[2008-10-03]  Kenya Airways May Cut Routes Due to Costs
Kenya Airways may abandon some of its routes due to high fuel prices and reduced air traffic.

Managing director Titus Naikuni said Thursday that although crude oil prices have come down on the international market, selling prices have not done so. The number of passengers is also currently low, he added.


"We have reached a point where we might cancel some routes," Mr Naikuni told reporters in his Nairobi office.

"We have not made that decision yet but we are monitoring the situation."

Bleak situation

Likely routes to be affected are the Far East, Middle East and those to some European capitals. Early last month, the Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that airlines faced losses close to $12 billion this year.

"The situation remains bleak," said IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani.

"The toxic combination of high oil prices and falling demand continues to poison the industry's profitability."

Global year-on-year passenger demand growth in July - seen as the best month of the year - fell to 1.9 per cent. This was its lowest in five years.

Mr Naikuni, however, said he was confident of future growth.


Source: Copyright © 2008 The Nation.