Things seem to be going right at the national carrier Kenya Airways despite recent losses after its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Titus Naikuni, was recognised in the prestigious Airline Strategy Awards 2013 held in London last weekend weekend.
Dr Naikuni was awarded the ‘Airline Business Award’, which recognizes an individual who has made a lasting strategic contribution to the air transport business, during this year’s edition. “During the course of his tenure, revenue has more than trebled to $1.2 billion, passenger numbers have jumped to 3.6 million and the airline’s fleet has doubled.
The judges noted that Kenya Airways has revamped its fleet and become the first carrier in the region to join a global alliance, as well as a leading beacon of private enterprise in a region where state ownership remains the norm,” the judges said. Dr. Naikuni said that it was a great honour to be feted by colleagues in the aviation industry from across the world.
“I would like to acknowledge colleagues at Kenya Airways and our customers, whose support has contributed to this recognition,” he said. Among past winners of the ‘Airline Business Award’ are Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways (2012, and Tim Clark, the CEO of Emirates Airline (2011.
Other individuals recognised in this year’s Airline Strategy Awards included James Hogan, the CEO of Etihad Airways in the Executive Leadership category; Carolyn McCall, the CEO of Easyjet in the Low Cost Leadership category and Tewolde Gebremariam, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines in the Regional Leadership Award category Ryanair, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and KLM were also awarded in the Finance, Marketing, Technology and Environment categories Kenya Airways, still smarting from an after-tax loss of Sh7.8 billion during the last financial year, hopes such international recognitions will attract more passengers.
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