Kenya Airways Ranks 2nd Most Efficient Airline In Africa

• Kenya Airways ranked the second most efficient airline in Africa in the latest On-Time Performance Review report
• KQ attained an impressive 71.86% on-time arrival rate out of 41,905 completed flights in 2023
• The report compiled by the aviation analytics company Cirium aims to global airline operational performance

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Kenya Airways has been ranked as Africa's second-most efficient airline in a global on-time performance review of airlines and airports.

The latest On-Time Performance Review report by aviation analytics company Cirium revealed that the airline attained an impressive 71.86% on-time arrival rate out of 41,905 completed flights in 2023.

What is on-time flight?

An on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival.

For an airport, it is defined as departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure.

KQ Chief Executive Officer attributed the performance to airline's persistent focus and delivery of on-time performance every month.

"The high rankings result from Kenya Airways' persistent focus and delivery of on-time performance each month of the year, which has been a cornerstone of improving our guest experience strategy. This is a testament to our commitment to improving our on-time performance and our dedication to implementing real improvements on board," said Kilavuka.

The national carrier overall ranked 10th in the Middle East and Africa region.

According to Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen, the data is collected from over 600 sources, allowing the industry stakeholders a third-party perspective on their operational performance.

"The program aims to provide the airline industry and its stakeholders with a neutral, third-party perspective on operational performance for individual airlines," said Bowen.

Cirium's On-Time Performance program monitors global airline operational performance based on information from an extensive array of sources.

This information includes airlines, airports, and civil aviation authorities and offers a neutral, third-party perspective.

The program studies over 30 million flights a year.

Kenya Airways challenges

The ranking came despite challenges facing the airline in the past years.

In January 2023, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) extended the suspension from trading of Kenya Airways PLC shares.

The suspension, issued in July 2020, will remain in force for the next 12 months, beginning January 1, 2024.

NSE said the move is aimed at enabling the airline to complete its operational and corporate restructuring process.