KENYA AIRWAYS WINS TEMPORARY REPRIEVE IN COURT
(Posted 21st October 2013)
The Kenya Court of Appeals has on Friday last week sided with Kenya Airways’ argument that they should not have to re-instate the employees made redundant last year. 447 of an overall 578 had taken the matter to court, seeking not only reinstatement but also continued salary payments, something the court now stopped until such time that the principle case has been concluded.
The Industrial Court had late last year, as was reported here at the time, in a shock decision given orders to Kenya Airways to reinstate the plaintiffs, which prompted the airline to seek an injunction from a higher court, which was granted on review of the Industrial Court’s decision and now upheld, after the counsels for the plaintiffs tried but ultimately failed to have the injunction overturned.
Kenya Airways incurred a substantial loss in the last financial year, and staff restructuring was one of several courses of action the company took to cut losses and return the airline to profitability. Other measures are the replacement of ageing aircraft with modern state of the art jets, like progressively exchanging the B767 fleet with the B787, which offers over 20 percent savings on fuel burn and a larger capacity for passengers and cargo.
Meanwhile is a KQ delegation in the United States to oversee the last touches being put on the airline’s latest acquisition, a B777-300ER, which will over the course of the next week be flown to Nairobi before it is being put into service in early November. The 400 seat aircraft, 372 in economy and 28 in business class, will feature a totally new cabin product of the latest in seat technology, access to wireless internet connectivity and a state of the art entertainment system. The four B777-200LR will be progressively retrofitted with the new cabin when undergoing heavy maintenance. Watch this space for regular and breaking news from East Africa’s vibrant aviation industry.
