Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has tentatively scheduled its last B777-200(ER) and B777-300(ER) operations for May and September of this year respectively. According to the Airline Route blog, the carrier's last B777-200(ER) service is scheduled to be Dubai International-Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta on May 18 while its last B777-300(ER) flight is a London Heathrow-Nairobi service slated for September 26.
As previously reported by ch-aviation, the Kenyan national carrier intends to sell off its -200s while the -300s will be returned to their lessor, one of which is General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).
The airline has been grappling with a dramatic downturn in tourism brought on by al-Shabaab terrorist attacks on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013 and the more recent assault on Garissa University in the country's north-east. As such, the B777s have proven difficult to operate economically leading to their withdrawal in favour of the B787-8.
Last month, CEO Mbuvi Ngunze told Reuters in an interview that the airline would also be selling off a parked B767-300(ER), 5Y-KYX (msn 24484), and some real estate to help shore up its finances. In addition, it will shortly finalize a bridging loan with an undisclosed financing house.
