KENYA: Kenya Airways to carry three million passengers and 60,000 tonnes of cargo thanks to expansion of routes in Africa and the Middle East

Record ID: 361117

  • Title: KENYA: Kenya Airways to carry three million passengers and 60,000 tonnes of cargo thanks to expansion of routes in Africa and the Middle East
  • Date: 8th October 2010
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (OCTOBER 7, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TITUS NAIKUNI, KENYA AIRWAYS CHIEF EXECUTIVE SAYING: "I think opportunities in Africa are huge, if you look at Africa; Africa is larger than any other continent in the world in fact a number of continents can fit into Africa and if you look at the size of the population in Africa you are looking at close to
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Industry,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA1YGTVQ719Y9BSAL5HZFMAN0M1
  • Story Text: Kenya Airways expects to carry three million passengers and 60,000 tonnes of cargo in its year ending next March, thanks to an expansion of its routes in Africa and the Middle East, its chief executive said.
    The airline, one of the top carriers in Africa which is facing a strike by its staff in a pay dispute, weathered the global economic downturn better than most other airlines. However it booked a big loss in 2008/09 due to fuel hedges.
    "I think opportunities in Africa are huge, if you look at Africa; Africa is larger than any other continent in the world in fact a number of continents can fit into Africa and if you look at the size of population in Africa you are looking at close to a billion people and sure enough as the economies start opening up and the countries open up, people will travel and that is why we see an opportunity there," said Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer.
    The airline, which is 26 percent owned by Air France-KLM carried 2,697,134 million passengers and 57,700 tonnes of cargo last year.
    Naikuni, who ran a soda ash firm before moving to Kenya Airways, said the numbers will be boosted by new destinations like Juba, Luanda and Muscat, which started this year.
    It plans to launch more flights in Africa with a five year forecast of covering the whole continent. This will offer traders and other travelers to the far east and Europe connections through its Nairobi hub.
    "It is always very difficult because you are operating in different countries which have different strategies and different ideas, and that has been a learning. The low is the slow pace of the airport itself-our own airport in terms of modernization; it is very frustrating. The high one is the achievement, if you look at where we were as an airline. Airlines have had problems when the economic crunch came in, we survived that and I think to me that is a high," said Naikuni.
    Although governments, especially in the east and southern parts of the continent, have started opening up their tourism sector, full benefits for airlines in terms of earnings hinge on regulatory action, Naikuni said.
    Consolidation among Africa's flag carriers is seen as a way of enhancing their ability to survive. But the public ownership of most of the airlines means mergers are unlikely in the short tern, Naikuni said.
    "It is not as easy as it were because if you look at airlines owned by governments those are public entities, and there is also the whole issue of the ego in owning an airline and for a nation to agree to a merger between an airline of one country to another it is a long process and I do not think we are going to see it in the next 5 or so years but we should keep talking about it," said Naikuni.
    Kenya Airways is investing 1.2 billion shillings (14.89 million US dollars) in a simulator training facility for its staff just commissioned. It is also in talks with both Boeing and Airbus on the acquisition of new wide-body planes.
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