Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced further plans to end its loss-making streak, following the introduction of new routes later this year and with plans to add as many as 20 new destinations in Africa, Europe and Asia over the next five years, according to CEO, Sebastian Mikosz.
The route network expansion is expected to help support the carrier during the midst of its turnaround strategy, after making a nett loss of $61 million for the nine months ending December 2017.
The airline will seek board approval in April for the new route plan, said Mikosz during an interview in Nairobi on Wednesday (March 21), reports Bloomberg.
“We are looking at, at least one European route and one Asian route on top of the African network…In 2018, we might announce maybe two, three new routes to be operated in 2019,” he said.
Currently, the airline is preparing to take back five aircraft it subleased to other carriers, in order to up capacity and cater for additional passengers, says Mikosz. These include two Boeing 787 Dreamliners and three Boeing 777-300s subleased to Omar Air and Turkish Airlines, respectively.
In addition, KQ is exploring joint ventures and partnerships with other airlines, and is in discussions with SAA, as it is considering collaborating on aircraft repairs and route joint ventures with SAA, said Chairman Michael Joseph in the same interview.
Apart from political uncertainty after two presidential elections in 2017, Mikosz attributed the rise in the price of fuel as a contributing factor to KQ’s profitability.
"The 2018 outlook is good. In October, we start direct daily flights to New York, non-stop flights to Cape Town and direct flights to Mauritius," he said.
The full financial impact of the new US route should be felt in 2019 according to Mikosz.
The route is expected to result in an increase of American tourists into Kenya, which, in turn, should boost the airline’s domestic traffic, as it flies tourists within the collaborating markets of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, according to the Kenya Tourism Board, which last year signed a strategic partnership with the airline in a bid to attract more visitors to the country.
