A strategy and website brief for Scenic Air Safaris, by WRK.
A strongproduct,hidden.
Scenic Air Safaris has a strong product and a website that hides it: broken booking buttons, no enquiry form, placeholder text and a certificate error that blocks crawlers. The rebuild should sell the private flying safari flown in their own aircraft, with visible prices and a working enquiry path.
In short.Scenic Air Safaris (founded 2009, Wilson and Vipingo, part of the ALS group) is not a website problem first. It is a conversion problem. Eight itineraries, a four-type fleet and strong press all sit on a site where every “Book Now” button goes nowhere, the contact page has no form, and an incomplete TLS certificate chain blocks crawlers and AI search tools.
They also have a hard deadline they may not know about. From 27 September 2026, EU law bans offset-based “carbon neutral” claims to EU consumers. Their site says they offset 100% of emissions and are “carbon-neutral”.
Threedecisions.
Lead with one product, not five.
The private flying safari (“same plane, same pilot”) is the hero. Private charter, the shared-seat Scenic Wilderness service, JetConnect VIP arrivals and Execufly membership become supporting pages. Today all five compete on the homepage.
Publish “from” prices and a working enquiry path.
Only one of eight itineraries shows a price (from US$2,245 per person per day). No aircraft operator in the field publishes prices; SkySafari, the closest rival, does. Scenic Air should too, with a qualifying enquiry form and WhatsApp.
Sell to two buyers on purpose.
Most luxury flying safaris are booked through travel advisors and tour operators (cazenove+loyd already resells Scenic Air). The site needs a trade section with rates, brochures and images, not just a consumer front door.
Fix before anything else:the certificate chain, the dead “Book Now” and legal links, the Lorem ipsum text on a live itinerary page, and the carbon-neutral wording.
The content is richer than it first looks; the plumbing is broken. The site is WordPress 7.1.1 on the “Seafarer” ThemeForest theme with Elementor, Revolution Slider and Contact Form 7, hosted on Plesk/nginx in AWS Ireland. Checked in a live browser on 22 Sep 2026.
The currentsite.
Eight named itineraries, each with a PDF
Ultimate Across Africa southbound (10 days) and northbound (13 days), Endangered Species (9 days), Out of Africa (8–9 days), Snows of Kilimanjaro & Lake Natron (8 days), Suguta Valley & Lake Turkana (9 days), Ethiopian Tribes of the Omo Valley (10 days), Chimpanzees of Rubondo (3 nights).
A real fleet page
Pilatus PC-12 NG, Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX, Cessna 206, King Air 200 series, with seat plans and factsheets.
A named team
On The Dream: Capt. Torben Rune (MD), Simon Penfold (Sales), Capt. Murtaza Walijee (Chief Pilot, 9,600+ hours, KCAA instrument examiner), Jeni Stow (Flight Ops, 28 years).
Published scenic add-on prices
E.g. Amboseli elephant swamps US$390 per 15 minutes in the Caravan (scenic flying).
Press
Press links to The Telegraph, The Times, Forbes, Forbes Travel Guide, Robb Report, Spear’s.
TripAdvisor
5.0 from 35 reviews, latest January 2026 (TripAdvisor).
Five offers, each with its own story.
Five offers each have their own story and, in two cases, their own site: Scenic Wilderness (shared seats, separate Elementor site with its own booking) and Execufly Africa (membership). JetConnect VIP arrivals at JKIA sits inside the main site. Visitors can’t tell which one is for them.
The market is growing and its buyers are English-speaking.
Market.
International arrivals, Kenya and Tanzania
Kenya had about 2.7 million international arrivals in 2025, up about 9% on 2024, and 2.76 million in the financial year to June 2026 (Capital FM, KBC). Tanzania had 2.29 million in 2025, up 7.1% (TanzaniaInvest).
Long-haul leisure travellers
For a private flying safari, the relevant buyers are long-haul leisure travellers: the US and UK lead, then Italy and Germany. Regional arrivals (Uganda, Tanzania) are mostly business and family visits. The US also leads Tanzania’s mainland arrivals at 12.4%.
The reachable market is small and high-value, not national.
No credible count of luxury flying-safari travellers exists; market-size reports on “luxury safari” range from US$1.5bn to US$2.6bn and come from low-credibility research firms, so we leave them out. A useful proxy: Go2Africa’s 2025 enquiries averaged about US$8,625 per person, 10 days was the most common length (35%), and 75% were first-time visitors to Africa (Go2Africa). First-timers need reassurance, which the site doesn’t give today.
Seasonality
Arrivals peak July–September (August 2024: 249,086) and bottom in April (154,211) (2024 report). The long rains run March–May (Kenya Met). Go2Africa sees April, May, September and October rising to 38% of enquiries. The site should sell green-season value, not just the migration.
Cost pressures the buyer will feel
- Maasai Mara conservation fee: US$200 per non-resident adult per day from July to December, US$100 January to June (Masai Mara).
- Kenya eTA for all visitors, from US$30, apply at least two weeks ahead (eTA FAQ, eTA info).
- Tanzania charges foreign-registered commercial aircraft US$120–320 per park landing, by seat count (2023/24 tariff; current schedule [unconfirmed]) (TANAPA).
Scenic Air has two buyers, and today the site serves neither well.
Twobuyers.
The travel trade
Probably most revenueLuxury flying safaris are mostly sold by tour operators, DMCs and travel advisors. Scenic Air is already resold by cazenove+loyd and listed by Far Country Collection as bookable through DMCs or direct. US advisor safari bookings rose 22% year on year (ATTA); 45% of Virtuoso advisors report more ultra-luxe requests (Virtuoso 2026).
- What they need
- Net or commissionable rates, availability, aircraft specs, luggage rules, high-res images, brochures they can white-label, and a fast human reply.
- What they do today
- Email Simon’s team, wait, download PDFs. Commission levels are [unconfirmed]; ask the client.
The direct guest
Higher margin, harder to winHigh-net-worth couples, families and small groups, mostly US and UK, often first-time in Africa, planning well ahead [lead time unconfirmed]. Many arrive via press (Robb Report, Telegraph, Spear’s) or a lodge recommendation.
- What they need
- To see the trip, the plane, the pilot and a price range before they write. Then a named person on WhatsApp or a call.
- What they do instead today
- Book a scheduled-flight safari through an agent (Safarilink, Airkenya seats), or a packaged fly-in like SkySafari. The private option looks unpriced and therefore unaffordable.
Supporting buyers
Lodges and camps booking transfers (Lewa, Sarara, Segera appear in their routes), corporates for Execufly membership, and VIP arrivals at JKIA for JetConnect. These are real revenue lines but should not share the homepage with the flying safari.
One inclusive price, per person per day.
In a private flying safari the guest (or their agent) pays one inclusive per-person-per-day price covering aircraft, pilot, lodges and activities. Park and conservation fees may or may not be included [confirm per itinerary]. Charter is priced per aircraft, so a group of four or more makes it rational — the site’s only published price assumes four guests.
No aircraft operator at Wilson sells journeys with prices; the one company that does (SkySafari) doesn’t name its aircraft. That is the gap. Sites opened September 2026; design scores are our estimate.
Thefield.
SkySafari
For productised trips with dated rate tables and a budget-qualifying form.
Journeys by Design
For luxury trust: named people, top press, a “discovery conversation” call to action.
Fly Boskies
For the best charter conversion flow at Wilson: structured form, WhatsApp, fleet cards with range and seats.
The gap Scenic Air can own:the private flying safari, flown by the company that owns and crews the aircraft, with published “from” prices, named pilots and cross-border routes (Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia) that rivals barely touch.
No independent safety audit.
None of the operators shows an independent safety audit (Wyvern, ARGUS, IS-BAO); ALS, the parent group, holds IOSA certification (ALS) — whether that covers Scenic Air’s operation is [unconfirmed].
Your own aircraft, your own pilot, anywhere from Ethiopia to Victoria Falls. Private flying safaris designed and flown by the people who own the planes.
Your ownplane.
Same plane, same pilot.
Already trueTheir own phrase on Flying privately. Pilots are certified flight instructors; the chief pilot has 9,600+ hours. This beats “aircraft or similar”.
Low and slow over the good bits.
Already trueScenic add-ons are priced and bookable (Amboseli swamps, Ewaso Ng’iro, extended Mara game flights). No rival productises this.
Cross-border without the paperwork.
Already trueThey handle permits, customs and remote-airport immigration (FAQs). Their routes cover ten countries on Bespoke flying safaris.
Superlatives
Drop“The world’s greatest single” and “best planes and pilots in the business” superlatives. Replace with specifics: hours, seats, range.
Exclusivity claims
Prove or drop“Only 11-seat executive aircraft in East Africa” and “not offered by any other air operator in Kenya” (JetConnect). Keep only if the client can prove them.
“Carbon-neutral”
DropSee legal limits. Replace with what they actually fund.
Quote openers
DemoteThe Hans Christian Andersen and Karen Blixen quotes as openers. Lead with the plane on a bush strip and a price range instead.
One master brand, four clearly labelled lines.
One master brand, Scenic Air Safaris, with four clearly labelled lines: Flying safaris (hero) · Private charter · Shared seats (Scenic Wilderness) · VIP & membership (JetConnect, Execufly). One site, one enquiry system; the sub-brands link out only where they must have their own booking.
Scenic Air’s one published trip price puts it at about 1.5–1.8× SkySafari for ten days, which is fair for a wholly private aircraft, but only if the site explains why.
Uniteconomics.
About US$1,560 per hour for the Caravan and US$920 for the C206.
Scenic Air’s own scenic add-ons imply this (US$390 and US$230 per 15 minutes, scenic flying). That sits inside third-party Kenya guides: Caravan US$1,400/hr, C206 US$1,200/hr, PC-12 NGX US$3,400/hr (Monolith Africa, June 2026). A Grand Caravan EX costs about US$1,617 per hour all-in on US assumptions of 450 hours a year (Aircraft Cost Calculator); Kenyan fuel and wages will differ [unconfirmed].
What that means
Estimate, to validateOn a 10-day private safari for four at US$89,800, the aircraft is probably 15–30% of the price (10–15 flight hours plus standing days); lodges and camps are the bulk. The margin lever is aircraft utilisation, which is why shared seats and membership exist.
“From” prices with their basis
Show every itinerary as “from US$X per person, based on 4 guests” plus a line for 2 and 6 guests. Per-day prices alone hide the total and invite sticker shock later.
Inclusions and exclusions
List what’s included and excluded, including park and conservation fees. UK law now requires mandatory charges in the headline price (DMCC Act).
Ship the cost calculator
Ship the cost calculator the site already promises, starting with Kenya routes and two aircraft (Caravan, C206) as their page describes, labelled as an estimate.
Trade rates behind a login
Keep trade rates off the public site; put them behind a trade login.
The biggest legal risk on the current site is the carbon-neutral claim; the second is collecting enquiries with no privacy notice. Neither is a design question, but both land in the rebuild. We are not lawyers; the client’s counsel should confirm each point.
Legallimits.
What the site should state plainly
What Scenic Air flies itself (PC-12, Caravans, C206, King Air [confirm which are theirs vs ALS]), what it arranges through partners (jets, helicopters, balloons, lodges), and what it doesn’t do.
Each promise below is either already on their site or a small operational change; the brackets are what to confirm with Simon before it goes live.
Promisesto keep.
Don’t promise:fixed prices without a date and group size, “safest” or “best” anything, instant online booking of private charters (quotes depend on weight, route and weather), or carbon neutrality.
The site should capture, qualify and route every enquiry; today it hands them to a mail client.
Operationsand tooling.
Every path ends with a named person and a logged record.
Forms
Trip: dates or month, group size, budget band per person, trip interest, how they heard, agent yes/no. Charter: from, to, date, passengers, luggage weight. Trade: company, IATA/ABTA/ASTA number, markets.
CRM
Whatever sales uses today [unconfirmed]; if nothing, HubSpot free or Zoho. Tag by source so press and agent referrals are measurable.
Cost calculator
Phase 2Kenya airstrip pairs × two aircraft types, route map, clear “estimate” label, then a quote request.
Trade area
Password-protected: rate sheets, white-label PDFs, image library, aircraft factsheets.
Content
Itineraries as structured content (days, camps, flights, inclusions), so the web page and the PDF come from one source. Fixes the “day-by-day only in a PDF” problem.
Payments
Keep the existing Pesapal link for deposits; move it off the footer into the booking confirmation flow.
Hosting
Fix the certificate chain now (install the missing intermediate certificate; a small job for their host), then move to a modern stack with a CDN.
First-time visitors to Africa need proof about safety and people before price. Scenic Air has the proof; it’s scattered.
Trustsignals.
The pilots
By name, with hours and photos. Murtaza Walijee’s 9,600+ hours and examiner status is the strongest safety signal they have.
The aircraft
With real photos, seat plans and ages [confirm registrations and years].
Licences
In the footer: KCAA AOC holder (theirs or ALS’s), TRA licence number.
The ALS connection
Founded 1985 (ALS), if the client wants it: maintenance, hangar and operating depth.
TripAdvisor
5.0 from 35 reviews, embedded live, and the listing moved to Nairobi.
Memberships
Linked in the footer today: KATO, ATTA, Kenya Association of Air Operators, We Are Africa. Keep.
Press, dated honestly
Telegraph, The Times, Robb Report, Forbes Travel Guide, Spear’s. Add something from 2025–26.
Conservation
Torben Rune chairs the George Adamson Wildlife Trust; the Endangered Species trip meets named conservationists. This is more credible than offsets.
Keep off the site
- Unverified superlatives (“only”, “best”, “world’s greatest”).
- A “carbon-neutral” badge.
- Stock photos of aircraft that aren’t theirs.
- Press older than five years at the top of the homepage.
- Safety claims like “extremely safe” without an audit or record behind them.
Fewer top-level choices, one hero product, and an enquiry button on every page. Existing URLs for the eight itineraries stay, with redirects for anything renamed.
Sitemap.
On every page
Sticky “Plan your trip” button, WhatsApp on mobile, footer with licences, memberships, both offices (Wilson and Vipingo), 24-hour number, TripAdvisor badge, privacy and terms links that work.
What could go wrong in the rebuild, and around it.
Pitfalls.
Publishing prices that sales won’t honour.
Agree seasons, group sizes and inclusions with Simon before launch; review twice a year.
Undercutting the trade.
Public “from” prices must not beat what agents charge their clients. Show rack rates; keep net rates behind login.
Keeping carbon-neutral for non-EU visitors.
Geo-splitting claims is fragile, and the UK ASA takes the same line. Drop it everywhere.
Rebuilding the sprawl.
Five brands on one homepage will reproduce today’s confusion. Hold the line on one hero product.
Losing SEO in the move.
Eight itinerary URLs and the journal posts carry press backlinks (Telegraph, Robb Report). Keep or 301-redirect them.
Photos.
A luxury site lives on its imagery. If the library is thin or dated, budget a shoot on a real safari rotation, not stock.
Pitching the parent by mistake.
ALS may own the website decision, the brand or the budget. Find out who signs.
Relationship with Yellow Wings pitch.
Both are Wilson Caravan operators. Keep designs, copy and pricing work separate and don’t reuse concepts between them.
Assumptions to validate with the client.
Tovalidate.
- Who decides and pays: Torben Rune, Simon Penfold, or ALS?
- Whose AOC Scenic Air flies under, and the TRA licence number
- Which aircraft Scenic Air owns vs uses from ALS; registrations and years
- Share of revenue by channel: trade vs direct vs lodges vs corporate
- Commission or net-rate terms for agents
- Current enquiry volume, reply time and conversion; which CRM, if any
- Prices for all 8 itineraries by season and group size; what’s included (park fees?)
- Whether the Endangered Species trip still runs in its 2018 form
- Evidence for “only 11-seat executive aircraft in East Africa” and JetConnect exclusivity
- Chyulu Hills REDD+ purchase details: volumes, registry, verification status
- ODPC registration status and existing privacy notice
- Photo and video library: what exists, who owns rights
- Whether Scenic Wilderness and Execufly stay separate sites
- The “bespoke-flying-services” page (now 404): intended or removed
- Target markets beyond US/UK (Italy, Germany, India?) and whether they want other languages
- Guest planning lead time [our assumption: 6–12 months; not sourced]
All pages opened between 21 and 22 September 2026. Scenic Air’s own pages were read in a live browser because automated fetchers fail on its certificate chain.
Sources.
Scenic Air and group
Homepage · The Dream · Aircraft & pilots · Flying privately · Bespoke flying safaris · Scenic flying · Shared seats · Corporate membership · JetConnect · Flying green · FAQs · Contact · Cost calculator · Southbound itinerary · SSL Labs · ALS about · Scenic Wilderness · ATTA profile · TripAdvisor · KCAA licence list, May 2025
Press
Market
Capital FM · KBC · Kenya 2024 report · TanzaniaInvest · Go2Africa · Kenya Met · Masai Mara fees · eTA · TANAPA tariffs · ATTA advisor trends · Virtuoso Luxe Report
Legal
EU Directive 2024/825 · ASA · CMA Green Claims Code · KCAA AOC · LN 167 of 2018 · TRA licensing · DLA Piper Kenya · GDPR Art. 3 · ICO PECR · DMCC Act · CAK · TCAA · Nation, 2020
Competitors
Linked in the Competitive field table.