Kenya Airways (KQ) expects its revenues for the current financial year ending December to take a hit due to the prolonged grounding of two of its largest aircraft –the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners— due to delays in maintenance of their engines.
The national carrier says the two Dreamliners that are out of service have reduced its current capacity by 20 percent, significantly impacting revenue as it has been forced to cut back on certain routes and reduce flight frequencies.
The planes are undergoing engine overhauls but may remain grounded longer than expected due to global demand for the service by other airlines. The maintenance is done by General Electric which is among few suppliers of aircraft engines.
“We’re not happy that they’re grounded. We’ve lost 20 percent of our capacity, and that is going to affect our results this year because of the strain on our network,” said KQ Chief Executive Allan Kilavuka.
“For a relatively small airline like us, losing 20 percent of capacity really hurts. So we’re not able to deliver the amount of capacity that we had last year.”
An engine overhaul is a comprehensive process that involves disassembling, inspecting, repairing, and reassembling the engine to restore it to optimal condition. It is typically required every five years or after about 3,000 flight cycles.
Although the process usually takes 70 to 90 days, KQ chief operations officer George Kamal says it is now stretching up to 120 days due to increased demand for overhaul services globally.
“We have booked slots at GE (General Electric Aerospace). However, the turnaround times, which increased significantly due to the supply chain, has really hurt all the airlines including Kenya Airways,” said Mr Kamal.
Together with the recently leased Airbus A330-200, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners are the largest aircraft in KQ’s fleet, with a capacity of up to 250 passengers. They serve long-haul destinations such as New York and London, and high-traffic African routes including Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Lagos.
Out of the 43 aircraft in its fleet, nine are 787-8 Dreamliners. With two of them out of operation, the airline’s ability to serve its long-haul and busy routes has been compromised.
While the 787 model has come under scrutiny following the recent fatal crash of Air India Flight 171 –also a Dreamliner— KQ maintains that the grounding of its jets is for scheduled maintenance, not safety concerns.
“The Boeing 787 is one of the safest aircrafts in the history of aviation. The grounding was for engine overhaul, it was not for any mistake or fault with the aircraft. It's an engine overhaul, which normally happens at certain cycles or after certain hours of engine life,” explained Mr Kamal.
“We’re in constant discussions with Boeing to find out why that particular aircraft came down so that if it’s anything to do with the aircraft in particular, we can take any corrective action,” added Mr Kilavuka.
KQ recorded a 3.5 percent increase in revenue in 2024, reaching Sh156 billion, helping it post a net profit of Sh5.4 billion after years of losses –including a Sh22.6 billion loss in 2023. But the ongoing grounding now threatens to stall the momentum of its financial recovery.
