The Dreamliner aircraft has been popularly utilised for long-haul international flights and some continental flights
National airline, Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced that it has grounded two of its flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft leading to a series of flight delays and disruptions.
The Dreamliner aircraft has been popularly utilised for long-haul international flights and some continental flights, making this development a significant affair affecting the travel plans of scores of passengers.
In a statement, KQ apologized for the delays and disruptions that have been experienced in the recent past stating that the matter has been caused by unscheduled engine overhauls and unforeseen engine supply chain constraints.
“We are currently working with our engine lessors and manufacturers on a solution, and this includes finding replacements for our engines. We have therefore had to downgrade, reschedule and, or delay some of our flights,” stated KQ.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the Kenya Airways headquarters along Airport North Road in Embakasi, Nairobi, on April 26, 2018. /THE STAR
“We do however expect this to be resolved shortly, and we will keep you updated. In the event that this takes longer than expected, we shall realign our network to reduce on the number of delays or rescheduled flights.”
KQ in the interim requested its customers to update their booking contact details, including email and phone number, directly with the airline through its website Flight Status (kenya-airways.com) or call its Customer Excellence Center via +254 711 024 747, WhatsApp: +254 705 474 747 or X @KQSupport to get timely flight updates.
Why It Matters
With Kenya Airways’ constant and priority number one commitment to the safety of customers and staff, the national airline can ill-afford any mishaps to happen on its aircraft, especially during flights.
This is why aircraft must be kept in tip-top shape inclusive of maintenance, and passengers may have to bear with one or more flight disruptions to subject some aircraft to maintenance checks to ensure they are ready to operate at optimal levels.
The recent shortage in aircraft spare parts is a global issue and Kenya Airways is not spared. In fact, the saga has even affected Boeing’s rival company, Airbus, with the A350 variant affecting Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific earlier this month.
The airline could be forced to ground some of its Airbus A350 aircraft for longer than anticipated due to a worldwide spare parts shortage of a fuel hose component that was reportedly identified as needing to be replaced following emergency inspections. The Hong Kong-based airline is one of the largest operators of the A350, with 48 of the long-haul widebodies currently in its fleet. Engineers identified 15 A350s needing a new fuel hose component, and nine still need to be fixed.
The inspections were prompted by the emergency diversion of a five-year-old Airbus A350-1000 shortly after takeoff from Hong Kong International Airport on Monday after the pilots were alerted to a fire warning in the right-hand Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine.
For KQ, the mechanical issue is only the second one affecting the airline’s 787 planes this year. On May 19, KQ attributed flight disruptions to the unscheduled and extended grounding of two of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners due to delayed engine and engine components delivery.
On December 8, 2023, KQ cautioned that passengers using the airline for their travels during the festive season were to experience flight interruptions for two weeks. The airline’s Group Managing Director and CEO Allan Kilavuka revealed that some of its aircraft risked being grounded owing to challenges in acquiring spare parts from around the world, which had hampered routine maintenance of the planes.
This was despite the increased demand for air travel during the festive season, where passengers were anticipated to rely on the national airline for their domestic and international travels to and from Kenya.
The latest disruption might come as less of a worry to the airline having gone through its peak travel season of August, though the airline hopes that this cannot be prolonged given that there is still demand for international travel.
As per data from Cirium, Kenya Airways had 1,723 scheduled flights and 227,554 seats from Nairobi to about 37 destinations as of December 2023. This was about 241 more flights than in December 2022 but 339 fewer than in December 2019.
On July 25, 2023, KQ and Lufthansa Technik AG signed a long-term contract for the supply of aircraft components for the long-haul, Boeing 787-8 fleet, a contract which allows KQ to receive the proven Total Component Support (TCS) from the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) specialist until 2028. It also gives KQ access to Lufthansa Technik’s worldwide parts pool which will enable the national carrier to significantly increase the availability of spare parts for the Dreamliner fleet cost-effectively.
KQ has a total of nine Dreamliners, the second highest behind the Embraer E190 with 15.
President William Ruto jets into Beijing, China aboard a Kenya Airways plane on September 2, 2024. /PCS