Kenya Airways Reduces Net Loss for FY 2021 to KSh15.87 Billion

Kenya Airways (KQ) has reduced its net loss for the financial year ended 31st December 2021 to KSh15.87 billion. This is a 56.68% decrease from 2020’s KSh36.57 billion loss.

The Group’s total revenue for the year increased by 33% to KSh70.221 billion. This is attributed to the airline having sought alternative revenue streams to replace lost revenue. These included air charter services, which increased by 300%, and ancillary revenues, which increased by 65%.

The airline says although the Omicron variant affected its Dubai and Guangzhou routes, it had little impact in the European, US, and regional routes. The UAE banned flights from Kenya last year after it established that travellers from Nairobi were testing positive for COVID-19 after arrival in the Middle East nation, despite carrying negative test results.

Nevertheless, the airline’s capacity increased by 11.5% as compared to 2020, but remained 65% below 2019 levels (pre-pandemic). This was attributed to the lifting of travel restrictions as countries opened their borders.

An increase in the number of routes operated by the carrier also drove the capacity deployed, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), to 5.9 billion compared to 5.292 billion in 2020 (11.5% increase)

The Group uplifted 2.2 million passengers in 2021, a 25% increase compared to 2020. The cargo business uplifted 63,726 tonnes, a 29% improvement over 2020.

Kenya Airways Costs

The Group saw a 3.6 % decrease in operating costs, with direct operating costs increasing by 32.9%, mainly driven by increased operations coupled with an increase in global fuel prices throughout the year.

Fixed costs decreased by 26.7%, attributed to a strong emphasis on reducing both fleet ownership costs and overheads. Further, the airline reduced costs by 3.5% by reducing lease rentals for the aircraft by KSh10 billion.

Overall, the Group posted an operating loss of KSh6.8 billion, down from 2020’s KSh27.1 billion.