- In a bid to sell a 48.9 percent stake in Kenya Airways, President William Ruto met the top brass of Delta Air Lines during his recent visit to the US for the US- Africa leaders’ Summit.
In a bid to sell the 48.9 per cent stake in Kenya Airways, President William Ruto met the top brass of Delta Air Lines during his recent visit to the US for the US- Africa leaders’ Summit.
Kenyan Airways is seeking a cash-rich foreign airline partner as a strategic investor to offer expertise and revive the national carrier. Delta Air Lines Inc., the largest US carrier by market value, fits the bill. The loss-making airline survives on the Treasury bailouts and depends on it for operational cash. In a candid statement to the media, he stated that he is willing to sell the whole of Kenya Airways Plc. He added that the discussion with Delta was at a preliminary stage. But the Kenyan government is on the lookout for partnerships that will make Kenya Airways a profitable entity. The airline, which has been recording heavy losses reported an Sh9.8 billion loss in August this year.
In the past, Delta had evinced interest in the Kenya sector. Its proposal to launch four direct flights a week between Nairobi and Atlanta via Dakar was terminated in 2009, after the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) failed to clear the new route on the basis of security vulnerabilities in and around Nairobi.
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/kenya-scouting-for-a-foreign-investor-to-bail-out-kenya-airways/
https://trendsnafrica.com/kenya-airways-pilots-to-strike-work-from-saturday/
KLM used to hold a 22 percent stake in Kenya Airlines but wanted to exit KQ after the government opted to nationalise the airline. In 2021, Air France-KLM ended the code share with KQ for Africa-Europe routes.
