KQ the best time keeper at Heathrow

A Kenya Airways airliner.

What you need to know:

  • Overall statistics indicate that 78 per cent of arrivals by all airlines into Heathrow were on time while 82 per cent of the departures were punctual.
  • In June 2013, Kenya Airways achieved the same feat. All its flights departing from the airport were 100 per cent punctual, while 83 per cent of those arriving were on time.
  • The international benchmark is 85 per cent OTP.

Kenya Airways beat the world’s most prestigious airlines to emerge top in keeping time at London’s Heathrow Airport in February 2014.

According to the latest statistics from the United Kingdom’s busiest airport, Kenya Airways emerged number one, beating Middle East carriers such as Emirates and Qatar as well as competitors from Africa such as Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways.

The statistics indicate that all Kenya Airways’ flights departing from the airport were 100 per cent punctual, while 75 per cent of those arriving were on time.

Overall statistics indicate that 78 per cent of arrivals by all airlines into Heathrow were on time while 82 per cent of the departures were punctual.

Reports on improved on time performance (OTP) on the hyper-competitive London route is one of Kenya Airways’ welcome news ahead of the airline’s receiving of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a new state-of-the-art aircraft on 4 April. The aeroplane will fly on the Paris route.

Kenya Airways will receive six Dreamliners and three Boeing 777s, which will significantly improve the airline’s in-flight product.

In a statement announcing the airline’s stellar performance, Kenya Airways’ group managing director and chief executive officer, Titus Naikuni, welcomed the achievement.

WORLD-CLASS EXPERIENCE

“At Kenya Airways, we are committed to ensuring that we deliver a world-class experience to our guests and that all their flights depart and arrive on time,” he said.

This was the second time that the airline has had the most punctual flights at Heathrow, which has five terminals and is one of the busiest airports in the world. A total of 84 airlines, flying to an estimated 184 destinations in 80 countries, use the facility, handling an average 191,200 arriving and departing passengers daily.

In June 2013, Kenya Airways achieved the same feat. All its flights departing from the airport were 100 per cent punctual, while 83 per cent of those arriving were on time.

Kenya Airways flies seven times a week between its hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and Heathrow.

However, locally, the airline is often the butt of many jokes, both online and offline, on account of the punctuality of its flights.

Kenya Airways posts its on time performance (OTP) figures, a measure of how the flights keep time, on its official website. For instance, for the week ended 2 March, 2014, the airline’s OTP stood at 86 per cent.

Experts attribute fluctuation of airlines’ OTP to a number of reasons, including technical and operational challenges, movement of VIPs in the facility, bad weather, or airport closure.

The international benchmark is 85 per cent OTP.

The airline has in the past blamed the harsh assessment of its flights’ punctuality on the fact that because Nairobi is its hub, it has a lot more flights than other airlines operating from JKIA.