KQ introduces new flight schedule to boost efficiency

Kenya Airways has introduced a new flight schedule as part of its turnaround strategy.

The national carrier is banking on the changes to boost route connectivity with special focus on growing its frequency on African routes. The move follows the full re-opening of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) runway following an upgrade by the Kenya Airports Authority. The Runway had remained shut for six hours a day betweenmidnight and 6am forcing all airlines to change their schedules.

Kenya Airways Chief Executive Mbuvi Ngunze is particularly optimistic that the runway upgrade and hub redesign will fit in with the airlines plans to return to profitability by 2018.

“In the last two years we have improved fleet utilization by 30% by re-looking at our schedule and enhancing it to suit our customer needs. Through this, the airline is has the same number of seats, but with a much lower cost of the fleet,” Mr Mbuvi said.

In the new schedule, KQ has added at least one flight on most of its African routes, to boost connectivity with its international flights.

Kenya Airways has increased its frequency Johannesburg South Africa to four flights daily as well as an additional night time flight to Antananarivo.

Bangui sees a frequencies increase to three times per week while the airline will offer additional flights to Addis Ababa, making a total of three flights every day to the Ethiopian capital.

The changes come just a month after Kenya Airways changed its flight schedule on the Nairobi – London route effective. In the new schedule the flight will JKIA in the morning hours then depart from London for Nairobi the same evening arriving the next morning.

The airline will also introduce six extra weekend flights in its schedule for flights between Amsterdam and Nairobi.  The change is expected to improve connectivity to and from the US and Europe with an early morning arrival into and departure from Amsterdam to Nairobi.