The following feature was first published in The Star newspaper.
Kenya Airways is losing out to rivals due to high fares even as the national carrier struggles to recover from a massive loss. Ticket prices from the airline’s hub at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to various domestic, regional and international routes remain high, giving its competitors an edge.
Online booking inquiries by the Star for this this week’s fares show KQ’s one way ticket from Nairobi to Mombasa (economy class) costs between Sh10,130 and Sh11,220.
A similar ticket from Nairobi to Kisumu is Sh13,516 , while Nairobi- Eldoret is Sh13,940. Local airline Fly540 is charging between Sh4,150 and Sh9,810 for the same between Nairobi and Mombasa, Sh5,270 and Sh8,600 (Nairobi-Eldoret) and Sh5,540 and Sh10,310 (Nairobi-Kisumu depending on the day and time of flight. In the regional and African market, KQ’s main competitor, Ethiopian Airlines, remains the most fairly priced.
A one-way economy class ticket from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam on KQ costs Sh39,000 compared to Ethiopian’s Sh23,130. Flying from Nairobi to Kigali will cost you Sh18,923 for an economy ticket while Ethiopian airlines will take you there for Sh14,490, a price that has seen its economy tickets sold out for the next two weeks. On the Nairobi-Johannesburg route, KQ is charging Sh51,073 compared to Ethiopian’s Sh30,840 for a one way economy class ticket.
South African airways is charging Sh32,366. Nairobi-Lagos is Sh75,133 (KQ) and Sh45,960 (Ethiopian Airlines). “I had to choose Ethiopian airlines on many occasions due to your prohibitive fares,” Tony Mwangi, a passenger told KQ on its Facebook page on August 17. Kenya Airways has also continued to face stiff competition in the European market (Kenya’s leading tourism market source), Asia and the Far East.
Apart from Ethiopian and South African, leading players such as Emirates, Qatar and Etihad have not only eaten into KQ’s market share, but dominate the routes. This week, KQ is flying to London (Heathrow) at Sh95,622 (one way economy) compared to Ethiopian’s Sh69,792 and Qatar Airways Sh60,409. Nairobi-Dubai one way ticket is averaged at Sh39,429 compared to Sh36,477 for Qatar airways. Beijing-China is Sh226,457 on KQ compared to Sh171,000 on Ethiopian Airlines and Sh56,930 on the recently introduced China Southern Airlines.
Other prices are Amsterdam at Sh131,256 (KQ) against Sh57,457 on Qatar Airways. Paris is Sh160,881 on KQ against Sh50,815 for Ethiopian Airlines. Consumer Federation of Kenya secretary general Stephen Mutoro yesterday said Kenya Airways has overpriced itself despite low quality services and delays compared to other airlines.
“They need to align themselves with the market or even offer slightly lower prices. They are losing to other airlines who are offering even better services at low prices,” said Mutoro. Kenya Association of Tour Operators said high prices have a negative impact especially on regional and domestic tourism.
“People will definitely look at other airlines offering cheaper packages,” said KATO managing director Fred Kaigwa. Kenya Airways head of corporate communication Wanjiku Mugo however argued that the airline’s prices are not high, compared to the services offered and time taken to reach various destinations unlike other airlines that have many stopovers.
“It depends on what you want. If you want value for your time, our prices are not high but if time is not of any essence then you are free to book from our competitors. We always ask our customers to do early bookings to get fair prices,” said Mugo on phone.
While the airline’s management blames competition and a slump in tourism for the loss, analysts, government and investors have pointed out several issues which include pricing and management. The cash-strapped airline has since turned to debt for recovery after posting a Sh29.7 billion pre-tax loss in the 2014/15 financial year.
