Kenya welcomed another big bird yesterday. What kind of big bird was it? And where did it land?
Yesterday, Kenya Airways did the country proud as the national airline took delivery of the third B787-8 Dreamliner. The handover of the latest brand new aircraft is part of an ongoing fleet renewal exercise under which initially 9 Dreamliners were ordered.
With a fuel consumption of more than 20 percent less than the B767-300ERs presently used by Kenya Airways, a longer range and a higher payload for passengers and cargo, these state-of-the-art planes will progressively replace the aged B767s and then add to the overall fleet size, catering to the two new destinations in China coming online later this year, Beijing and Shanghai.
This year alone, Kenya Airways will take delivery of 6 B787-8 Dreamliners, 2 additional B777-300ERs and next generation B737-800s before next year a further 3 Dreamliners and a yet to be confirmed number of other aircraft will join the fleet in Nairobi.
The recent soft opening of the new Terminal 1A, formerly known as Terminal 4, where Kenya Airways is conducting the trial runs together with the Kenya Airport Authority before later this month a full opening of the new facility is expected, has eased the capacity constraints at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ahead of the opening of a further temporary terminal which will bridge the time gap between now and Project Greenfield, a completely new mega terminal together with a second runway in a few years’ time.
