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Kenya Airways is now postponing the launch of its Nairobi-Beijing direct flights to 2026. This follows its Boeing 787 Dreamliners which remain grounded, rendering the airline short on planes that cater for the long haul route on a regular basis.
This has been revealed by Mr. Allan Kilavuka who is the airline’s chief executive officer. According to Kilavuka, the KQ Nairobi-Beijing direct flights were to be launched this year. However, a global shortage affecting aircraft maintenance has forced the national carrier to put the plans on hold.
“We need all our Dreamliners back in operation, along with additional ones, to run the network efficiently next year. As you are aware, there is a significant shortage of aircraft globally,” said Kilavuka.
The flights were to depart from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and terminate at the Beijing Daxing International Airport.
The grounded aircraft were the primary reason why the national carrier reported a Sh12.15 billion loss for the first half of this year, a sharp about turn from the record profit of Sh5.4 billion that the national carrier posted in the full year 2024, and the net profit of Sh513 million in the first six months of 2024.
According to Kilavuka, the cost of keeping Kenya Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliners airworthy runs into billions of shillings.
Each of these KQ Dreamliners has two engines that at some point require a general overhaul. According to Kilavuka, the cost of overhauling a single GEnx engine – which is the engine KQ Dreamliners run on – is around Sh1.9 billion. This the places the cost of two engines maintenance in a single plane at Sh3.8 billion.
“Overhauling a single GEnx engine costs about Sh1.9 billion. Each Dreamliner has two engines. [This means that] engine maintenance alone totals more than Sh34 billion over time,” said Kilavuka.
“Safety requirements mean aircraft must be updated or replaced on strict timelines, regardless of whether the cost has been fully recovered.”
READ MORE: KQ pilot training costs Sh8 million; Cabin crew Sh500,000 per person
33 percent of the carrier’s wide-body aircraft was grounded for the first six months of this year. The grounding of the aircraft resulted in a 14 percent drop in passenger numbers and a 19 percent drop in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs).
