Kenya Airways dusts off expansion dream with 10 Boeing plan
Kenya Airways revived long-shelved plans to expand its network by proposing to buy as many as 10 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as part of a 5-year strategy. The move follows 3 consecutive years of losses caused by a poorly executed expansion strategy and fuel-hedging contracts that saw it miss out on rock-bottom oil prices. The losses forced the company into austerity measures that included job cuts, a 15% fleet reduction and the abandonment of a valuable landing slot at London Heathrow. “We’ve put out a proposal for 10 planes at the moment,” COO Jan de Vegt said Wednesday. “We will then have to take 2 to 3 years at least to introduce them. You have to train pilots.” The current fleet is insufficient for new routes the carrier plans to take up, De Vegt said. KQ will begin direct flights to the US Oct 28. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2018-06-29/sky/kenya-airways-dusts-off-expansion-dream-with-10-boeing-plan
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Kenya Airways dusts off expansion dream with 10 Boeing plan
Kenya Airways revived long-shelved plans to expand its network by proposing to buy as many as 10 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as part of a 5-year strategy. The move follows 3 consecutive years of losses caused by a poorly executed expansion strategy and fuel-hedging contracts that saw it miss out on rock-bottom oil prices. The losses forced the company into austerity measures that included job cuts, a 15% fleet reduction and the abandonment of a valuable landing slot at London Heathrow. “We’ve put out a proposal for 10 planes at the moment,” COO Jan de Vegt said Wednesday. “We will then have to take 2 to 3 years at least to introduce them. You have to train pilots.” The current fleet is insufficient for new routes the carrier plans to take up, De Vegt said. KQ will begin direct flights to the US Oct 28. <br/>
