Kenya Airways hires aircraft to deal with Christmas demands after grounding its planes

Nairobi, Kenya – Kenya Airways (KQ) has received a new flight, A330 Airbus, to enhance its operational capacity.

KQ signed a short-term lease agreement with Hi Fly, the world’s leading lease and charter specialist airline, as it aims to enhance services during the peak festive season.  

KQ solves flight challenges

Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO, Allan Kilavuka said that the airline needed to take practical steps in the short term to address the pertinent challenges in the market.

“With the current capacity constraints on the back of the growing demand for airline travel, we need to balance our customers’ immediate needs by bringing more capacity into the market,” said Kilavuka in press statement released on Wednesday, December 20.

Kilavuka said the arrival of the aircraft will also support the anticipated increased number of travellers following the recent announcement by President William Ruto on ending visa requirements.

Ruto said all visitors coming to Kenya starting in January 2024 will not be required to have visas.

The CEO noted that the lease agreement is an immediate deal with capacity challenges because it enables the airline to get an aircraft that is ready to fly.

“With the arrival of the aircraft, we expect to see improved operational stability and efficiency, as well as enhanced capacity for the convenience of our passengers,” noted Kilavuka. 

A330 Airbus has a capacity for 299 passengers, split into 24 in the business cabin and 275 in the economy class.

The aircraft augments the existing cargo space with additional belly capacity and will be significant in the next two weeks after KQ announces service disruption.

Why KQ grounded aircraft for two weeks

KQ grounded its aircraft following challenges in the aircraft spare parts global supply chain.

“Our current flight schedule may experience disruptions in the coming weeks mainly due to challenges in the aircraft spare parts global supply chain. These challenges are leading to extended ground time for our aircraft for maintenance,” said Kilavuka in a press statement.

He noted that the move may lead to grounding one or more of our aircraft in line with our commitment to the highest level of safety and reliability of our operations.