Kenya Airways (KQ) plans to introduce dedicated cargo planes on selected regional routes.

The airline’s Commercial Director, Mr Hugh Fraser, said the move would boost cargo haulage capacity on routes serviced by the Boeing 737 series.

"Where we fly the 737s, we are constrained with space for passenger baggage. We are evaluating the possibilities of introducing small dedicated freighters to destinations in the region," said Mr Fraser.

On Thursday, KQ officials said these routes include Entebbe, Dar es salaam, Burundi, Kigali, Zambia and Malawi.

Part of the evaluation will involve assessing cargo potential to and from Nairobi. KQ has previously operated freight charters to Zanzibar, Mwanza, and Bujumbura on ad hoc basis.

Fraser was speaking in Comoros soon after the airline inaugurated its maiden flight to the Archipelago, which consists of Comoros and Mayotte.

The islands are situated between Northern Madagascar and Northern Mozambique. The main commodity exported from the islands is Vanilla, and they wholly dependent on imports of goods and commodities like fruits and vegetables shipped in by traders from mainland Africa.

The Comoros and Mayotte route comes two weeks after the launch of direct flights to Paris, France, on October 26.

KQ is the seventh airline to serve the two Islands and the only one from mainland Africa. Other Indian Ocean islands airlines serve the islands from Mauritius, Re-Union and Madagascar.

"We feel that with the right connections, we can take business from the French speaking Indian Ocean islands to France and all over Europe," said Fraser.