Judy Bryant
18 June 2008
Cape Town — Kenya Airways (KA), whose passenger trade was near 100% capacity in December last year then plunged to less than half in 14 days after violent civil unrest, has steadied and increased its capacity by introducing a fourth Boeing 777.
Cargo traffic has been unaffected and remains at 100% capacity.
The airline also suffered a Boeing 737-800 crash in Cameroon in May last year, which killed all 114 people on board, including 19 South Africans.
"You can't have a plane crash and a civil war in 12 months without it affecting the company. It has taken months to stabilise both the airline and the environment it operates in," says KA marketing manager Glenn Lewington.
Marketing efforts are now focused on building up the Mombasa leisure route, while the business route between Johannesburg and Nairobi remains unscathed.
About 85% of KA clients from SA are business passengers. Of those, 70% use Nairobi as a connecting hub.
Key routes - from a total of 44 - include Cameroon (telecommunications staff), Mali (mining companies) and Senegal.
KA is also one of the few airlines flying to Monrovia. "There are few alternatives to KA in w est Africa, so after the unrest those business travellers stayed with the airline," says Lewington.
"South African passengers switched for some time, then returned, drawn by our emphasis on service and the high standard of the regularly updated fleet."
KA, established more than 30 years ago as a state carrier, has run profitably for the past 10 years since it listed on the Kenyan and Tanzanian stock exchanges. The main shareholders are KLM-Air France (27%) and the Kenyan government (20%). The state is not involved in day-to-day operations.
"We are successful because we are accountable to our shareholders and our aircraft don't sit on the ground," says Lewington. "Service is key, and leisure travellers enjoy the high standards demanded by discerning business travellers."
KA has hiked fares by $30 across the board because of rising fuel prices and other factors, but has retained all 3600 staff.
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