Five Forty Aviation Ltd, trading as Fly540, is a
low-cost airline which commenced operations in 2006 and is based in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
,
Kenya
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, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, operating both passenger and cargo services.
The airline had two subsidiary airlines,
Fly540 Ghana (suspended in May 2014 and since sold) and
Fly540 Angola
Fly540 Angola was a subsidiary of Fly540 that was based at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda and Cabinda Airport in Cabinda, Angola. Parent company Fastjet suspended its operations in April 2014 pending restructuring, although it never resu ...
(suspended in May 2014), but has since focused its business expansion plans on East Africa. The company slogan was ''Your Local Airline.''
History
Initial domestic services
Fly540 started operations between
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
and
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
on November 24, 2006. The airline's name refers to its price of KSh5,540 per adult return fare between the above-mentioned cities.
['']The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
'', January 18, 2007
''The new kite in the skies''
/ref>
Lonrho Africa was a major investor in the company, paying US $
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1.5 million for a 49% stake.
Passenger numbers rose by 93% to 171,160 in the year ended 30 September 2008, from 88,571 in 2007. At the same time, the load factor amounted to 63%, down from 65.8% in 2007.
Pan-African ambitions
The original scheduled flights included freight and passenger services between Nairobi and Mombasa, while Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...
became a destination in January 2007. Daily flights on the Nairobi- Malindi-Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island. ...
route were added to its domestic services in February 2007.
International operations commenced in October 2007 with flights to Juba in South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
and Goma
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
; Entebbe
Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...
in Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
in February 2008. Additionally Fly540 Tanzania launched direct flights between Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
and Mwanza, on the western shores of Lake Victoria. Initially the company operated 11 flights a week and it was hoped that in time its Fokker 28 aircraft, which carried 28 people, would be upgraded to a 50-seater CRJ 100.
Investment by Fastjet
In June 2012 Fly540 was sold for $85.7 million (Sh7.3 billion) to British investment firm Rubicon Diversified Investments (now Fastjet Plc ), who purchased the airline from Lonrho group. Rubicon said it had chosen to acquire Fly540 as its platform for the launch of a budget airline in Africa, to be modelled on Europe's second largest low-cost carrier EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
.['' The Star, Nairobi'', July 9, 2012]
''Kenya: Fastjet to Phase Out Fly540 By October''
/ref>
The first flights were transferred to the new airline, Fastjet, from 29 November 2012.[Centre for Aviation, November 30, 2012]
''FastJet takes to the air, promising a modern pan-African network''
/ref> These were two domestic routes in Tanzania; it had been expected that all Fly540 flights would quickly be transferred to Fastjet, in turn, as the various arrangements and permissions required for each route are agreed.
Following the acquisition of Lonrho's 49% interest in Five Forty Aviation Kenya Ltd, and a further 49.98% economic interest in the company approved at a Fastjet General meeting on 29 June 2012 and completed on 2 July 2012, it became apparent that the vendor did not consider the additional acquisition had completed. The dispute led to legal claims by both parties over the ownership and other matters. A Memorandum of Understanding was reached on 23 April 2013 where both parties agreed to stop legal proceedings against each other because Fastjet considered they did not have control or significant influence. As of 1 July 2014, a settlement was agreed between Fastjet and Don Smith EOin which Fastjet transferred all shares in Five Forty Aviation Kenya LTD to Don Smith and Fastjet relinquished any further interest in Five Forty Aviation Ltd. The Five Forty brand name is for sole use of Five Forty Aviation Kenya Ltd.
Suspension
The airline's operations in Kenya were suspended in November 2022 by the country's Competition Authority following complaints over false advertising, short notice before cancellation of flights, and delayed refunds.
Corporate affairs
Since the acquisition of Lonrho (BVI) Ltd's interest on 29 June 2012, Five Forty Aviation Ltd is now 100% privately owned.
Destinations
As of February 2016, Fly540 flies to the following destinations.
Fleet
Current fleet
The Fly540 fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):
Fleet development
In January 2008, the company signed a US$150 million contract for eight ATR 72-500s to be delivered in 2008 and 2009. These orders have since been cancelled
In April 2014, Fastjet announced that two ATRs and both DC-9 aircraft were to be withdrawn from service: the ATRs are to be sold, and the DC-9s are to be returned to their lessors.
Former fleet
The airline previously operated the following aircraft (as of August 2017):
* 2 Bombardier CRJ100ER
See also
* List of airlines of Kenya
This is a list of airlines currently operating in Kenya:
See also
* List of defunct airlines of Kenya
* List of airports in Kenya
* List of airlines
References
External links
{{Africa topic, List of airlines of
*
Kenya
Airlines
Airl ...
References
External links
*
{{Airlines of Kenya
Airlines of Kenya
Airlines established in 2006
Low-cost carriers
Kenyan companies established in 2006