Passengers disembark from a Jambojet plane at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. [Photo/NMG]Introduction of low budget carrier airlines has increased demand for air travel with this year’s bookings representing a more than 20 percent growth compared to last year.According to the Nation, domestic airlines to Western Kenya are fully booked between Thursday and Sunday signalling increased air travel ahead of Monday’s Christmas holiday.On Wednesday, Jambojet, Skyward Express and Fly540 said they had sold out all seats on flights to Kisumu and Eldoret between December 21 and 24.Jambojet said it still had space on three Saturday flights to Eldoret (6am, 1pm and 6pm) with the few seats left going for Sh10,200 from Sh4,200 for passengers, who booked at the beginning of the year.The Kisumu route was fully booked to Saturday and on Wednesday evening’s flight had only one seat remaining. The Nairobi-Kisumu route is charging Sh14,200, up from less than the usual Sh10,000.Skyward Express, which flies to Lodwar via Eldoret, is fully booked between Thursday and Sunday.“Sorry‚ we cannot find any seats available on the date you have requested. Please try another date combination or contact us for further information,” reads a statement from the company’s website.Fly540 flight to Homa Bay from Nairobi is fully booked to Sunday with the situation somewhat different on the Nairobi-Mombasa route where there is a 50 percent chance for travellers to get seats.Prices of booking air tickets have significantly gone up in the last one month as more passengers seek to travel by plane. Those who have been booking from last week are paying almost double the price compared with travellers who booked in November.

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