Kenya Airways saw its full year operating losses shrink as demand picked up in 2021. The Kenyan carrier reported 2021 full year revenues of just over KSh70 billion ($608 million) while passenger numbers of 2.2 million were still 57% down compared to pre-crisis figure in 2019, as capacity remained nearly two-thirds lower.
The operating losses came in at KSh6.8 billion ($59 million), a reduction of nearly 75% against KSh36.57 ($333.2 million) a year previously.
The airline said its relative operating performance had been particularly strong owing to the easing of travel restrictions in some of its most important markets despite “muted operations.”
Chief executive Allan Kilavuka insists the airline’s management team is “committed to strengthening its business and achieving profitability” by focusing on sustainable operations “anchored around resilience, innovation, and diversification”.
“We are making investments in innovation, technology and other efficiencies that will give our employees the support they need to take care of our customers,” Kilavuka said.
The CEO also acknowledged that last year was a challenging one for the industry with the covid restrictions being lifted and re-imposed s it progressed. Speaking at AviaDev Africa podcast, Kilavuka said KQ opted to preserve cash as well as switching to cargo business as a means to get through the pandemic with focus now being on developing the cargo business which KQ holds about 10% of overall cargo business in Nairobi.
Although direct operating costs for the airline rose by a third last year, as a result of increased operations and higher fuel prices, Kenya Airways says its total operating costs fell by 3.6%.
