This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Published on September 11, 2019, Kenya Airways is facing a major crisis that could threaten its brand and market share.
The airline has announced plans to cut down on routes and hire 20 pilots on contract to reduce flight cancellations that are costing the national carrier Sh5 billion annually.
According to a memo to pilots, director of flight operations Paul Njoroge says the KQ brand is under threat due to thousands of disrupted travellers who may opt not to fly with the airline again.
‘As a result of the above losses, in the next few weeks we shall be reducing the network to avoid further erosion of the brand due to the disruptions,’ KQ says in the letter.
‘This means the market share we have fought hard to win shall be eroded and winning this back will be a much harder task due to diminished customer confidence.’
The airline has a shortage of 106 pilots and is moving to hire 20 pilots on two-year contracts to serve its Boeing 737 fleet.
However, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) has welcomed the move to hire 20 new pilots but says the number is not sufficient.
Kalpa general secretary captain Muriithi Nyagah said KQ management is paying for being overambitious in expanding routes without addressing crew shortage.
‘Why increase frequency when you don’t have the right numbers? It was always going to be a recipe for failure,’ said Mr Nyagah.
