KQ dreams of private jets and VIP parking

Kenya Airways (KQ) will invest in private jets and VIP terminals to satisfy the market needs and enlarge the functionalities of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) if its takeover bid is successful.

The plans are contained in a proposal the national carrier presented to a parliamentary committee in February, seeking a go-ahead to take over the operations of the regional aviation hub.

SH2.5 BILLION

The airline plans to spend at least Sh2.5 billion to address technical defects and improve the international airport.

"This will lead to an increase in passengers satisfaction while transiting in order to enhance the revenues and overall passenger experience. We estimate that a minimum budget of between Sh2 billion and Sh2.5 billion is needed to rehabilitate the infrastructure such as mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering systems," the airline says in a confidential report presented to the committee, which the Nation has seen.

The airline is currently hoping that Parliament, the public and the workforce at the airports’ agency will buy into this dream.

On Tuesday, the top management will, for the second time, be meeting with Parliament’s Transport, Public Works and Housing committee, to sell the proposal.

SPECIAL VEHICLE

KQ also reveals that once it is allowed to take charge of JKIA, it will wholly own the Special Purpose Vehicle, which when fully consolidated with its financials, will see its capitalisation top Sh150 billion by end of this year and Sh220 billion in 2022.

The airline is also proposing short-term improvements on the airport’s infrastructure including increasing the processor numbers (security scanners and check-in counters) and minor investments in the runway, such as rapid exits and extension of the existing taxiway.

"The latter would result in an increase of capacity in terms of aircraft movements by roughly 60 per cent. In order to handle the increased aircraft movements, aircraft parking capacity, which will eventually become a bottleneck, would be improved alongside with operational improvement actions such as scheduling optimisation / regulation (slot coordination or schedule coordination)," KQ says.

TECHNOLOGY

The national carrier also says that there should be improvement of collaboration between terminals and concessionaires, that will see JKIA operate as one, cohesive ecosystem rather than six independent airports.

"To make that happen, KQ would optimise usage of aligned IT and airport technology systems.

KQ would replace manual processes with automated ones (baggage handling systems in Terminals 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E). The airline would also introduce a system that would allow monitoring of the concessionaire’s sales in all terminals," it said in the submission.

The latter, Kenya Airways says, would enable JKIA to have a visibility over revenues generated by duty-free shops at the airport in order to maximise non-aeronautical revenues in that field. The same applies to parking services provider at the airport.