Lufthansa Group appoints Kevin Markette as new General Manager for East Africa

The Lufthansa Group is re-affirming its commitment to East Africa by relocating the commercial responsibility for the passenger business back to Kenya.

With this step, effective 01 March 2023, Lufthansa Group appointed Kevin Markette as the new General Manager for the East African region.

This encompasses Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. With his position and team permanently based in Nairobi, Kenya, he will be able to better focus on the needs of our local customers and through a physical presence in the region be closer to the market.

Kevin Markette succeeds Dr. André Schulz, who has been appointed Head of Region Middle East, Africa, South Asia & CIS at Lufthansa Cargo. In his new function Kevin reports to Philippe Saeys-Desmedt, Senior Director of Sales Sub-Sahara Africa, Lufthansa Group.

“It is our pleasure to welcome Kevin Markette to this important and dynamic region. We draw upon Kevin’s vast global experience, including that on the African continent to enhance our market position and trustful relationships established with our business partners and customers. Being now located with his team in the East African region, seated in Nairobi, he will quickly forge new relationships in the region”, says Philippe Saeys-Desmedt, Senior Director of Sales Sub-Sahara Africa, Lufthansa Group.

Kevin previously headed up several teams within the Sales and Customer Servicing organization of the Lufthansa Group across various cities, including New York, Atlanta, Accra, Dubai, Lagos, Karachi and Johannesburg.

Educated in South Africa and qualified as a Commercial Pilot, he is an experienced airliner having started working for the Lufthansa Group in 2000.

Lufthansa increases capacity to East Africa with additional Nairobi flights As global travel continues its significant recovery path, the increasing demand for further capacity is felt throughout various markets worldwide.

Important strategic market for the Lufthansa Group

Lufthansa Group has a strong commercial focus on leisure destinations in the region and already offers three East African destinations through its Eurowings Discover network: Mombasa, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.

“East Africa is undoubtedly one of the most important markets for us on the continent, and our booking figures reflect that the region is particularly popular with holidaymakers from Germany and abroad. Thanks to the vast expansion of our route network on the continent, together with our Group airlines,

our customers can now reach their idyllic holiday or business destinations much faster and more directly”, says Kevin Markette, General Manager East Africa, Lufthansa Group.

“Furthermore, by increasing our Lufthansa frequencies between Nairobi and Frankfurt, we are underlining the importance of Kenya for the Lufthansa Group, as well as our long-term commitment to the region. Such positive developments can only be accomplished through strong partnerships with Kenyan corporates who share a common goal and who supported and trusted us throughout the recent challenging years. Together we share the vision that East Africa still has a lot of potential for growth”, says Kevin Markette.

Source: Zawya