Kenya Airways is pursuing a three-pronged turnaround built on restoring its grounded fleet, cutting costs, and securing a strategic investor, Acting Group Managing Director and CEO Capt. George Kamal said Wednesday during a media roundtable in Nairobi.
The airline’s central ambition is a 14-bay maintenance complex — dubbed “MRO City” — that Kamal said would create more than 2,000 direct jobs and let KQ service aircraft for carriers across Africa. “We are not looking at MRO 2 hangars. We are looking at MRO City,” he said.
Fleet recovery first
Kamal said KQ is targeting full fleet capacity by the end of 2026, with faster growth planned from 2027, aiming eventually for a fleet of roughly 60 aircraft. The current fleet stands at 41 aircraft after the addition of a Boeing 737-800. Three Boeing 787 Dreamliners were grounded for much of the first half of 2026 amid a global shortage of engines and spare parts, a constraint the airline has flagged before.
Demand has held up better than capacity: intra-Africa load factors are running around 75 percent, and cabin factors on US and European routes topped 90 percent in March 2026. “We are not struggling in demand. We are struggling on availability and capacity of aircrafts,” Kamal said.
Fuel costs jumped 72 percent in the first half of the year, which KQ said it could not fully pass on to passengers.
Cargo and new revenue lines
Cargo currently contributes about 11 percent of group revenue; management wants that near 20 percent within two to three years, and is weighing a dedicated freighter — likely a Boeing 777 or 767. KQ is also expanding its EASA-certified MRO division, its IATA-approved training academy (run jointly with London Metropolitan University), and exploring turning its medical centre into a full hospital with partners in India and Thailand.
Balance sheet pressure
The expansion plans come against a difficult financial backdrop. Kenya Airways swung to a net loss of KSh17.2 billion for the year ended December 2025, reversing the KSh5.4 billion profit posted in 2024 — a reversal the airline’s own investor materials and prior reporting have confirmed. Total income fell 14 percent to KSh161.5 billion, passenger numbers dropped 13 percent to 4.6 million, and the group posted an operating loss of KSh5.6 billion versus a KSh16.6 billion operating profit in 2024. The equity deficit has widened to roughly KSh132 billion.
Acting CFO Mary Mwenga has attributed part of the debt pressure to a “bunching” of aircraft maintenance costs, since several jets of similar age are now due for major checks in the same period.
The government has absorbed KSh63.1 billion of KQ’s debt, with plans to convert it to equity once a strategic investor is secured. KQ’s investor materials describe a capital raise of $1.2–2 billion, though Kamal cited a $500 million recapitalisation figure Wednesday — underscoring that the deal’s size is still being negotiated. He said KQ cannot commit to a completion date given ongoing due diligence.
Cost cuts and partnerships
KQ has centralised operations at its Integrated Operations Control Centre, adjusted ground-support arrangements, and brought water production in-house. It has also expanded codeshares with Qatar Airways (11 Asian destinations, feeding eight African routes via Nairobi) and Delta Air Lines (57 US and Canadian cities).
Kamal said any incoming investor would be expected to back growth rather than acquire the existing business, and that KQ would retain its status as national carrier regardless of investor outcome.
