British Airways plans to increase the number of flights on the Nairobi-London route from the current seven to eight per week, with the introduction of a new scheduled flight plan for May.

The announcement comes as the carrier readies itself to withdraw its three times-a-week direct flights to Dar es Salaam on March 31, following a review of routes that showed Tanzania was not profitable.

The airline said the new service to Nairobi would put an additional 266 seats a week on the London-Nairobi route when it increases its schedule to Kenya from daily to eight flights a week. The new service starts May 12.

It will operate as an overnight flight, leaving its Heathrow hub on Sunday evenings and arriving in Nairobi on Monday mornings. The return flight will depart Nairobi on Monday evenings arriving in London on Tuesday mornings.

“Kenya is a growing economy and the additional flight has been scheduled as an overnight service so our customers, particularly those travelling on business, can make the most of their time,” says Ian Petrie, regional commercial manager for Africa in a statement yesterday.

There will be a Boeing 777-200 in a four-cabin configuration, offering First, Club World (business), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy).

Despite suspending flights to Tanzania, the airline said it views African region as essential and has in the recent past added flights to certain routes as well as opened started flights to new destinations.