KENYA AIRWAYS EXPECTS DELIVERY OF BRAND NEW B777-300ER ON OCTOBER 25TH
(Posted 04th October 2013)
Kenya Airways is expecting to take delivery of their latest aircraft, a Boeing B777-300ER, in exactly three weeks from today, as their march towards fleet modernization and expansion continues unabated.
Inspite of poor financial results for the last financial year has the airline stuck to their strategic Plan Mawingo which foresees a fleet of 119 aircraft, including dedicated cargo planes, by the year 2021/1, three times as many as the current fleet size. A source close to the airline commented in this regard: ‘The financial result of the last financial year is a one off. All underlying indicators for the first 6 months of 2013/14 are much better than last year. And even after a year of incurring some losses, the airline cannot afford to stop implementing their strategic plan. New aircraft are more fuel efficient, they allow more frequencies on routes which make money for them. When from March next year the B787’s start joining the fleet, some of the older B767 will go and the savings on fuel for these new jets will be over 20 percent in comparison. That is what a modern fleet is all about, to save money in fuel and maintenance and in the case of 787 versus 767 also add a significant number of more seats on each aircraft’.
With the upcoming delivery of the B777-300ER there will only be one more new aircraft join the fleet in 2013, an Embraer E 190 which has together with their sisterships the E 170 become the workhorse aircraft of Kenya Airways, now flying domestic, regional and continental routes. Starting next year will Kenya Airways take deliveries of the remaining order of E190’s besides their first B787 Dreamliners and additional B737NG’s. Watch this space.
