Browsing: Kenya Airways

Growing competitiveness, a roller coaster of fuel prices, labor unions, and especially the phenomenon of low-cost carriers have made it all the more difficult to reach positive earnings pretty much in every route.

With a number of countries sporting continental distances, Africa has been an exciting promise for air carriers, but not without its challenges. Poor infrastructure and the high cost of maintenance and logistics have plagued the development of an effective air grid in the continent. Nevertheless, a great opportunity remains.

At the beginning of the last decade, South African Airways was a dominant force, carrying some 9 million passengers yearly while Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines combined were just shy of 6 million yearly passengers. However, poor management choices combined with borderline irresponsible behavior from …

Kenya Airways (KQ) net loss for the first six months ended June 2020 widened by 67.3 per cent to $132 million due to grounding of flights as a measure to curb the spread of the COVID-19pandemic.

According to Kenya Airways, passenger numbers dropped by 55.5 per cent to 1.1 million compared to 2.4 million recorded over the same period in 2019, affecting its revenues.

According to KQ’s chairman Michael Joseph, the national carrier operations were severely affected by the pandemic resulting in depressed half-year results.

“The network activity from April to June was minimal due to travel restrictions and lockdowns effectively reducing operations to almost nil in connecting our home market to key cities.” He said

This year’s half-year loss is more than the carrier has been posting for the last three years.

In 2019, KQ posted a net loss of $120 million an increase from $70 million recorded in …

As the rest of the country shuts down all entry ports, heavily reliant on tourism, the spice Isles of Zanzibar are allowing charter flights to land but with strict conditions.

Isles authorities have permitted charter flights bringing tourists to the island to land but on condition that all persons on board enter a 14 days quarantine stay, at their own expense.

This surprising turn of events happens in the backdrop of ongoing global threat of the spread of coronavirus. Even leading sports leagues have been cancelled and regional high profile meetings are been held on conference calls.

Across Africa, the tourism industry has come to an almost complete shutdown. It is time immemorial since a disease stopped people from touring and going for holidays, at least not since the deadly World War I and II power viruses.

With most all African countries eventually succumbing to the threat and finally closing …

Kenya Airways management has fallen out with its pilots over continued losses at the airline, in the latest of many stand-offs between the two groups.

This is in the wake of a Ksh8.5 billion (US$81.9 million) half year 2019 (January-June) net loss as the carrier remains in the red.

READ:Kenya’s national carrier sinks into Ksh8.6 billion loss

The latest performance is a dip compared to the Ksh4 billion (US$38.6 million) net loss reported in a similar period last year.

This is despite a slight growth in total income during the period which went up to Ksh58.9 billion compared to Ksh52.2 billion same period last year.

Management has blamed the losses to high operating cost occasioned by an expanded network.

During the period, KQ, as it is known by its international code, saw its operating costs edged up to Ksh61.5 billion compared to Ksh53.2 billion last year, which eroded gains …

Kenya Airways has reported its half-year performance for the half-year to June 30 amid losses at the national carrier.

KQ, as it is known by its international code, posted a Ksh8.563 billion loss for the period, a slip from Ksh4.035 billion in a similar period.

READ:Kenya airways in trouble as loss deepen to US$74 million

This came as total operating costs jumped 15.5 per cent to Ksh61.5 billion from Ksh53.2 billion, a move that eroded gains made in total income which increased to Ksh58.6 billion during the period.

This was up from Ksh52.2 billion income realised in a corresponding period last year.

“Some of these losses can be attributed to the return in to KQ service of two Boeing 787’s that were on sub-lease to Oman Air, investment in new routes and adoption of the new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 16),” KQ chairman Michael Joseph told investors …

Kenya and Jamaica enjoy close relations as shown by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recent visit to Jamaica and a growing number of Jamaican musicians thronging into East Africa. However, distance and connecting flights have always been a problem.

However, after the successful test of Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to New York, Kenya is looking to expand into this market with an idea of trans Atlantic flight to Caribean. Kenya Airways already has well-established routes to West African countries of Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast which could be used as stop-overs to the Caribean.

This can also open up other destination in Africa for the Jamaican route including to Ethiopia, South Africa, and North Africa. The flight time from East Africa to Senegal, Liberia and Ivory Coast is 8 hours, the same period it takes to make the trans- Atlantic flight.

In their talks, President Kenyatta and PM Holness …

Kenya has reaffirmed its continued push for the closure of all ivory trade markets across the world.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta says the country will continue with its campaign against the reopening of markets for animal trophies especially ivory.

The campaign is being supported by 31 other African states grouped under the African Elephant Coalition (AEC).

The First Lady spoke at an ivory burning site inside the Nairobi National Park where she presided over the official launch of the CITES CoP18 Awareness Campaign.

READ ALSO:How eBay and IFAW ban on African Ivory stood for a decade

CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora while CoP18 is the acronym for the Conference of Parties to the CITES.

The CITES CoP18 global conference is scheduled for this month in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Today we are lobbying and petitioning for the closure of all …

Fuel, personnel and cost of aircraft remain top drivers of the airline’s costs

Kenya’s national carrier-Kenya Airways has posted a Ksh7.558 billion (USD74.6 million ) net loss for the year ended December 2018, as higher operating costs continue to eat into its improving revenues.

The airline which has changed its reporting period (end year) from March 31 to December 31, had a Ksh6.418 billion (USD63.5 million) loss in the 9-month period between April 1, and Dec 31, 2017.

This is despite the airline’s growth in total revenue for the 12 months which increased to Ksh114.45 billion (USD1.13 billion), compared to Ksh80.79 billion (USD789.7 million) for the nine month period ended December 31, 2017.

According to the management, fuel, personnel and the cost of aircraft remain the top three drivers of the airline’s costs, contributing to about two thirds of total operating costs.

“Fuel price volatility remains a major challenge for …