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Wednesday 23 May 2012

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The Pride of Africa

 

Kenya Airways, the national carrier, is truly the pride of Kenya and the entire African continent. It is the only airline in Africa that has so far escaped largely unscathed from the turbulence within the global air travel industry.

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Kenya Airways

For the Pride of Africa, not even the sky is the limit

In 2008, Kenya Airways, known to many as KQ, won the top Company of the Year Award for strategic planning and emergency preparedness. Its Human Resources Manager, Paul Kasimu, was voted Manager of the Year. As one of the best managed companies in the country, Kenya Airways has been and remains an important emissary of Kenya’s booming tourism industry. The national carrier is the preferred choice for many tourists wishing to enjoy the country’s unrivalled natural beauty and hospitality.

 

KQ flies to more destinations around the world than any other African airline. It entered into a fruitful partnership with the Dutch national airline KLM through Shareholders and Master Cooperation Agreements. It has become an excellent strategic partnership. From the time of the agreement that brought KLM aboard as a strategic partner, Kenya Airways has been a unique company, with three types of shareholding that include the Government and the general public. 

 

 

In addition to the high recognition and numerous accolades that Kenya Airways has received between 1996 and 2008, both locally and internationally, the national carrier has been one of the Kenya Government’s most valuable investments. Among the numerous honours Kenya Airways has bagged are the African Airline of Choice, Best Regional Airline, Flying Blue and the Best Frequent Flier Programme run by the respected Travel News & Lifestyle magazine in 2008. Its onboard publication, Msafiri, was also voted the Best In-flight Magazine.

 

A two-year renewal of the registration of Kenya Airways for the International Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) of the International Air Travel Association (IATA) was granted in 2007. In the same year, Kenya’s national flag carrier joined SkyTeam as an Associate Airline. Internally, Kenya Airways established a leadership centre known as the Pride Centre and also started the Flying Blue Service Centre. KQ has expanded its routes on the African continent, starting with flights to Monrovia, Cotonou and Mayotte.

National Carrier

The airline owns a number of modern aircraft, including Boeing 787, 777, 767, 757 and 737-400. Other aircraft mainly used for internal flights include the Brazilian manufactured Ambraer 58. With the variety of modern state of- the-art aircraft for domestic, regional and long-haul international flights it has, Kenya Airways has established itself as a safe and popular airline. 

 

 

Established as a national carrier in February 1977, immediately after the demise of East African Airways, following the collapse of the East African Community (EAC), Kenya Airways has undergone tremendous growth from rather humble beginnings. With the few aircraft – including the Boeing 707s, MacDonnell Douglas DC-9s, ageing DC-3 turboprops and Dutch-made Fokker Friendships – it inherited from the collapsed East African Airways, the national carrier embarked on an ambitious strategic growth plan.

 

Kenya Airways soon began to purchase or lease newer aircraft while also modernising its ground maintenance and repair facilities as well as recruiting and training highly qualified personnel for various ground and flight activities. At its headquarters in the old Embakasi Airport in Nairobi and the nearby ultra-modern Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), where it has its main operational centre, Kenya Airways has highly skilled personnel in fields ranging from aircraft maintenance and repair to inflight hospitality.

Achievements

Both in 2005 and in 2006, Kenya Airways was voted the Most Respected Company in East Africa, as its profits continued to soar. The airline reported a record pre-tax profit of KSh4,829 million (around $82 million at current exchange rates) on March 31st, 2006, marking a 24 per cent growth from the previous year’s figure of KSh3,882 million ($67 million). During the same year, the airline won the prestigious African Aviation Award of the respected African Aviation magazine. It had earlier won similar awards for three consecutive years from the London-based publication between 1999 and 2001. 

 

 

In 2005, Kenya Airways became the first airline in sub-Saharan Africa ever to achieve the IOSA standards of the IATA after rigorous verification and testing. The airline passed all the various safety and operational tests with flying colours. During the same year, KQ took delivery of two sparkling new Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, bringing its total of this ultramodern long-range carrier to three. The first aircraft of the type had been delivered a year earlier. Two new routes, one to Istanbul in Turkey and the other to Bamako in Mali and Dakar in Senegal were also launched the same year.

 

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