Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has sold off two London Heathrow slot pairings to Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l) and Oman Air (WY, Muscat) with the latter paying USD75 million the Sunday Times has reported. The cost of the former’s acquisition was not disclosed but was said to be lower than that of the Omanis.
As such, Oman Air will use the allocated arrival time – 05h30L – to add a second daily service from Muscat to the British capital while Emirates will use its slot to add a sixth daily Heathrow service from Dubai Int’l with arrival slated for 16h10L.
In a related development, struggling Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) is reportedly planning to enter a sale and lease back agreement with equity partner KLM over its sole London Heathrow slot. The move is aimed at generating much needed cash for the Kenyan national carrier but risks veto from a government which is already weary of management and its relationship with the Dutch airline…
