NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 1 – That the Kenya Airways (KQ) is a shell of its former self is a reality, that many are yet to come to terms with.
Dubbed ‘The Pride of Africa’, the airline is not what it once was.
Gone are the glory days when it dominated the skies and was the epitome of excellence in aviation particularly in the African continent.
Though concerted efforts have been made in an attempt to revive the national carrier and ensure it becomes profitable, ever growing debts have hampered the noble quest.
An opportunity now seems to be in the horizon, with President Uhuru Kenyatta in his New Year’s address revealing that Kenya Airways will form a significant partnership with South Africa in a bid to boost operations and improve its economic fortunes.
“Our national carrier Kenya Airways will join hands with our partners in South Africa to establish a Pan-African Airline with unmatched continental reach and global coverage,” said Kenyatta in his address to the nation.
According to Kenyatta, the move will boost tourism, trade, and social engagement as well as bolster continental integration.
The decision was agreed upon when Kenyatta toured the rainbow nation in November 2021, during a three day state visit.
During the visit when he was accompanied by several Cabinet Secretaries (CS) including Transport CS James Macharia, Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA) signed a Strategic Partnership Framework allowing the formation of a Pan-African carrier.
“This cooperation aligns with Kenya Airways’ core purpose of contributing to the sustainable development of Africa and is based on mutual benefits,” said KQ chairman Michael Joseph.
As part of the deal, the two airlines will work towards increasing passenger traffic, cargo opportunities and general trade by utilising individual nations strengths.
“It will increase connectivity through passenger traffic, cargo opportunities while enhancing the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA),” reads a statement by KQ.
The Pan-African airline is expected to become fully operational by 2023.
Meanwhile, critics of the move say though commendable on paper, it is yet to be seen how the two loss making airlines will overturn their fortunes and whether the deal was the right one to begin with.
Both KQ and SAA are said to have been making loses since 2013 and 2011 respectively, only surviving on government bailouts on numerous occasions.
This has resulted in loss of market shares to rival and competing airlines.
Kenya Airways reported a Sh11.5 billion loss for the half year to June 2020.
KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka in a statement earlier 2021 said that the airline’s turnover during the period dropped by nine per cent to Sh27.3 billion compared to Sh30.2 billion same period in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic was faulted for its abysmal performance that saw global travel come to a halt amidst calls for further financial support.
SAA equally which had halted operations for more than a year has been making losses for nearly a decade despite efforts to make it profitable.
Critics are now calling on the two countries to implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which is is a flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063.
SAATM is an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa to advance the liberalization of civil aviation in Africa and act as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda.
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