With a cargo capacity of 20 tonnes, the new aircraft closes a backlog of 2 Boeing 737-800 Freighters unveiled in February 2023, the first of which was delivered in November.

Kenya Airways has taken delivery of a Boeing 737-800 Freighter, a cargo aircraft acquired under a leasing option, which will reinforce the capacity available on its worldwide cargo network, particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

This new addition brings to 4 the total number of freighters in its fleet, previously comprising one Boeing 737-800 and two Boeing 737-300 Freighters.

KQ Cargo, the airline's cargo arm, plans to deploy the new aircraft to key destinations such as "Sharjah and Dubai World Central in the United Arab Emirates, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Dakar in Senegal, Lagos in Nigeria, N'Djamena in Chad, Mogadishu in Somalia, Mumbai in India, Freetown in Sierra Leone and Monrovia in Liberia [...].

Freighters will seize the opportunities arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to catalyze trade within and outside the continent".

Kenya Airways has been expanding its network for several months now, as part of an expansion plan that last year enabled it to post its first profit on operations (10.53 billion shillings) since 2017.

According to management, this performance was boosted by increased revenues, "whose growth was sustained by a 35% rise in passenger numbers".

Agence Ecofin