For over forty years, Kenya Airways has steadily built a reputation as one of the best-known airlines in Africa. In recent years, the airline has been overshadowed by local juggernaut Ethiopian Airlines. But Kenya Airways has a devoted fan base who’ve supported the airline over the decades through good times and bad. Pin Kenya Airlines has been flying since 1997. Photo: Andrew Thomas via Flickr. Kenya Airways established from the remains of East African Airways
Kenya Airways was set up in 1977 from the remains of East African Airways. Since then, the airline has been based at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. From the start, Kenya Airways flew a mix of domestic and international flights. In 1977, two Boeing 707-321s began flying the Nairobi – Frankfurt – London route. They leased these two planes from British Midland. Locally, the airline was using a Douglas DC-9-52 and several Fokker F27-200s.
The airline flourished over the next few years. By 1980, Kenya Airways was flying five Boeings and had significantly expanded its range of international destinations. Most of these destinations were in Africa, but Kenya Airways was also stretching its wings as far as Mumbai and Zurich. Pin Kenya Airways ordered Boeing 787-8s back in 2006. Photo: Mark Harkin via Flickr. In the mid-1980s, Kenya Airways began bringing in A310s. These were a mixture of A310-200s and A310-300s. They leased most of these aircraft and over the remaining 1980s, there was a bit of aircraft shuffling as planes went back and forth to lessors. Privatization dominated the 1990s at Kenya Airways
In 1990, a Boeing 757-200 came into the fleet. A pair of 737-200s followed it in 1991. But privatization of the airline dominated the 1990s. The opinion in Kenya was that the airline would do better if they privatized it. The process took a few years to get off the ground, but Kenya Airways was publicly floated in 1996. In a deal, KLM took a 26% holding, the Kenyan government took a 23% holding, and the remaining 51% was publicly available.
The process went remarkably well. The airline continued to steadily grow. The airline’s first real hiccup came when an A310-200 crashed off the Ivory Coast. The crash wasn’t fatal for Kenya Airways. The airline plowed on. It brought more Boeing 737s into the fleet, and in 2006 ordered six Boeing 787-8s. Pin Over ambition earlier last decade cost Kenya Airways dearly. […]