Kenya Airways today operates a widebody fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft. But prior to this, it was an operator of the 767 and 777, with both 777-200ER and 777-300ER aircraft. Unfortunately, these left the fleet long before their time, as this article explores. Kenya Airways operated three 777-300ER for just over a year. Photo: Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Kenya Airways’ 777-200s
Before taking on the 777-300ER, Kenya Airways operated four 777-200ER aircraft. These entered the fleet between May 2005 and February 2007 (according to fleet data from ch-aviation.com ). They were all acquired as new aircraft from Boeing.
The four aircraft were all retired and sold in April 2015, with the oldest of them just coming up to 10 years. All four remain in service as of June 2021. Three aircraft passed to leasing company Cargo Aircraft Management and are leased to charter operator Omni Air International (two currently serve with the US Air Force). The fourth aircraft now flies with Eastern Airlines .
This is not an uncommon move amongst airlines, as, at that age, there is still considerable life and re-sale value left in the aircraft. Kenya Airways , by that time, had already started to take delivery of the more efficient Boeing 787 and had also acquired the larger 777-300ER. Kenya Airways operated four 777-200ER aircraft. Photo: Jacksondas via Wikimedia Taking on three 777-300ERs
The story of the 777-300ERs is not as simple. Kenya Airways took on three aircraft between 2013 and 2014, intending to offer higher capacity on its existing long-haul routes. This came as part of a plan to rapidly expand routes and the fleet (known as Project Mawingu). Airline CEO at the time, Dr. Titus Naikuni, explained this is a statement, saying:
“The delivery of this Boeing 777-300ER aircraft marks a key milestone for us at Kenya Airways. Its long-haul capability is a perfect fit for our network expansion plans as it will enable us serve our existing long range markets much more effectively and facilitate the opening of routes in the near future,”
The three aircraft were all leased by Kenya Airways – two from GECAS and one from CDB Leasing. The first aircraft to arrive, in October 2013, was registration 5Y-KZZ (named Maasai Mara). It was followed in May 2014 by 5Y-KZY (named Vicotria Falls) and in July 2014 by 5Y-KZX. One of Kenya Airways 777-300ERs seen at London Heathrow in 2015, […]