National carrier Kenya Airways has acquired its ninth Embraer E190 jet, as it continues to expand its fleet. The 96-seater E190 which touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday will be used for regional operations in Africa. “This is the fourth delivery following an agreement signed between Kenya Airways and the manufacturers of Embrear last year, for five jets. We are looking forward to receiving yet another jet in the coming months”, CEO Titus Naikuni said.
He added, “With our route network expansion firmly on course, the addition of a new aircraft into the fleet is quite timely.” Naikuni added that the increase in capacity had been necessitated by growing regional passenger and cargo demand, the ongoing expansion of the KQ’s route network and the need to modernize the fleet in line with global standards.
The Embraer E190 is a Brazilian-built jet with 96 seats: 12 in business class and 84 in economy. The jet is also been fitted a modern in-flight entertainment system with individual touch screens. “The E-190 fleet brings to Kenya Airways an even higher level of technological advancement, lower maintenance and operational costs- at a time when the trends in the global economy demand that businesses adopt efficiency in their processes”, Naikuni said.
Recently Embraer and Kenya Airways finalized the contract for the acquisition of 10 EMBRAER 190 jets. The deal also includes purchase rights for 16 aircraft, which could be either the EMBRAER 190 or other models of the E-Jet family. The delivery of the new jet brings the number of Embraer planes in the Kenya Airways fleet to 9- five E170s and four E190s, to support plans to fly to all African capital cities by the end of 2013.
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