Kenya Airways record flat growth in Q2 passenger numbers

By AGENCIES

KENYA Airways has posted a flat growth in passenger numbers for the second quarter of the year as poor performance in local and European routes reversed the gains made in African routes.

In the period under review, the national carrier moved 841,238 passengers which was at par with last year’s second quarter.

The greatest hit came from European routes which recorded the highest decline, posting 18.8 per cent drop while Africa, outside Kenya, recorded a three per cent growth.“Europe recorded the highest reduction due to the economic challenges facing the eurozone economies,” a statement released by the airline read in part.

Local travels recorded 1.4 per cent drop with numbers in the Middle East, Far East and India regions remaining flat at 124,056 passengers.

The company recently discontinued flights to Rome and Muscat citing the need to cut costs.

Further, cargo hauled dropped by 3.9 per cent in tonnage on account of a decline in agricultural exports from Kenya due to atrocious weather patterns in April. This also reflects the volatile economic conditions in Europe.

In Africa, increased frequencies and new routes saw capacity and seat number jump by 4.9 per cent.

Kenya’s national carrier’s tow daily flights to Juba drove up North African capacity by 21.2 per cent while the East African region recorded a 25 per cent increase in capacity.

The additional capacity, did not, however, result in equal growth of passenger numbers.

In the domestic market, KQ downgraded the size of aircraft flying to Mombasa while increasing frequencies to Kisumu during peak times.

Local passenger numbers reflected cut-throat competition from low-cost airlines for short-haul routes as 182,187 passengers flew on KQ, a 1.4 per cent reduction in comparison to the same period last year.

KQ posted a 51 per cent drop in profits after tax for the year ending March 2012 under the weight of increasing costs and poor performance in traditional routes.