Kenya Airways Signs GECAS Deal for Two 777-300ERs

Kenya Airways has signed an agreement with GECAS, the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, for two Boeing 777-300ERs.

The two aircraft are expected to join the Kenya Airways fleet in October 2013 and May 2014 respectively with them scheduled to operate long haul routes such as Amsterdam, Bangkok, Guangzhou and Dubai in order to maximise both passenger and cargo traffic.

“With the increased passenger and cargo capacity that the Boeing 777-300ER offers, we are pleased with this development as it will see Kenya Airways significantly increase tonnage and passenger capacity while enhancing our premium service offering to Europe and the Far East,” said Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director Dr. Titus Naikuni. “This also speaks to Kenya Airways’ efforts of flying a more efficient and environmentally friendly fleet ... The B777-300ER aircraft will be operated by the same crew that fly the B777-200ER aircraft in our current fleet but we envisage that sufficient additional crew will be recruited and/or trained by the time the first aircraft arrive.”

Kenya Airways will configure its 777-300ER’s with approximately 400 seats which is an extra passenger capacity of about 78 passengers over the 777-200ER. In addition, the aircraft will offer higher volumetric cargo capacity of over 12 tonnes.

Kenya Airways inaugurates flights to Jeddah

The inaugural flight by Kenya Airways from Nairobi to Jeddah landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport on 19th October at 00:30 hrs with a full complement of passengers.

Present at the airport were a number of dignitaries, including H.E. Mohamud Saleh, The Ambassador of Kenya to the Kingdom, Mr Abraham Joseph, Kenya Airways Area Manager - Middle East & Pakistan amongst other executives from the airport authorities and Kenya Airways management team.

The aircraft was greeted on its arrival by the Jeddah airport authorities. They were later introduced to the captain and co-pilot.
Kenya Airways 331 then departed Nairobi at 01:45 hrs, arriving in Nairobi at 05:50 hrs. Also on board were members from Kenya Airways management team.
Commenting on the inaugural flight, Mr. Abraham Joseph, Area Manager - Middle East & Pakistan for Kenya Airways said, "Saudi Arabia is a very important market for Kenya Airways and an important addition to the airline's growing Middle East network. We are delighted to welcome Jeddah as the 56th destination in our global network, and we look forward to extending our hospitality to guests on this new service. The initial response to the launch has been extremely encouraging and we look forward to rapidly establishing our presence in the Saudi Arabian market."
In addition to Jeddah, Kenya Airways also operates 10 weekly flights to Dubai and 3 to Muscat, in the Gulf with convenient onward connections to several cities in the African continent.