flydubai and fastjet drive LCC growth in East Africa as Uganda gets its first taste of low fares

East Africa is seeing an influx of new LCC services, led by expansion at flydubai and fastjet. flydubai is launching six destinations in four East African countries during Sep/Oct-2014, which will make it the leading LCC in the region's international market.

flydubai and fastjet both launched services to Entebbe in Sep-2014, giving Uganda its first taste of low fares. flydubai will also by the end of Sep-2014 become the first LCC to serve Burundi and Rwanda, increasing the number of East African countries with low-cost services to eight, compared to only three two years ago.

There are only about 300 weekly flights operated to from or within East Africa by low-cost carriers, resulting in an LCC penetration rate of about 8%. But LCCs are expanding rapidly in the region with over half of East Africa's LCC routes launched within the last year.