Kenya Airways assures stockholders over delay of Dreamliner delivery

(eTN) – The 34th annual general meeting of Kenya Airways (KQ) at the Bomas of Kenya brought once again together the company’s shareholders, directors, and management, plus a large contingent from th

(eTN) – The 34th annual general meeting of Kenya Airways (KQ) at the Bomas of Kenya brought once again together the company’s shareholders, directors, and management, plus a large contingent from the media covering the event. Main topics of discussion were financial performance and market shares. Also high on the agenda was the topic of delayed delivery of ordered aircraft.

The airline’s management was swift in re-assuring the shareholders that a decision about a viable alternative to the B787, Dreamliner, would be made soon, so as to keep the momentum of growth going and not disrupting expansion plans and leaving market shares to KQ’s main competitors. It is noteworthy to mention here that the airline will add two more daylight flights from London to Nairobi effective the end of October, signaling revived demand and KQ’s intent not to leave the introduction of extra flights to other airlines flying directly between the UK and Nairobi.

It was also learned that flights to Malindi would resume as soon as an expanded runway was available and would then likely be operated by Embraer jets. It was also revealed that ongoing work at the airline’s home hub, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, was expected to still last for several years, a fact which was not lost on many regular users of the airport in Nairobi. Congestion continues to be the order of the day at the airport, hampering Kenya Airways’ performance on the ground due to limited facilities – something beyond their control but still a matter of great concern, of course.

In a related development, Boeing resorted to getting sections of the regional media to report in a more positive light about their intention to target the African market more aggressively in the future, conveniently overlooking the fact in their PR advertorials that they are presently letting the continent’s leading airlines down by NOT delivering ordered aircraft on time and in the process also trying to evade and avoid compensation deals – a sure door opener for rival manufacturers like Airbus and Embraer.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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