Kenya Airways and Safaricom launch “Fly with bonga points” pact

Nairobi: 2013-05-03 — /travelprnews.com/ — Kenya Airways, the pride of Africa and  leading integrated communications service provider, Safaricom Limited, have partnered to launch a proposition that allows customers to pay for tickets using Bonga  points.

The partnership, dubbed “Fly with Bonga Points”, will see customers with 28,000 Bonga points and more on their Safaricom lines buy tickets for local Kenya Airways flights on either Economy or Business classes.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership, the Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr.  Titus Naikuni, and Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore, said the new proposition follows the success registered in the sale of Kenya Airways tickets through Safaricom’s   M-PESA services.

Dr. Naikuni, explained that the airline has been at the forefront in embracing advancements within the mobile and ICT sector to enhance the customer experience. He added that the proposition would augment other initiatives undertaken by KQ in the last year to enhance customer service.

“We not only focus on offering an excellent in-flight experience for our customers but also  on making the entire end-to-end journey right from the purchase of the tickets to the handling at destination airports pleasant,” said Naikuni.

He added that the Kenya Airways was proud to be a part of Kenya’s transition towards a cashless economy by embracing new payment methods such as “Fly with Bonga Points”, M-PESA and VISA credit cards, thereby entrenching the airline as a trend setter.

Collymore noted that Kenya was gradually becoming a cashless economy, with the Fly with Bonga Points plan adding to the list of options that Safaricom customers can use to access air tickets in addition to the wide range of options available to them.

“Since inception in January 2007, the Bonga points loyalty programme has grown to become the biggest such programme in Kenya with over 18 million customers registered. This proposition demonstrates our commitment towards transforming lives through practical technological solutions,” he explained.

To redeem the ticket using Bonga points, a customer will only be required to book their ticket, get a reference number from Kenya Airways, then dial *126*2# on their Safaricom line and select the “Kenya Airways Tickets”.The customer will then be asked to input the reference number and follow the subsequent prompts to complete the transaction.

Safaricom customers earn one Bonga point for every KShs10 spent on  calls, short message services (SMS), select chargeable M-PESA transactions and data. They have the option of redeeming these loyalty points on airtime, data, SMS or MMS bundles, merchandise at Safaricom Shops countrywide and now to purchase tickets on Kenya Airways.

About Safaricom-Corporate  

Safaricom provides a comprehensive range of services under one roof. This includes mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms. With annual revenues in excess of Kshs 100 Billion and a subscriber base of 19.1 million, Safaricom also hosts Kenya’s widest 3G network, the most expansive WIMAX presence alongside a growing fibre optic cable footprint.

Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful such service anywhere in the world.  Launched in March 2007 as a money transfer service, M-PESA now has over 15 million customers and over 37,000 Agent outlets countrywide

About Kenya Airways  

Kenya Airways, a member of the Sky Team Alliance, is a leading African airline flying to over 59 destinations worldwide, 40 of which are in Africa and carries over three million passengers annually. It continues to modernize its fleet with its 41 aircraft fleet being one of the most modern in Africa. The on-board service is renowned and the lie-flat business class seat on the wide-body aircraft is consistently voted among the world’s top 10. In 2010, it scooped top awards at the Africa Investor (Ai) Tourism Investor Awards and was declared the Business Airline of the Year in Africa. Kenya Airways takes pride for being in the fore front of connecting Africa to the world and the World to Africa through its hub Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

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Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore and Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Titus Naikuni, pose with a dummy air ticket during the launch of  the “Fly with Bonga Points”

Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore and Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Titus Naikuni, pose with a dummy air ticket during the launch of the “Fly with Bonga Points”