Sometimes back I flew KQ NBO-Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) return and paid 72k. Then I discovered Ethiopian airline and Rwandair as cheaper alternatives for the same route and comfort if not better. For the later two I spend circa 40k almost half of what KQ charges. I wonder then how they claim to make loses. What amazes me is that KQ planes for such routes are always fully booked; probably by government employees coz for most people it doesn’t make economical sense to fly KQ when better alternatives exists

Why does KQ charge so exorbitantly in comparison to other players? What kind of business model did they adapt- too shitty that after all these years in operation they only own like 4 planes? I am sure this is by design to make it a cash cow for some fellows who lease the planes to them of course at astronomical rates

For me, the Kenya of government policy and the Kenya of Wanjiku expectations are two different Kenyas and the former is always taking advantage of the latter.

That's why sometime back Mutua the governor had to do the 'Naumia kuwa Mkenya' campaign.

There's absolutely no strategic value for KQ the way it exists currently. In Moi's time there was but right now, no.

KQ has failed to win the hearts of Kenya as a brand or through price. KQ should be cheaper to Kenyans than other airlines. It will lose greatly to the SGR on local once the line is done to Kisumu.

KQ right now is just a Kenyan souvenir, our 'pride' will not allow us to get rid of it but it has no real value. May be we should ask the 'rich' politicians like you-know-who to buy it...

How many people does KQ employ?

Whatever number they are does it make sense for the rest of Kenyans to pay them so that they can have jobs while they provide services that we could be buying cheaper from other providers?

I thought that this was the task of the people entrusted to run it, and the government.

If their thinking and work is sloppy, and even akin to holding Wanjiku at ransom what to do?

So KQ's strategic importance is that it's a national symbol that if allowed to be out of use then the country will have no source of pride. And the general state of dissatisfaction will not only be high, but that we may have nothing to lean on.

If this is true then sawa. Let's prop it up folks. Harambeee! Haaaaraaambeee!

@admin this thread was meant for the green section. Can you take it back there.

Botswana does not have a national airline but are doing better than most African countries with national carrier's https://en.m.wikipedia.o...tswana_National_Airways

Baseless. Ethiopian economy is larger than Kenya's. Ethiopian Airlines is NOT loss making

Let me try and explain how strategic KQ is:

I’m in the IT/Telco industry working for an multinational technology vendor. I and many people
in our industry use KQ to cover Africa, with Nairobi as our hub. The IT/Telco sector alone is huge, with big notable vendors such as Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, CheckPoint, IBM, etc. Huge distributors who follow these vendors are also based in Nairobi, likes of Westcon/Comstor, Redinton, DataGroup, etc. Of course the end users too who have operations in several countries in Africa. All these need a proper air transport infrastructure and an airline. That’s where KQ comes in.

Now, this is just IT/Telco, talk of banking, audit/tax services(KPMG, PWC, EY, Deloite), medical sector(Novartis, Roche, etc), energy(GE, Scheneider, Siemens, etc), the UN and its bodies, manufacturig(CocaCola, Unilever, etc)etc. All these are hubbed in NRB, with KQ a big factor why they are here and of course other factors.

I will typically do about 45-55 flights per year mostly around Africa. I cannot use any other airline with that kind of travel. Trying to use Bole or Kigali as a hub is just unsustainable and would only lead to travel fatigue. Trust me, there are many like me who must take the most direct flight as travel policy.

To also clirify, if you did not know, the most direct flight is always expensive since it’s more convenient. That’s how airline pricing is done. The flight that is most inconvenient with long layovers and multiple hops is always cheaper. That’s why to Kenyans, KQ will always be more expensive than other options. If you use KQ flight to and from Bole, you’ll notice a number of Ethiopians on board. Now you know why. The Lagos - Nairobi flight is quite busy with transit passengers to Joburg, while SAA flies directly from Joburg to Lagos. That’s how airlines work.

Now that’s why KE govt will do whatever is in its powers to protect KQ. It’s unbelievably strategic to our economy. If you look at the idea behind SGR, Roads, education, electricity, etc similar strategic importance such that only a government can invest in such...I know value for money is another coversation all together. Such investment should not necessarily be profitable, they are enablers of the rest of the economy.

Nigeria with its huge market and educated population is seriously deficient in infrastructure, and that’s how come much smaller countries like Kenya end up being hubs covering West Africa.

I hope I’ve done justice to this topic.