Kenya Airways receives fourth Boeing 737
January 26, 2009
Written by kenyanobserver, in BUSINESS
[Press Release]
Nairobi, Kenya, Jan 26, 2009 (East African Business Week/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — Kenya Airways (KQ) has received a major boost on its fleet with the delivery of the fourth Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
The new aircraft has been leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The plane, registration number 5Y-KYE, brings to four the number of Boeing 737-800s in the airline’s 25 aircraft fleet.
The new aircraft is scheduled to commence commercial flights this weekend. Kenya Airways is also set to receive another Boeing 737-800 next month.
The 145-seater aircraft is powered by two CFM 56-7B26/3 engines and is capable of up to 26,000 pounds (10,040 kg) of take off thrust.
The 737-800 aircraft will be instrumental to Kenya Airways’ strategy of connecting Africa to the rest of the world. With a modern cabin and increased baggage capacity, the plane will enable Kenya Airways to develop its African network.
This comes at a time when the airline is aggressively seeking to improve its systems and fleet to cater for its growing passenger base.
The delivery of the plane will help the airline with some of the tight aircraft utilisation that comes in the busy high season and also cater for the growing demand for cargo space. The delivery of the aircraft from Seattle, which included stops in London and Cairo, was operated by a team consisting of Captain Peter Kimeria, Captain Rohit Joshi and First Officer Martin Butt. Also on the delivery flight were officials and engineers from Kenya Airways.
ILFC is one of the world’s market leaders in the leasing of new technology commercial airline jets, with a fleet of more than 1,000 modern aircraft valued at US$50 billion. ILFC began its relationship with Kenya Airways in May 1978, leasing her Boeing 720B, 5Y-BBX.