mandate of promoting and safeguarding competition in the national economy and to protect consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct. One of the objectives of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority was to economically and efficiently plan, develop and manage civil aviation in Kenya. However, it seems that Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is not taking any steps to ensure that civil aviation is developing to bring into the fold the common mwananchi through affordable pricing. Indeed, sustained low prices can only become a reality if there is fair competition in the industry. Unfair trade practices and lack of appropriate actions by Government agencies in the aviation industry are not a The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}