Kenya Airways, Air France/KLM suspend longstanding JV

Kenyan carriers to serve secessionist Somaliland

Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) and other Kenyan airlines will, by end of March 2021, commence direct flights between Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia seeking international recognition.

In a move that has angered Mogadishu, Kenya openly recognised the secessionist region by announcing it would open a consulate in Hargeisa by the end of March 2021, while Somaliland would simultaneously upgrade its liaison office in Nairobi.

The announcement was made in a joint statement after a two-day official visit to Kenya on December 13 and 14 by Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi at the invitation of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The move was not well received by the Somali government which cut diplomatic ties with Kenya on December 14, the day after Adbi arrived in Nairobi. In a late-night announcement on national television, Somali Minister for Information Osman Dubbe accused Kenya of constantly interfering with Somalia’s internal affairs and of violating Somalia’s sovereignty. He said Kenyan diplomats in Mogadishu had seven days to...

Kenya Airways launches Johannesburg cargo base

Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has moved into a market gap left my stricken South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) by operating direct freighter services out of SAA’s hub in Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to Southern African destinations. Previously, all Kenya Airways traffic departing from Johannesburg had to pass through the Kenyan flag carrier’s Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta hub.

The airline said in a statement that it planned to operate directly from Johannesburg to Maputo, Harare Int'l, Lilongwe, Lusaka, and Dar es Salaam. According to the cargo flight schedule published on its website, the first freighter flight, KQ2775, from Johannesburg departed for Lusaka and onto Lilongwe on November 25. Another cargo flight, KQ2742, routed from Johannesburg to Maputo back to Nairobi on November 26.

The airline has two B737-300(F)s in its fleet: 5Y-KQC (msn 29088) and 5Y-KQD (msn 29750). It also makes use of bellyhold capacity on its passenger fleet of two B737-700s (inactive), eight B737-800s, nine B787-8s, and...

Kenyan carriers move to fill scheduled ops gap

Lessors okay Kenya Airways use of two B787s as freighters

Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) is set to join its regional rival Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) in transforming its B787s into makeshift freighters, Chief Executive Allan Kilavuka told Kenya's Business Daily Africa.

The Kenyan national carrier has already secured lessor approval to remove seats from two of its B787-8s. The conversion of the Boeing widebodies is due to be completed by year-end. Current plans only foresee the jets being reconfigured back into passenger carriers after a period of two years.

Kenya Airways used its B787-8s for cargo-only flights this year, but has so far refrained from removing their seats. Globally, the B787s have only been rarely converted into makeshift freighters. According to the Cargofacts database, the global fleet of makeshift Dreamliner freighters is currently limited to two B787-9s operated by Ethiopian Airlines and one -9 operated by LATAM Airlines (LA, Santiago de Chile Int'l).

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Kenya Airways currently operates nine B787-8s, including six owned units, two dry-leased from...