Kenya Airways records double loss

Kenya Airways (KQ) has doubled its loss from last year by recording an 8.56 billion loss for the half year ending June 30th. The airline recorded a loss of 4 billion for the same period last year.

Operational costs

The loss has been attributed to increased operational costs and elevated impairment costs despite the airline trying all means to cut costs.

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Its operational costs increased to 67.1 billion shillings a 10.9 billion shillings increase due to increased routes and flight frequency while it incurred a one-off impairment loss of 1.9 million shillings and a further shrink of 1.5 billion shillings.

“We have to keep sweating our current fleet by being in the air more often. This is achievable by employing the same fleet for network expansion,” said Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz.

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Managing costs

KQ Chairman also added that they have to find means to ensure that the losses lessen by managing costs.”

“If we manage costs, we can manage the bottom line. Costs have always been our biggest concern,” he said.

They airline has been seeking increased network and route expansion including the launch of new destinations to Geneva, Milan, New York and Mogadishu.