Nairobi, KENYA: Kenya Airways (KQ) has posted a loss of sh.4 billion in the first six months of this year, a 28.8% decrease from the sh.5.77 billion loss it posted last year during the same period.
Speaking at a press briefing in Nairobi on Wednesday morning, Kenya Airways Chairman Michael Joseph said the airline has seen improvements in the last six months geared towards bettering services, both from a business and operations point of view.
“The last 6 months have been an interesting period for KQ, there is positive energy and we are taking steps to turn the airline around,” said Michael Joseph.
According to KQ CEO, Sebastian Mikosz, some of the key challenges the airline is experiencing include fuel prices, economic growth variation, volatile exchange rates and repatriation of funds.
He says they are mitigating that by putting measure to counter positively.
“We recently signed a code share with Air Mauritius, a joint venture with Air France, privileged partnerships with Air Austral and Air Madagascar to widen our connectivity. We increased frequencies to Cape Town, launched a new service to Mauritius and New York in October,” said Mikosz.
The airline is still facing challenges with the African market.
“The lowest Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) margins are in Africa, despite growth in GDP, the market is not growing. This is a signal that we need to analyze how the market is evolving.” said KQ CEO Sebastian Mikosz.
KQ carried 2.3 million passengers, achieved a cabin factor of 75.9% and on time performance of 82% within the last 6 months.
Passenger numbers went up by 6.6%, passenger revenue also up 6% and cargo uplift up by 13%.
The airline has revamped its catering services to help in improving customer experience.
