Kenya Airways Passengers in Freetown Stranded

Hundreds of Kenya Airways passengers are stranded in Sierra Leone and Liberia as a result of bad weather condition.

Hazy conditions, which have severely affected visibility levels within the past few days, are causing ripples in the aviation industry in Freetown and Monrovia, with airlines having to put up with increasing cost of accommodating stranded passengers.

But Kenya Airways appears to be making the headlines more in Freetown after two of its flights were prevented from landing at Freetown's Lungi International Airport last Tuesday.

The problem started when one of the flights, which was scheduled to land at Lungi, was diverted to Monrovia's Roberts International Airport in neighbouring Liberia before being redirected to Accra.

A second flight could not land in either neighbouring countries and had to return to Accra, from where both had come en route from Nairobi.

"The difference is safety standard," said Robert Kiproto, Kenya Airways Country Manager for both Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Mr Kiproto said Kenya Airways is not the only affected airline but that they give the safety of their passengers an utmost precedence, hence the decision not "to take any chance" when the weather condition does not satisfy them.

About 145 passengers, including Kenyans, Ghanaians, Americans, Ugandans and other citizens, are stranded at the Lungi Airport, of whom 73 were said to be headed for Nairobi.

At the Roberts International Airports in Monrovia, 135 passengers are also stranded.

The first flight last Tuesday circled on Lungi before been forced to go to Liberia where, despite similar hash weather conditions, it managed to land.

Since Sierra Leone's only airport is in the outskirts of the capital, and given the difficulty in travelling through the estuary that links it to the mainland, many passengers are forced to stay at the airport in such situation.

This makes the problem of accommodation, feeding and other arising issues a little problematic.

Last Thursday, the entire senior management of the Freetown office of Kenya Airways spent the whole day at the Lungi Airport working a way out.

"Even now I can be required to go at anytime," Mr Kiproto said in an interview on Friday.

Some stranded passengers at Lungi who spoke to journalists complained of expensive food and accommodation problems.

But Mr Kiproto maintained that the airline couldn't be responsible for passengers before they board their planes. And in this case, the passengers are still at home.

Nonetheless, passengers on the two stranded flights in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, where been taken care of by the airlines, which the Kenya Airways Freetown boss said was costing them huge money.

The sad thing, however, is that there doesn't seem to be an end in sight of the problem.

"It all depends on the weather condition. We can tell the passengers to go home now and the weather gets clear or we can tell them to come and it gets bad again," he said.

Kenya Airways to enhance safety programme

Kenya Airways on Wednesday vowed to continue with its safety programmes in both airport and passenger safety including all ground operators and airline companies that run their businesses within the country's main airport.
Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni said in Nairobi that the airline continuously enhances its safety operational systems in order to ensure safety and quality of service to its customers.

"As an airline that is seeking to strengthen its global presence, we have to ensure we adhere to the highest safety standards," Naikuni said in Nairobi when the International Air Travel Association (IATA) presented the airline with two certifications following a rigorous safety audit of the airline's operations.

The certifications are the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certificates.

"This will also help strengthen and sustain the confidence of our passengers as we seek to grow and open new markets," said Naikuni. He said the move to encompass all players in the safety program was in recognition that airport safety is a collective effort.

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport serves about 4,000 KQ passengers and handles more than 100 aircraft arrivals and departures daily thus the need to enhance security. IOSA is an internationally accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. ISAGO aims to improve safety and cut airline costs by drastically reducing ground accidents and injuries.
Gaoussou Konate, the IATA regional director, commended the airline for its commitment to achieving the highest aviation safety standards. "We note that the airline has strived to enhance its safety performance. These certificates are issued after a rigorous audit under IATA standards," he said. The IATA safety audit comes with some benefits including reduced costs. Since it is internationally recognized, KQ will not have to undergo multiple safety audits in different jurisdictions.
By ensuring that its ground operations adhere to high safety standards, Kenya Airways will ensure its operational costs are low by minimizing damage. "Safe ground operations mean less accidents, less damage and therefore fewer audits," said Naikuni. The ground safety audits covered the period of June and July 2011.
Kenya Airways plans to expand its fleet from the current 34 aircraft to 107 in 10 years. To finance the acquisition of the aircraft, the airline is seeking to raise additional capital through a Rights Issue later this year to fund the acquisition of the new aircraft.

Kenya Airways to add flights

Flying to Africa is set to get more exciting. Kenya Airways, which flies Mumbai-Nairobi, is looking to introduce a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the route in 2014.

Besides, KQ (the official moniker for the airline) plans to expand presence in India in a big way by increasing frequencies from Mumbai and Delhi, perhaps this year, and adding other destinations over the next few years.

“KQ operates from 56 destinations across the globe and with the acquisition of new aircraft we hope to expand our operations substantially to Europe and within Africa. India and China are particularly our focus as they are growing markets,” chief executive officer of KQ, Titus Naikuni, told DNA.

“India is without doubt a focus area for KQ. We are hoping to double our frequency from Mumbai and Delhi. The Dreamliner boasts of the latest technology in the industry and a distinctly upgraded flying experience. We are very excited about it,” said Bennet Stephens, KQ’s area manager - India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Media reports in Nairobi claimed KQ is planning to open six new destinations in India and China each, but Stephens did not confirm it. “Other destinations from India are on the anvil but not in the immediate future,” he said.

Kenya Airways welcomes A Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Nairobi

Kenya Airways this week welcomed Boeing's 787 Dreamliner to Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi as part of the new aircraft's international tour.

The plane touched down in Kenya's capital city following a stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It was welcomed by Kenya Airways staff and management, as well as special guests and trade minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere.

The airline has placed a firm order for nine 787 Dreamliners and has an option to take four more.

It will use the aircraft to replace the ageing Boeing 767s in its fleet and support its plans to open up new long-haul flight routes.

Dr Titus Naikuni, chief executive of Kenya Airways, said the new liner will play an important part in the company's mission to become the carrier of choice connecting Africa to the rest of the world.

'The 787 Dreamliner fits well with our expansion strategy, giving us an opportunity to expand our markets beyond the current offering,' he added.

Kenya Airways seeks to expand Middle East service

With the Nairobi-Dubai route currently accounting for around 12 per cent of Kenya Airways' revenue, the African carrier is looking to expand its Middle East presence.

"We have a 10-year growth plan in which the Middle East features prominently. While we currently operate to Dubai, Muscat and Jeddah, future plans include launching services to Beirut, increasing frequency to Dubai to 14 a week, and also looking at a few other cities in the Middle East," Abraham Joseph, Kenya Airways regional manager for the Middle East and Pakistan, told Gulf News.

He added that the carrier expects to contribute a better share from the region over the next two to three years, and at present enjoys a healthy load factor of 85 per cent on the Kenya-UAE route.

Outlining improved profitability achieved by Kenya Airways in the half-year ended September 30 against the year earlier period, the carrier stated that the Middle East passenger numbers grew by 24 per cent.

"The response to our newly-launched Jeddah route has been very positive, which adds to our success," said Joseph.

Increase in turnover

The airline said last month that its half-year turnover reached 54.9 billion Kenyan shillings (Dh2.23 billion), a 33.3 per cent increase over the previous year's 41.2 billion shillings, resulting in a 2.034 billion shilling profit after tax compared to 1.436 billion shillings a year ago.

"The Middle East market is very important to Kenya Airways," said Joseph. "There is considerable trade between the UAE and various countries in Africa, and Nairobi, being a prominent hub, plays an important role.

"Oman, on the other hand, has cultural and historical links with East Africa, because of which there is sufficient passenger and cargo traffic between the two countries."

Asked about the challenges to the carrier's growth in this region, Joseph listed the availability of aircraft as the key one.

"We had ordered nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, the delivery of which was to start from October 2010.

"But due to the delay at the manufacturer's end, the delivery has now been pushed to the third quarter of 2013," he said.

Joseph added that in order for the company to go ahead with its expansion plans, Kenya Airways has made alternative arrangements, so that the first of Boeing's 777-300ER (extended range) aircraft will join the Kenya Airways fleet in the second half of 2012.

"We have, in a manner of speaking, reached a saturation point and further growth is possible only when we increase our capacity on the Middle East routes," Joseph added.

Kenya Airways profit jumps 41%

Kenya Airways after-tax profits rose to KShs 2.034 billion (D82 million) in the first half of this year as compared to KShs 1.436 billion (Dh58 million) for the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 41.3 per cent.
Earnings per share increased to KShs 4.40 from KShs 3.11 realised in the prior year.
Half year turnover reached KShs 54.9 billion (Dh2.23 billion) which is a 33.3 per cent increase on the previous year figure of KShs 41.2 billion (Dh1.67 billion) despite the challenging economic and geopolitical environment that continues to impact the aviation industry.
Management continued to invest time and resources towards maintaining high levels of safety in all its operations during the period.
High Passenger traffic growth was achieved in all regions over the period as follows: Middle East passenger numbers grew by 24 per cent and European traffic was up 13.3 per cent due to improved demand out of London, Paris and Rome that was launched in late 2010 thus, was not part of first half of prior year.
Africa grew by 15.7 per cent largely due to launch of operations into Ouagadougou and N’Djamena during the period.  There was also improved performance on routes launched last year to Southern Africa and increased frequencies to Juba.  Far East traffic to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Guangzhou increased by 24.8 per cent largely the result of increased capacity in the region.
“This is an exceptional performance,” said Abraham Joseph, Area Manager - Gulf, Middle East & Pakistan, Kenya Airways.
“The response of our newly launched Jeddah route has been very positive which adds to our success. Our half year financial results are due to the hard-work and dedication of all our staff around the world. We have relentlessly pushed to reach new markets despite of the increasing competitive environment”.
The airline’s board has taken cognisance of the cyclical traffic demand and has approved a ten year plan that will enable Kenya Airways remain competitive by positioning itself to capture the traffic flows in the future.
The ten year plan starts from this financial year to 2020/21. The plan includes new destinations roll out covering the six continents and a fleet acquisition plan. The immediate items in implementation of the plan starts with earnest within the next six months with a Rights Issue as already communicated to potential investors. The Rights Issue proceeds will form part of the initial fleet pre-delivery payments for the years 2013/14 and 2014/15 aircraft acquisitions.

Local travellers to start paying Kenya Airways in US dollars

Kenyans will start paying for domestic flights in US dollars from next week, as Kenya Airways moves to protect its revenues from the volatile shilling.

The airline, which has been charging domestic flights in Kenya shillings, now says passengers will from October 24, be required to pay for tickets in dollars.

This means that passengers travelling on domestic routes, which include Mombasa, Malindi and Kisumu, will be affected, as majority of payments for these routes have relied on the Kenya shilling as opposed to international flights, whose prices are pegged on the US dollar.

Mobile money payment platforms that are currently operated in Kenya shillings could also be disrupted.

The move makes Kenya Airways the latest local firm to have lost patience with the shilling’s fluctuations.

“We always charge in dollars for international flights and this change is meant to protect the company from a fluctuating shilling,” the airline’s communications manager, Mr Chris Karanja, told Nation by phone.

However, its main domestic rival, Fly540, has chosen to stick with the shilling.

Last week, our sister publication the Business Daily reported that motor vehicle dealers, importers of heavy machinery and retailers of computers and other information technology hardware, had also started quoting prices of consumer goods in dollars, underscoring growing jitters over the weakening shilling and exposing the local unit to further erosion.

The Kenya shilling has been one of the worst performing currencies this year, after it fell to trade at Sh107 against the dollar, early this month.

However, it has turned around this week, gaining by over 8 per cent to close yesterday’s trading at Sh100.20/100.40 against the dollar but weaker than Tuesday’s close of 99.20/40.

Kenya Airways profits have been on the rise with last year’s results showing a 73.9 per cent increase in net profits to Sh3.5 billion, up from Sh2 billion earned in 2010.

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.