Kenya Airways (KQ), the East African country’s flag carrier, announced on Monday that it and major US carrier Delta Air Lines (Delta) had expanded their strategic partnership. The partnership now, with effect from Saturday (August 5), includes KQ’s direct Nairobi-New York flight. This service is operated daily and is the only direct flight between East Africa and the US.

The expansion of the partnership means that KQ’s products will now be offered directly through Delta. It will also provide wider connectivity options for both KQ and Delta passengers, covering 31 African and 57 North American destinations.

“Kenya Airways prides itself in connecting Africa to the World and the World to Africa,” highlighted KQ Group MD and CEO Allan Kilavuka. “The expansion of the codeshare is historic as it not only allows KQ to expand its footprint in the US, but also significant because it provides seamless connectivity on a single ticket for those travelling for business, leisure or studies into the US while giving seamless connectivity to those visiting Africa through [New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport] and KQ’s hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.”

“At a time when we are seeing unprecedented demand for travel between North America and Africa, expanding our strategic partnership with Kenya Airways offers our customers more travel options as well as supports our priority to deepen our presence across the African continent,” affirmed Delta president: international Alain Bellemare.

Also as a result of the expanded codeshare partnership, frequent flyer customers of both airlines’ reward schemes will earn “miles” on their services. KQ’s programme is called Asante Rewards, while Delta’s is called SkyMiles.

KQ currently serves 42 destinations around the world, 35 of them in Africa. Regarding Africa, Delta currently operates to and from five cities. These are Accra in Ghana, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Dakar in Senegal, and Lagos in Nigeria.