Kenya Airways receives second fully owned Embraer

Kenya Airways has deepened its relationship with the SkyTeam Alliance with the arrival of its second fully owned Embraer E-190 in SkyTeam livery. The aircraft registered as 5Y- FFB, becomes the first Embraer that will be emblazoned with the SkyTeam livery on its tail and fuselage in addition to the Kenya Airways logo. This makes it the second KQ operated aircraft with the SkyTeam livery alongside the B737-700 aircraft already in the SkyTeam livery. The SkyTeam livery on Kenya Airways’ aircraft is a symbol of the airline’s commitment not only to the alliance but also to delivering high quality service to its customers. The livery design is inspired by the alliance’s logo and features a dark blue SkyTeam logo on the tail fin, the blue SkyTeam ribbon wrapped around the back portion of the white fuselage, the SkyTeam name in large, dark blue letters along the front side of the aircraft fuselage Kenya Airways placed below it. KQ’s Chief Executive officer and Managing Director Dr. Titus Naikuni said the new plane as well as the others expected over the next year would play an important role in the fulfilment of the SkyTeam Alliance strategy for Africa. “Kenya Airways is the only airline in Africa that is in the SkyTeam Alliance, and with our flight and network expansion strategy, we are well poised to take advantage of this unique positioning to take traffic from markets such as China into the rest of Africa and Europe”, he said. He said Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was in a good geographical position, and Kenya Airways through its 10-year Growth Plan was taking advantage of this position to capitalise on the surge in East to West traffic, driven by new investments and increased disposal income in Asian countries. Kenya Airways currently flies to 58 destinations; 46 of them in Africa. However, through the SkyTeam Alliance, Kenya Airways takes passengers to over 926 destinations in 173 countries and 490 lounges globally. SkyTeam partner airline passengers can access the former’s expansive destination network in Africa through Kenya Airways. “We take pride in being part of SkyTeam. It positions us well to take advantage of increased demand for intra-Africa travel among business and leisure travellers alike. Being part of the SkyTeam Alliance not only offers our passengers high quality services but also seamless connections to countries where we do not travel”, said Dr. Naikuni. Commenting on the choice of Embraer E-190 over other aircraft, Dr Naikuni said, the aircraft are versatile and cost efficient for short to medium haul flights. “They are fully loaded with the most current technology in the aviation sector, enhancing its suitability for growth”, he added. Currently, KQ uses Embraer aircraft on domestic and short regional routes including Kisumu, Entebbe, Kigali, Bujumbura, Addis Ababa, Djibouti, Maputo, Gaborone, Kilimanjaro and Nampula. The new plane came just a fortnight after KQ took delivery of its first fully owned Embraer. With the new acquisition, Kenya Airways now boasts of a fleet of 12 Embraer aircraft, with 8 more expected by the end of the financial year. The airline has also ordered three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft expected from October 2013 and nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to be delivered from 2014 partly financed using proceeds from the Rights Issue successfully concluded in June. Sourced: etravelblackboardasia