The E-jet is the seventh out of ten that the airline is in the process of acquiring as part of the 10-year growth strategy, dubbed Project Mawingu that was rolled out in 2011. The airline has been receiving an E-jet a month since August 2012. The remaining three will be delivered between May and November 2013.
Under the 10-year growth strategy, Kenya Airways aims at increasing its fleet from the current 39 aircrafts to 119 by 2021; while growing the number of destinations to over 115 from the over 50 that it currently flies to. Kenya Airways’ Managing Director Titus Naikuni said the airline is acquiring different aircraft types as it targets a mix of narrow body and wide body aircrafts for passenger fleet as well as freighter fleet.
“This will help us to achieve fleet optimisation by deploying E-jets to short regional routes, including destinations within the continent, thus freeing the larger aircrafts to operate regional and continental routes. This will translate into better customer care, besides increasing the frequency of our flights,” Naikuni added.
The E190 brings the number of E-jets to 17; and it is expected to increase to 20 by the end of this year. The airline has also ordered nine Boeing 787 Dreamliners to be delivered from 2014 partly financed using proceeds a recent Rights Issue. -The Standard
