Kenya Airways – the pride of Africa -marked its 40th anniversary with renewed optimism of connecting up Africa with itself and the continent to the rest of the world.
Over the last four decades has seen the Kenya Airways has emerged as an important economic driver in Kenya and the region as a whole.
#KQAt40 Happy Birthday @KenyaAirways pic.twitter.com/TBdrqRx6Ld
— David Indeje (@David_Indeje) January 22, 2017
“Today Kenya Airways is the largest anchor to the aviation hub in this region. This is a huge achievement which has lead to significant progress in the aviation industry in Africa and beyond.
Beyond our direct business model, we cannot fail to recognise our economic role to the region.The last four decades, have seen KQ connect Africa to the continent and the continent to the world.
“Today Kenya Airways connects directly from Nairobi to more than 54 destinations in four continents, with a fleet of 36 aircrafts from the initial 4. It has been an interesting journey and we believe our best years are ahead, said Kenya Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Mbuvi Ngunze.
“However it has not been a cruise flight, there has been turbulence along the way, but we have always flown through. That turbulence strengthens our resolve not only to improve our safety culture but to also innovate our approach to business,” he added.
Going forward, Ngunze said they will continue to tap into the many opportunities coming their way. He noted that KQ’s growth has been characterized by a strategic network expansion focusing on Africa, fleet modernization and high quality service.
“The aviation space in Africa is growing and we are poised to take advantage of this. It will will demand our passion, commitment and expertise to remain competitive and dynamic as an aircraft and one to reckon with the years to come. We aim to continue to evolve KQ into the standards set for other airlines in Africa and beyond.”
“As we look for more opportunities for new destinations, we endeavor to fly more frequently to the existing and new destinations,” he added.
Shiraz Virji, Chairman of Shalina Resources, a mining and pharmaceutical Conglomerate as quoted in KQ’s magazine says, “Our operations here involve people from Australia, India, South Africa, UK, Dubai, China, Korea, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania – not to mention from Kinshasa and Kisangani in the DRC itself. We have to remain constantly connected to the world. Kenya Airways is more than just a carrier for us, it is our lifeline.”
Ms. Pauline Kamau, Manager Load Control Service, has served the carrier for 40 years and she says the future is bright. “It is here to serve future generations. There is much more we can do to carry our passengers and goods. Going forward, the future will have different skylines and infrastructure. There will be a total change,” she says.
As part of the celebrations, Kenya Airways has a launched a sales campaign offering customers up to 40 percent discounts on tickets to various destinations across its network. The offer includes a special USD 1977 price for its business class tickets to Europe, Paris, London and Amsterdam.