Partnerships have been gathering momentum as Africa’s aviation sector navigates its post-pandemic recovery and the issue of high fuel and oil prices. 

AeroTime revisits the ongoing partnerships forming on the continent, and examines the changes made during the past four months. 

African leaders lead the charge toward new partnerships 

The partnership between Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA) to establish a pan-African airline by 2023 has been a significant indicator and driver of consolidation movements across the continent.  

Now, the two legacy carriers are looking to partner with a West African airline to support a multi-hub strategy to enhance connectivity across the African continent. 

“The intention is to invite a West African airline at some point in the future to also join. We will have a three-hub strategy of Nairobi, Johannesburg, and the West African hub to create better opportunities and services for our customers,” said KQ Board Chairman, Michael Joseph during an investor briefing in late March 2022. 

The geographical location of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) in North-West Africa, situates the airline a potential suitor as the Moroccan flag carrier is no stranger to partnerships. On April 1, 2022, RAM celebrated its 2nd year as a OneWorld Alliance member – the first African airline to join the 14-membered group. The members include American Airlines (A1G) (AAL), Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines.

As part of One World Alliance RAM’s network serves over 105 destinations and 51 countries within and outside Africa. 

Alongside the search for a West-African airline to join KQ and SAA’s partnership, Kenya Airways partnered with Ghana-based Africa World Airlines (AWA) on May 6, 2022, in an interline SPA agreement that aims to explore the potential of both carriers’ networks and expand flight connections between East and West Africa. 

The deal will give Africa World Airlines’ passengers more travel options to destinations in Ghana and West Africa while gaining access to Kenya Airways’ extensive network in Africa. 

“Our combined networks will allow our customers the convenience of seamless onward connectivity to and from the Kenya Airways network onto Africa World Airlines’ network. It is imperative that we continue to interlink Africa and allow access within Africa for our passengers,” said Adedayo Olawuyi, Head of Commercial for AWA. 

AWA commenced its operations in 2012, and today operates domestic and regional flights along the coast of West Africa with a fleet of Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. 

Kenya Airways Chief Commercial and Customer Officer, Julius Thairu emphasized that partnerships and collaboration will be key in unlocking air travel in Africa. 

“The future of travel will be drawn from a sustainable, interconnected, and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa through partnerships and collaboration that drive the growth of Africa’s travel industry,” said Thairu. 

Consolidation: a means to mitigate unit costs? 

Kenya Airways Group MD & CEO Allan Kilavuka believes that consolidation is the key to alleviating airline operating costs and accessing untapped connectivity and operational benefits across the sector. 

“The future of African aviation relies on consolidation to reduce unit costs and connect the continent more,” Kilavuka said during the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, which took place in the UK on April 7, 2022.  

During an AviaDev Insight podcast interview released in January 2022, South African Airways chief commercial officer, Simon Newton-Smith alluded to the fact that Africa’s airlines must reinvent their business models to operate in the industry’s current landscape. 

“If you look at the global aviation landscape, the capacity versus population size, there is such a gap for Africa,” said Newton-Smith. 

Newton-Smith also pointed out that, in their current form, African airlines would not be able to independently meet the increasing need of the continent’s growing middle class.  

“Partnerships are absolutely key,” said Newton-Smith, who went on to describe the SAA-KQ partnership as an “opportunity” to connect networks and increase connectivity on the continent. 

However, while most of the attention has revolved around the SAA-KQ partnership, other African airlines have taken a similar approach to combine forces to enhance operations and services offered to passengers, reducing their unit costs amid high global fuel prices. 

In March 2022, six Nigerian airlines — Air Peace, Arik Air, Azman Air, Aero Contractors, United Nigeria, and Max Air — came together to form the ‘Spring Alliance’. 

The motive behind the alliance is to put aside domestic airline rivalries and give passengers access to better service, while allowing for increased efficiency and wider operational capabilities for the airlines themselves, according to airline leaders, as reported by Nigeria’s The Guardian.  

“In the aviation world, we have so many alliances that airlines key into. We have the Star Alliance; there is One World and several others. And airlines decide to key into those alliances for the benefit of both the passengers and the airlines themselves,” said Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema. 

The formation of the Spring Alliance is a measure to respond to the complaints of the flying public, explains Onyema. 

“For example, if Air Peace has a technical issue on any of its aircraft, the passengers of Air Peace need not be delayed. If any member of this alliance is going to the same destination, all we need to do is to move the passengers over to that other airline, a member of the alliance, at no further cost to the passenger,” Onyema said.  

The alliance looks set to adopt industry practices tailored to passengers’ needs, added United Nigeria Airlines chief executive officer, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo. 

“There’s no doubt that Nigerian airlines are going through some situations and part of the way to react to this is to have the passengers in mind. It is simply thinking out-of-the-box. We are not reinventing the wheel, we are just adopting what we have seen that has worked in other places, and it will surely work in Nigeria so that the passengers going to the airport are more guaranteed that they will fly,” Okonkwo said. 

High fuel costs 

Passengers of Nigerian Airlines have voiced concerns about flight delays and cancellations. The recent hike in fuel prices has exacerbated the fuel crisis for Nigeria’s airlines, almost resulting in operations shutting down during March 2022.  

The crisis was averted after Mele Kyari, Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), announced that a “transparent basis of fuel pricing” in Nigeria would be agreed on by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and Airline Operators of Nigeria. 

However, this was not the end of the jet fuel saga for Nigeria’s airlines as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) announced another flight halt to take effect on May 9, 2022. 

The AON emphasized that fuel costs now accounted for up to 95% of Nigerian airlines’ operating costs against an industry average of 40%. 

Member airlines of the AON consisting of Max Air, Ibom Air, Aero Contractors, Overland Airways, Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines, Arik Air, Azman Air and Dana Air, jointly signed onto the planned flight halt. 

However, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Air Peace, Aero Contractors and Dana Air, pulled out of the plan according to a report from Premium Times. 

The planned flight halt come under pressure from Nigerian government officials on the potential long-term effects on Nigeria’s economy. This moved the AON to agree to temporarily suspend the plan and engage in dialogue with the Nigerian Government to come to a solution. 

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with more than 200 million people. Its growing domestic market provides a unique environment for Nigeria’s domestic carriers. 

In November 2021, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Nigerian airports served 6,420,820 passengers in the first six months of 2021, according to a ‘Passengers Traffic Statistic Report’ provided by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). 

This was a 50.5% increase against 4,267,409 passengers served between January 2020 and June 2021.

A statement released by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) on April 11, 2022, accentuates the hurdle posed by high jet fuel prices on passenger traffic recovery in Africa.  

“In Africa, the jet fuel price hike is worrying and has the potential to slow down the travel recovery,” the association commented. “Platts estimates that the total impact of the price increases on the overall jet fuel bill will reach $86.3 billion based on an estimated average price of $115 per barrel.” 

AFRAA estimates the sector’s revenues will fall by $4.7 billion compared to 2019 levels. In 2021, revenue for African airlines fell by $8.6 billion compared to 2019 levels.  

Source: Aerotime Hub

Dar es Salaam. Stiff competition saw the change in the market share structure last year as airlines competed to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic impacts.

The latest data from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) shows that only Air Tanzania Company Ltd (ATCL) and Auric Air Services managed to increase their market shares during 2021.

ATCL market share jumped to 52.9 percent from 47.8 percent in the preceding year, remaining the market leader.

Under the period of review, Auric Air saw its share slightly increasing by 0.2 percentage points to 10.3 percent.

As the pandemic adversely affected the aviation sector, the number of tourist arrivals fell, forcing Precision Air, As Salaam Air and Coastal Travel Limited – which are considered feeder airlines – to reduce their capacities, forcing their market share to go down.

Precision Air remained in the second place despite its market share dropping from 26 percent to 22.8 percent.

On the other hand, As Salaam Air’s market share fell from 5.3 percent to 2.8 percent while Coastal Travel’s market share decreased slightly to three percent from 3.5 percent.

Other airlines’ market share climbed to 8.6 percent from the previous 7.3 percent.

ATCL managing director Ladislaus Matindi told The Citizen yesterday that the airline’s performance was attributed to the expansion of its networks.

He said the airline introduced new domestic routes which include Geita, Mtwara, Arusha and Songea. The airline also increased frequencies in routes like Arusha, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Zanzibar.

“To attract more passengers, we are committed to improving our on board services and smoothing the issuance of tickets,” Mr Matindi said.

Precision Air managing director Patrick Mwanri said that a drop in the airline’s market share was significantly caused by various factors such as fall in a number of destinations.

He also linked the drop to the fall in the capacity they offered based on operations versus costs associated with the route, passenger number drop due to Covid-19 dynamics and government institutions and authorities using ATCL as official choice. “We are working together with the government and other stakeholders to attract more tourists in the country and promote other travel segments,” he responded to The Citizen’s questions.

“We are looking forward to increasing our operations where we see potential demand that can generate revenue while looking at cost of operation and continuous improvement of our operation.”

As Salaam Air commercial director Ibrahim Bukenya blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the fall of their market share.

He said business was not in their favour since Covid-19 was at its peak in April 2020 and that it started to recover in December 2021. “We are now flying an average of 150 passengers on a daily basis compared to an average of 80 passengers that we were carrying in 2021,” said Mr Bukenya.

He said to capture more market share, the airline which ply Zanzibar-Arusha via Dar and Zanzibar-Dar routes will next month increase frequencies to its destinations from one to two.

It is also set to resume its Zanzibar-Dodoma via Dar route in September.

How Auric Air increased its market shares, airline’s sales director Deepesh Gupta said while other airlines suspended operations during the pandemic, for them it was different.

“Even when we were grappling with a cash flow crunch, we kept on investing on our routes with a view to maintaining continuity,” said Mr Gupta.

“To maintain our good performance and even do better, we are committed to embracing quality, safety, consistency, reliability and promotion.”

The Coastal Travels’ managing director, Captain Maynard Mkumbwa, linked the drop in their market share with the suspension of non-profitable routes of Dar-Zanzibar-Pemba-Tanga.

However, he was positive things were likely to change for better soon, attesting his optimism to overbooking they were now experiencing.

“To cope with the trend and attract more passengers to our routes, we are expecting to add three more aircraft to our fleets to make a total of 18 by July,” said Mr Mkumbwa.

Source: The Citizen

South Africa’s government has retained special voting rights in the country’s national carrier even after selling a majority stake and will be given 3 billion rand ($186 million) in preference shares that can be redeemed through future cashflow.

That means the state stands to benefit should new owner, the Takatso Consortium, revive a carrier that’s struggled under years of heavy losses, corruption and mismanagement, according to a statement from the Department of Public Enterprises on Thursday.

Takatso—made up of a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm—will provide 3 billion rand in working capital and has valued SAA’s assets at about the same amount, the department said. The group agreed to take control of the airline almost a year ago for a notional sum of about $3, in return for spending commitments and responsibility for operations.

“The 51 rand was a nominal sum set some time ago when SAA was not at all a going concern,” Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said by phone. “While now it is still in the recovery phase, things are far better for government than it was when that price was set.”

The details emerged after the National Treasury criticized the terms of the deal, saying SAA represents a “contingent liability” as the government may be liable for certain costs. The state will still be on the hook for outstanding “business rescue obligations” stemming from the company’s near 18-month bankruptcy proceedings, Takatso said in a separate statement.

The government’s voting rights, knows as a golden share, will mean SAA can’t be sold on without its consent and the state will retain a stake of at least 33.3%, the DPE said. It will also have full voting rights over “matters of national interest.”

Source: Bloomberg

Kenyans living in Minnesota can now fly with ease to Nairobi after the national carrier signed a code-sharing agreement with the US-based JetBlue airline to have passengers traveling to JKIA connect through New York.

Minnesota is one of the cities in the US with the largest number of Kenyans, and the new agreement will give them a seamless connection to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The move comes as a boost to the carrier just ahead of the summer season when a lot of tourists travel to Kenya for holidays.

KQ   , which launched direct flights to New York in 2018, departs JFK at 1.45 pm on the days that it has flights on the route, making connections from Minnesota hard for passengers wanting to connect to Nairobi.

The agreement will see Kenya Airways passengers in Minnesota book their flights to Kenya directly and fly out of Minnesota to get on the nonstop JFK to Nairobi flight and will collect their luggage at JKIA.

“That’s great for us and I’m happy to see our partnership with Jetblue,” KQ chairman Michael Joseph told the Business Daily.

“The partnership will also allow JetBlue passengers to book a through ticket to Nairobi and enjoy seamless connections to the rest of KQ’s destinations.” said the airline.

JetBlue Airways is a low-cost US carrier headquartered in Long Island, New York, and based out of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Ranked by passenger traffic, JetBlue is among the leading low-cost carriers worldwide as well as the sixth-largest domestic airline in the US, accounting for 5.3 percent of the domestic market in 2021.

The US route is one of the crucial destinations for the national carrier as it plays a major role in connecting travellers who transit through the JKIA.

Kenya Airways cut New York flights to three a week from five last month on the back of low demand following an end to a peak season in December last year.

The airline said the number of passengers on the route had dropped with a reduction in cabin factor, forcing them to remove two flights to JF Kennedy, which had been introduced in November last year.

The carrier had projected its daily direct flights to the US would boost annual revenues by more than 10 percent in 2019 and 2020.

The long-haul route aimed to encourage more business and tourist travel, with the US being one of Kenya’s biggest source of visitors.

The direct flight from New York cut the journey to 15 hours on the long-haul route tapped as part of an effort to revive the airline’s fortunes. The carrier had forecast its daily direct flights to the US would boost annual revenues by more than 10 percent in 2019 and 2020.

Source: Daily Nation

Tata Sons has started the process to merge Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, with low-cost carrier AirAsia India. 

In a legal notice to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), seen by Times of India on April 27, 2022, Air India notified the local competition regulator about its proposed aim to merge with low-cost carrier AirAsia India.  

“The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia India Private Limited by Air India Ltd- an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited (TSPL). At present, TSPL holds 83.67% of the equity share capital of AirAsia India,” the document states. 

The consolidation of both airlines means that merged airlines will hold roughly a 16% share of the local domestic passenger market. However, Air India ensured that the proposed merger “will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, irrespective of the manner in which the relevant markets are defined”. 

Tata Sons, which currently owns an 83.67% share in AirAsia India, formally took control of Air India on January 27, 2022. Since then, the new owner of the loss-making airline has initiated a gradual consolidation of both businesses.  

In February 2022, immediately after Air India’s privatization, the two airlines signed an Interline Considerations on Irregular Operations (IROP) cooperation agreement, where Air India and AirAsia India agreed to serve each other’s domestic customers to minimize passenger inconvenience in the event of flight disruptions. 

After taking control of Air India, Tata Sons holds shares in four Indian airlines, including AirAsia India, Vistara, and Air India Express. The Mumbai-based conglomerate reportedly plans to move all four carriers to a 70,000 square feet office near Delhi.  

Source: Aerotime Hub

Beginning in November this year, Uganda Airlines will launch its long-awaited direct flights between Entebbe International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport, using its Airbus A330-800neo for the route.

A year’s delay

The new route announcement comes days after Uganda’s President Museveni made threats to take action against the national carrier for the long delay in making direct flights to the UK. This happened during a recent meeting with the UK Trade envoy for Uganda and Rwanda, Lord Popat, and the British High Commissioner to Uganda, Kate Airey.

President Museveni said he would soon enforce pushable actions on the Civil Aviation Authority and Uganda Airlines to get the paper sorted quickly, saying:

“What has helped Uganda to recover has been the army and private sector, in spite of the obstacles caused by public service. They have helped the economy recover. The airline people are well paid. Why can’t they finish the issue of direct flights? They are the enemy of the country.”

The fury stemmed from concerns within the UK trade envoy asking about when the flights to London would happen, with Lord Popat suggesting that the Ugandan government work on the issue of starting flights to promote investments and tourism quickly.

He was just as willing to help speed up the process, saying:

“If Uganda is willing, we are ready to send our aviation people here to help CAA so that we can have direct flights to the UK.”

Regulation problems

Quite shockingly, Uganda Airlines was granted rights and slots to commence flights to London last year, with a then-planned arrival to Heathrow at 06:45 am and departure at 09:00 am.

The granting of slots came after an analysis revealed that over 84,000 passengers flew on the Entebbe to London flight on a two-way point-to-point basis in 2019, making Entebbe the second-largest unserved market from Africa to London.

However, the flights to London never began. According to the airline’s acting Chief Executive Officer, Jenifer Bamuturaki, the UK aviation body required Uganda Airlines to apply for a foreign carrier permit.

The requirement is one of the changes caused by Brexit regulation. All non-UK air carriers wishing to undertake commercial services to, from, or within the UK must hold a Foreign Carrier Permit before that flight is launched – a process that usually takes up to six months.

Problem solved

It would undoubtedly seem that the regulatory problems have now been solved. Although, the timings are yet to be announced after further consideration of other flights feeding into the London route. Moreover, the Uganda-London way will operate thrice weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

With the establishment of London flights settled, Uganda Airlines is looking to expand its regional network, with plans for flight services to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the making.

And in terms of going much farther, the airline is also looking to further dominate the international market with many more long-haul routes, including the resumption of flights to Dubai back in October last year. By the end of 2023, the Ugandan national carrier is eyeing Guangzhou using the Airbus A330-800neo aircraft.

Source: Simple Flying

A report detailing the performance of Air Tanzania Company (ATCL) during the fiscal year 2020/21, has revealed that the airline increased its revenue and almost halved its losses for that period. 

The performance of the flag carrier’s regional fleet contributed to the airline’s increase in revenue. ATCL’s four Bombardier Q400s and two Airbus A220s broke-even after recording a marginal profit of TZS 12.26 billion ($5.27 million) and TZS 12.09 billion ($5.20 million) respectively for the year ending June 30, 2021. 

According to Tanzania’s Controller and Auditor General, Charles E Kichere, ATCL reduced its total losses by 40% in FY 2020/21 compared to FY 2019/20. The airline cut its operating losses from TZS 60.25 billion ($25.9 million) in 2019/20 to TZS 36.18 billion ($15.5 million) in 2020/21.  

Kichere ascribed the reduction to ATCL’s management trimming the airline’s direct costs by 3%. 

Additionally, the flag carrier increased its total revenue by TZS 16.99 billion ($7.31 million) to record TZS 174.59 billion ($75.1 million) during the year 2020/21, up from TZS 157.60 billion ($6.78 million) in 2019/20. This is an 11% increase from the previous year, says Kichere. 

Despite being hampered by low demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report attributes ATCL’s financial results to the performance of its fleet. 

“The consecutive losses were due to inability of the individual aircraft to attain break-even point,” said Kichere. 

From June 30, 2021, ATCL operated a fleet of nine aircraft: two Boeing 787s, four Bombardier Q400s, two Airbus A220s and One Dash-8 Q300. 

However, Air Tanzania’s single Dash-8 Q300 was not operational in 2020/21, having been grounded for more than three years over unresolved repair issues.  

A delay in starting operations on international routes contributed to the underperformance of airline’s long-haul fleet. ATCL’s 787s recorded higher operational costs than revenue generated, resulting in a loss of TZS 23.61 billion ($10.1 million). 

Kichere said: “The underperformance of the Boeing aircraft was attributed to the reasons of low load factors, few destinations (routes) in comparison with planned cycles.”  

Source: Aerotime Hub

Kenya Airways Plc and South African Airways are planning a series of investor roadshows to help find a financial backer for a combined airline group they aim to create next year.

The campaign to attract a majority investor for a holding company to be modeled on British Airways and Iberia owner IAG SA is likely to start before the end of the northern-hemisphere summer, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said in an interview on Thursday. Events will be staged in Africa, London and the U.S.

The governments of Kenya and South Africa plan to take a minority stake in the venture, which has the working name Pan-African Airline Group, Kilavuka said. The carriers are also seeking to recruit a third member from West Africa, most likely in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast or Senegal, he said.

“There has been cooperation in the past but only short-term steps like interlining,” the CEO said at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in northwest England. “What we are talking about now is very different. African aviation is so fragmented with 200 or 300 airlines, but only a handful are viable and even they are not very strong.”

The push to create an enlarged airline out of sub-Saharan Africa’s second- and third-biggest carriers — they trail Ethiopian Airlines Group — began last year with a government-level accord followed by an agreement on a strategic framework for the company. Kilavuka said the focus is on securing backing from a financial institution rather than an industry partner like a Gulf carrier, as that might compromise plans to split long-haul flights between their respective hubs.

Different Hubs 

According to one scenario, SAA’s Johannesburg base would be a focus for southern-hemisphere operations, such as flights to Sydney, while operations to Asia would go through Nairobi. The hubs would be able to maintain some competing flights, and cities such as London would get services from both.

A spokeswoman for SAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

“Following discussions between the two governments, there have been exploratory talks between the airlines,” South African Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said by text. “There is certainly scope for a well considered pan-African airline group.”

Kilavuka said that Kenya Airways needs to complete a restructuring before the new venture can proceed, though a round of cost cuts should be done by June. The government, as the biggest shareholder, is supporting the process but requires the carrier to reduce its network, fleet size and workforce, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani said in his budget speech Thursday.

As for taking a share in the combined airline group, it’s “a work in progress,” Joseph Njoroge, principal secretary of state for the Department for Transport, said by phone.

Close Collaboration

Kenya Airways and SAA are meanwhile collaborating more closely than ever before, Kilavuka said, implementing code-share agreements and mutual lounge access and examining the case for a cost and revenue sharing joint venture on the Nairobi-Johannesburg route.

Other areas of cooperation could include joint training and maintenance, while surplus Boeing Co. 787 wide-body jets from the Kenya fleet may be operated by SAA after the South African firm’s aircraft roster was reduced after a lengthy spell in bankruptcy protection. The government, having been forced into repeated bailouts of the flagship carrier, sold a majority stake to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm last year. 

It’s also possible that the carriers will take steps to consolidate their alliance membership, with Kenya Airways quitting the Skyteam group or SAA exiting rival Star, Kilavuka said. The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM could also exit its roughly 7% holding in the Kenyan company, he said. 

Source: Bloomberg

Consolidation is the key to driving forward aviation in Africa, according to the chief executive of Kenya Airways.  

“The future of African aviation relies on consolidation to reduce unit costs and connect the continent more,” Kenya Airways Group MD & CEO Allan Kilavuka said at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in the UK on April 7, 2022.  

“That’s what we’re working on,” he continued in a panel discussion that was streamed online. “We’ve started discussions with some of the major airlines in Africa, especially South African Airways. We want to see how to use assets from both airlines and increase connectivity.” 

Kenya Airways and South African Airways signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the intention of consolidating resources and establishing a Pan-African airline group back in September 2021.   

Joining forces would help bring unit costs down and make African airlines more viable, Kilavuka said, highlighting there were hundreds of small airlines across the continent, many of which were not profitable.  

He said aviation was crucial to the African continent given poor road and rail links. Kenya Airways also has the benefit of a sizeable population in the region, Kilavuka said  

“We need air travel. African carriers should grow, they have to grow,” he said, while also noting a lack of healthy finances is a challenge for the region’s airlines.   

Kilavuka also noted that Kenya Airways was loss-making before the pandemic, and the COVID-19 crisis only made the situation worse. He said the airline was confident it now had the right people in place for a recovery but was still looking for the right business model.   

Talking about current demand and recovery from the pandemic, Kilavuka said he expected demand across Africa to recover by the end of 2023. At Kenya Airways, although Omicron hit bookings in the first quarter of 2022, summer bookings are “very strong”, he said.  

Source: Aerotime Hub

Kenya Airways slashed full-year operating losses to KSh6.8 billion ($59 million) during 2021, a reduction of 75%.

It generated just over KSh70 billion in revenues over the 12 months to 31 December.

But passenger numbers of 2.2 million were still 57% down on the pre-crisis figure in 2019, and capacity remained nearly two-thirds lower.

Despite the “muted operations”, the carrier says it achieved an improved performance owing to the easing of travel restrictions in some of its more important markets.

Chief executive Allan Kilavuka insists the airline’s management team is “committed to strengthening our business and achieving profitability” by focusing on sustainable operations “anchored around resilience, innovation, and diversification”.

“We are making investments in innovation, technology and other efficiencies that will give our employees the support they need to take care of our customers,” Kilavuka adds.

Kenya Airways chair Michael Joseph acknowledges that last year was “a challenging one” for the industry, with restrictions being lifted and re-imposed as it progressed. The emergence of the ‘Omicron’ variant of Covid-19, he says, “disrupted” the recovery.

“Restructuring and transformation initiatives made during [2020] contributed immensely to the recovery during the second half of [2021],” he adds.

Although direct operating costs for the airline rose by a third last year, as a result of increased operations and higher fuel prices, Kenya Airways says its total operating costs fell by 3.6%.

Source: Flight Global