Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways

File:Kenyaairways.gif
IATA ICAO Callsign KQ KQA KENYA
Founded	1977
Hubs	Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Focus cities	Moi International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Flying Blue
Alliance	Skyteam
Fleet size	23
Destinations	44
Headquarters	Nairobi, Kenya
Key people	Titus Naikuni (CEO) Neil Canty (CFO) Evanson Mwaniki (Chairman)
Website	http://www.kenya-airways.com

Officials: Jet with 100 aboard crashes

POSTED: 7:52 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2007

Kenya Airways jet with 100 on board crashes in Cameroon, officials say • Nairobi-bound jet went down near Niete, 125 miles from coastal city of Douala • Relatives waiting in Nairobi in anguish at television news reports

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) -- A Kenya Airways flight with more than 100 people aboard crashed in southern Cameroon, officials said Saturday.

The plane lost contact with airport controllers soon after taking off around midnight Friday, and crashed near the southern coastal town of Niete, state radio said. But later information suggested the crash was further inland, close to the town of Lolodorf, a government spokesman said.

Alex Bayeck, a regional communications officer, said he did not have any information on whether there were survivors. He spoke by telephone from a vehicle en route to the crash site.

The plane took off from Cameroon's commercial center of Douala en route to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Kenya Airways said earlier Saturday. Lolodorf is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Douala.

Cameroon's military dispatched helicopters from the Douala airport to the crash site, an airport worker said, speaking anonymously because she was not authorized to talk to the press. The first group of helicopters left early in the morning, she said. Military officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

"The last message was received in Douala after takeoff and thereafter the tower was unable to contact the plane," Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni said in the Kenyan capital.

At a news conference soon after the Cameroon radio report, Naikuni said he could not immediately confirm the plane had crashed.

Kenyan airline officials said the Boeing 737-800 was carrying 114 people, including 105 passengers, from 23 countries. Naikuni said the plane was six months old.

A Nairobi-based Associated Press correspondent, Anthony Mitchell, was believed on aboard.

Relatives waiting at Nairobi's airport began wailing when television news stations reported that the plane had crashed in West Africa. Dozens of family members cried and collapsed in the airport terminal while awaiting official word from the airline.

The flight departed Douala at 12:05 a.m. and was to arrive in Nairobi at 6:15 a.m. The flight originated in Ivory Coast but stopped in Cameroon to pick up more passengers, the airline said.

Weeping relatives walked into the arrivals hall at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport along with officials wearing yellow vests that said "St. John Ambulance First Aid." At a crisis center at a downtown Nairobi hotel, a woman was screaming in the lobby before being led into an elevator, trailed by photographers.

Sobbi Mulindi, who said he was the crisis manager, said eight families had gathered at the hotel.

The last crash of an international Kenya Airways flight was on January 30, 2000, when Flight 431 was taking off from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on its way to Nairobi. Investigators blamed a faulty alarm and pilot error for that crash, which killed 169 people.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Kenya Airways is the largest airline of Kenya in East Africa, and the fifth largest airline in Africa, behind (South African Airways, Egyptair, Air Algerie and Royal Air Maroc) . Kenya Airways operates more transcontinental flights than any other African airline.

Its hub is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, and its focus hub is Moi International Airport in Mombasa.

History

The airline was established in January 1977, after the breakup of the East African Community caused the demise of East African Airways. It started operations on 4 February 1977 and was wholly owned by the Kenyan government until April 1996.

In 1986, Sessional Paper Number 1 was published by Kenya's government, outlining the country's need for economic development and growth. The document stressed the government opinion that the airline would be better off if owned by private interests, thus resulting in the first attempt to privatize the airline. The government named Mr. Philip Ndegwa as Chairman of the Board in 1991, with specific orders to privatize the airline. He heads a renewed company cabinet. In 1992, the Public Enterprise Reform paper was published, giving Kenya Airways priority among national companies in Kenya to be privatized.

In the fiscal year 1993 to 1994, the airline produced its first profit since the start of commercialization. Also in 1994, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was appointed to provide assistance in the privatization process. In 1995, Kenya Airways went through some important financial processes, including the restructuring of its debts and a master corporation agreement with KLM that bought 26% of the shares in Kenya Airways and becames the largest single shareholder. In 1996, shares were floated to the public, and the airline started trading on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. In October 2004, the company crosslisted its shares at the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange

In April 2004 the company re-introduced Kenya Airways cargo as a brand and in July 2004, the company's domestic subsidiary Flamingo Airlines was reabsorbed. The airline is owned by Individual Kenyan shareholders (32.5%), KLM (now Air France-KLM) (26%), Kenyan government (23%), Kenyan institutional investors (15.7%), foreign investors (3.8%). Kenya Airways owns 49% of Precision Air which is Tanzania's largest & fastest growing airline.

Events of 2005

Kenya Airways Boeing 767 - pre 2005 paint scheme

Kenya Airways has received three Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, with the last delivery in February 2007. This has cost Kenya Airways in the region of $500 million.

Kenya Airways has also changed its livery. The four defining stripes running the length of the fuselage have been replaced by a slogan "Pride of Africa". The KA tail has also been replaced by a styled "K" encircled with a "Q" to evoke the "KQ" call letters for the airline.

In the 6 months ending 30 September 2005, profits after tax rose 48% vs 2004-5 to Kshs 2.231 Billion (US$30 Million). Over 1.2 million passengers were carried.

In the full year results ending 31 March 2005, profits after tax almost tripled over 2003-4 to Kshs 3.882 Billion (US$50 Million). Over 2 million passengers were carried.

In the 6 months ending 30 September 2004, profit after tax was $19.5 million, compared to $4.5 million for the same period the previous year. This has been attributed to KTAP (Kenya Airways TurnAround Project) overhauling the airline's revenue management, cost structures and route and fleet planning (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).

In June 2005 it was announced that Kenya Airways would join the Skyteam Alliance in 2006.

Events of 2006

File:Kq 787.jpg

Artist's rendering of the Kenya Airways Boeing 787, scheduled for delivery in 2010

Kenya Airways has ordered six Boeing 787 Dreamliners end another 3 planes and 2006 and plans to replace its Boeing 767s with the Dreamliners, beginning with the delivery of two airplanes in 2010, and four in 2011

Kenya Airways announced record profit growth for 2005-6. After-tax profits increased from 3.88bn Kenya shillings (about $54mn) to 4.83bn shillings (about $67mn)

Events of 2007

A Kenya Airways airliner with 115 people on board crashed after taking off from Douala airport in Cameroon on a flight to Nairobi, according to various news reports on 04 May 2007.

Kenya Airways, Africa's second-largest carrier, has said that a passenger plane with 114 people on board went missing.

According to Alex Bayeck, a regional communications officer, the Nairobi-bound jet went down near the town of Lolodorf, about 155 miles south of the coastal city of Douala, where it had taken off shortly after midnight.

Destinations

For a complete list of destinations, see: Kenya Airways destinations

Kenya Airways flies:

• 56 times per week to Mombasa
• 28 times per week to Entebbe (Kampala)
• 10 times per week to London
• 10 times per week to Dubai
• 9 times per week to Amsterdam
• 7 times per week to Zanzibar
• 6 times per week to Lagos
• 5 times per week to Kinshasa
• 3 times per week to Paris
• 3 times per week to Lubumbashi
• 3 times per week to Bangkok
• 2 times per week to Istanbul

Kenya Airways codeshares with KLM and Air France, giving passengers access to several European destinations, including Glasgow, Athens, Rome, Zurich, Manchester, Madrid, Copenhagen, Berlin, Frankfurt and Barcelona.

Fleet

The Kenya Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft as of August 2006:

Kenya Airways Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Premier World/Economy)	Notes
Boeing 737-200	1	101 (12/89)	Short haul regional routes
Boeing 737-300	4	116 (16/100)	Short haul regional routes
Boeing 737-700	4	116 (16/100)	Short haul regional routes
Boeing 737-800	2	145 (16/129)	Short haul regional routes
Boeing 767-300ER	7	216 (20/196)	Long haul international and intercontinental routes
Boeing 777-200ER	4 (1 option)	322 (28/294)	Long haul intercontinental routes
Boeing 787	(9 orders) (4 options)	263
Embraer 170	(3 orders)	72	Entry into service: 2007 GECAS Lease
Saab 340B	2	34	Short haul routes within Kenya

• In 2004 the airline took delivery of three Boeing 767-300 Extended Range 221-seater aircraft and acquired two Boeing 737-700 jets with blended winglets. Another two B767-300 were leased in February and March from GECAS and the Airbus A310 fleet retired.

• Kenya Airways average fleet age is 9.8 years in June 2006 .

• Kenya Airways has announced the phasing out the Boeing 737-200 fleet, and replacement with Boeing 737-800. All three Boeing 737-800 have been deliverd from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE)

• The airline has agreed to lease three 72-passenger Embraer E-170 aircraft from GE Commercial Aviation Services from May/June 2007 and June 2008. They will be used on regional/domestic routes replacing the Saab 340 aircraft.

Incidents and accidents

• On 31 January 2000 the airline suffered its first fatal accident when an Airbus A310 crashed after takeoff from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, killing 169 of the 179 people aboard (see Flight 431).

• On 5 May 2007 Air Traffic Controllers in Cameroon lost contact with Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507, a Boeing 737-800. A crash was later confirmed in southern Cameroon near the town of Niete. The plane originated in Ivory Coast and its intended destination was Nairobi with a stopover in Cameroon to pick up additional passengers. The plane was carrying 106 passengers from 23 countries, 9 crew members, and one flight engineer.

See also

• Flying Blue

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References

• AeroTransport Data Bank

External links

• Kenya Airways
• Kenya Airways at ATDB: profile, history and events, contacts and management, historical/current/planned aircraft in fleets
• Kenya Airways Jet Fleet Detail
• Kenya Airways Passenger Opinions
• Kenya Airways Aircraft Pictures
• Kenya Airways Accidents