Kenya Airways To Buy 10 E190 Jets From Brazil's Embraer -Report
05 September 2011 - 9:03PM
Dow Jones News
Kenya Airways Ltd. (KAL.NR) has ordered 10 E190 jets from
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA (EMBR3.BR) for $428
million, the East African weekly newspaper reports Monday.
Kenya Airways, which usually operates with Boeing Co. (BA)
aircraft, plans to acquire the jets to reduce the average age of
its fleet from 8.3 years to 6.2 years and cut operational costs,
Managing Director Titus Naikuni said last week at the signing of
the contract in Nairobi.
Kenya Airways has the option to buy 16 more jets from Embraer,
the weekly reports. But according to Embraer's 2010 annual report,
the manufacturer has an order backlog of about 157 E190 jets.
Naikuni said Kenya Airways is also looking at other
manufacturers. "I am sure Embraer will not like the fact that we
don't propose to put all our eggs in one basket," Naikuni is quoted
as saying. He said Kenya Airways plans to acquire nine more Boeing
aircraft.
Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM (AF.FR) holds 26% of Kenya
Airways, which is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
-By George Mwangi, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +254 735
781 853; gmwangi0@gmail.com