summary
- Kenya Airways has added a Boeing 737-800 freighter to its fleet to meet growing cargo demand.
- African airlines have underperformed in recent months despite increasing global cargo demand.
Kenya Airways is expanding its cargo capacity with the addition of its first Boeing 737-800 freighter. The move comes as the airline responds to increased cargo demand in the region, despite a decline in cargo volumes recorded in Africa in August.
The aircraft will be deployed on several routes within Africa, India and the United Arab Emirates. This is the third 737 freighter to join the airline’s fleet, with a fourth scheduled to be delivered next year.
Increase in cargo volume
Speaking at the Global Logistics Conference in Kenya earlier this week, Alan Kiravka, Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airways Group, commented on the airline’s cargo operations: did.
“As Africa continues to unlock the trade opportunities available within the continent, there is consensus on the need to invest in sustainable freight transport systems that can maximize the potential for socio-economic development. One is the need for a well-developed and capable air cargo system to support trade.
Kiravka said the addition of cargo ships would allow airlines to provide increased cargo capacity on existing routes, while also providing new cargo destinations.
Planned route
Kenya Airways Cargo (KQ Cargo) did not provide details about the aircraft or its identity. Aircraft information sites such as ch-aviation and Planespotters.net also do not list the newly added 737-800 freighter. However, the airline shared that the 737-800F will be used on flights to the following destinations:
- Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Dubai World Central, United Arab Emirates
- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- riyadh, saudi arabia,
- Dakar, Senegal
- lagos, nigeria
- N’Djamena, Chad
- Mogadishu, Somalia
- mumbai, india
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Monrovia, Liberia
The new aircraft has a cargo capacity of 20 tons and a range of up to 7 hours. KQ Cargo also announced that it has added an additional 737-800F, with the second aircraft scheduled for delivery by February 2024. Currently, the airline operates two 737-300Fs, and its current cargo capacity will increase significantly in the future. A few months.
Global demand is increasing, but Africa’s performance is sluggish
Global cargo demand has increased for the first time in 19 months, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released in August. Compared to August 2022, global demand, measured in freight ton-kilometres, increased by 1.5%, and capacity for international operations increased by nearly 12%.
“Air cargo demand increased by 1.5% compared to August last year. This is the first year-on-year increase in 19 months and is certainly welcome news. However, it is off the low baseline for 2022 and is below the market’s The signals are mixed.” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. Mr Walsh added that although much uncertainty remains, things are moving in the right direction, especially as the traditional year-end peak season for air cargo approaches.
Photo: Kenya Airways
Despite rising global demand, African airlines reportedly had their weakest performance in August, with cargo volumes down nearly 5% year-on-year. In 2022, KQ Cargo carried over 68,000 tons of his cargo. Its cargo consisted mainly of fresh produce, textiles, electronics, spare parts, medicines and live animals.
source: International Air Transport Association