A jump in cargo activity helped Kenya Airways offset lower passenger volumes during the first half of 2021, enabling it to shave a fifth off its losses for the period. The SkyTeam carrier posted a pre-tax loss of KShs11.5b ($104m) for the first six months of 2021. That compares with a loss of KShs14.4b at the same stage last year. Total revenues for the first half fell 9% to KShs27.34b in 2021. That is less than half the KShs58.6b it reported in the first six months of 2019, before the crisis. That reflects a 17% fall in passenger revenues as tight travel restrictions remained in place during the first half of the year. This though was partly offset as thw airline was able to boost its cargo revenues 60% during the same period. Cargo volumes were up a third during the period. Kenya Airways chairman Michael Joseph says: “During the period, the company’s main focus was, and still is, cash conservation. The company has exploited opportunities of raising much needed revenue through passenger charters and ramped up cargo operations. Other initiatives undertaken by management include partnerships with other airlines, lease rentals re-negotiations, payment plans with suppliers and partial deferment of staff salaries.”<br/>
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Vietnam Airlines is pushing ahead with plans to start its first flights to the US in late October even as it seeks to mitigate losses from the virtual suspension of operations during the nation’s worst coronavirus outbreak. The carrier will use either Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 aircraft for its inaugural US route—Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco—that will also rely on transporting cargo to offset initial low passenger demand, Chief Executive Officer Le Hong Ha said. The route will include a refueling stop, he added. During the pandemic the airline has operated charter flights to transport Vietnamese home from the US. The national carrier is facing a 75% drop in revenue this year compared with 2019 after a loss of about 7t dong ($307m) in H1 2021 due to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Ha. The government last year restricted in-bound international flights to those transporting Vietnamese returning home, key business and company experts and diplomats. Domestic flights, which resumed last summer after significant curbs, have again reduced since June as the virus outbreak gained strength, with barely no flights now. The carrier, which has suffered a 55% drop in the total number of domestic and international flights this year, will decide in September if its needs additional support from the government, he said.<br/>