Kenya Airways In Talks With Boeing, Airbus For More Aircraft

National carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ) is not intent on slowing down its plans to expand its aircraft to contend with increasing demand for air travel in the era of Generation Z. This comes just two days after it welcomed a Boeing 737-800 with a capacity of 170 seats, growing its fleet to 35 aircraft.

With KQ set for an ambitious expansion strategy, reportedly with 50 aircraft over the next five years, the airline has disclosed details of negotiations with Boeing and Airbus, two aircraft manufacturers that have dominated global aviation by aiming to outdo each other in terms of passenger aircraft.

Speaking to Viral Tea, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Allan Kilavuka revealed that the airline was in talks with both the United States (US) and French manufacturers to acquire four more planes soon.

"We have a shortage of aircraft so as we identify the aircraft, we'll onboard them (Boeing). We plan to have another four in short order but they're not guaranteed," he revealed, adding "We have a meeting with Airbus next week so we are looking for aircraft just like all the other airlines in the world."

Kilavuka was speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with London Metropolitan University at the KQ Pride Centre.

On December 20, 2023, KQ signed a short-term lease agreement with Hi Fly, one of the world’s leading lease and charter specialist airlines, a move that immediately introduced the Airbus A330 to its fleet to meet high passenger demand during the festive season. KQ retired its Airbus fleet in 2004 in favour of United States (US)-based Boeing.

While the Airbus has been operating without KQ's iconic livery, the addition of the Boeing 737 was a significant achievement for the airline as this boosted KQ's available seat inventory, thus offering guests more travel options and flexibility. The last time a new plane flew into JKIA in KQ's colours was back in 2015 with the flagship Dreamliner.

However, with KQ having not expanded its fleet in the 10-year period that preceded Wednesday, February 19, Kilavuka warns that meeting its expansion plans will not be a walk in the park. 

A shortage in aircraft globally, some of which Kenya Airways is eyeing, is straining the expansion plans and this is made worse by the shortage in spare parts vital in maintaining its existing aircraft.

“We are constrained a bit because, in the industry, there’s a global shortage of aircraft, particularly the type that we want. We also have a global shortage of spare parts, and so on, and those are hindering our projections,” he said. 

This shortage in aircraft could be the reason why the airline has put on hold plans to phase out all of its Embraer aircraft following criticism that the aircraft was too small to handle an increased amount of luggage and increasing numbers in terms of passengers.

Kilavuka further revealed that the expansion is part of KQ's restructuring plan designed to expand its fleet, increase the number of destinations served, and restore the airline to full profitability.

The airline is expected to release its full-year financial results for 2024 in the coming weeks. For the first half of the financial year ending June 30, 2024, the airline achieved a profit after tax of Ksh513 million, from the Ksh21.7 billion loss reported in the similar previous period, something which had never happened to the airline since 2013.