KQ puts four planes on sale to raise capital

National carrier Kenya Airways plans to sell four of its older planes to raise cash for its operations. Acting Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia told a House committee that the sale is part of a recovery plan by the airline.

Mr Macharia made the announcement when he met the Transport, Public Works and Housing Committee of the National Assembly today. KQ posted a Ksh29.7 billion loss that it blamed on competition from Middle East carriers and high operating costs.

The airline also blamed travel advisories that led to a slump in the tourism industry, as well as runway closures for renovation, for eating into the company’s 2014/2015 full-year earnings. The airline has, however, been accused of poor management decisions, operational inefficiencies and failure to counter competition.

Preliminary evidence gathered by a Senate Select Committee looking into the airline’s operations revealed that strategic errors led to the near-collapse of Kenya’s flag carrier.

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