KQ Set to Receive Three New Boeing Aircraft

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya Airways is set to receive the first of three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft next month. The new state-of-the-art aircraft B777-300ER will be the largest in the airline’s fleet. With a seating capacity of 400 (28 – Premier World and 372 Economy) and long-range flying capability, this new addition will also offer excellent passenger experience.

“This will be the largest aircraft in our fleet. Our current B777-200ER aircraft has a seating capacity of 322 passengers while this one has 400 seats. It will give our business a major lift due to its enhanced product quality, excellent range and impressive cargo capacity ( more than 7,000 cubic feet of cargo volume; over 20 metric tons),” says Dr. Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. “The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is a perfect fit for our network expansion plans as it will enable us serve our existing markets much more effectively and facilitate the opening of new long-haul routes in the near future.”

According to Kenya Airways, the aircraft has been designed with their guests in mind and will come with exciting features to delight existing passengers and attract new ones. The Premier World business-class features full flat-bed seats with leather foot-rests, laptop stowage and armrests that also act as privacy dividers.

Travellers will also enjoy high quality in-flight entertainment; each seat has a 15.4 inch touch screen monitor, power socket and USB port, and an in-flight entertainment handset. The Economy class seats are also a cut above the rest, with articulating seat bottoms for better legroom, four-way adjustable headrests, in-flight handset seatback and large 10.6 inch touch screen monitors.

Each seat also has a USB port, with power sockets strategically installed throughout the cabin. Guests will also experience all-new industry-leading in-flight entertainment system with a smart user interface, with full audio and video on demand and games.They will also have access to interactive moving maps and information on connecting gates.

This acquisition is part of Kenya Airways 10-year strategic plan dubbed ‘Project Mawingu’ in which the airline targets to increase its fleet size from the current 44 to 107 aircrafts by 2021 and destinations from the current 62 to 115. The new Boeing 777-300ER will commence direct flights from Nairobi to Guangzhou from November this year.

The Boeing 777-300ER will be the fourth aircraft that Kenya Airways will receive this year, after three Embracer 190 jets delivered in January, February and August, respectively. Two more B777-300ER aircraft are expected to be delivered in mid-2014.

The airline has a fleet mix of wide body (twin aisle) and narrow body (single-aisle) aircraft comprising four Boeing 777-200ER wide body jets, six Boeing 767-300ER wide body jets, fourteen Boeing 737 narrow body jets (Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737-700 and Boeing 737-300), eighteen Embracer regional jets (E170 and E190) and two dedicated 737-300 freighters (converted from passenger aircraft). The airline has also ordered nine Boeing 787 Dream liner aircrafts, the first of which is to be delivered in early 2014.