Kenya Airways was ranked 81st, down from 79th in last year’s report, in the Skytrax World Airline Awards, which ranks the world’s best carriers.
Air Tanzania, RwandAir, and Uganda Airlines all failed to make the top 100 carriers.
However, the Rwandan airline won some category awards, including ‘Best Cabin Crew in Africa’ and ‘Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness.’
Overall, Qatar Airways was named the best airline in the world, a title it has now won seven times since 2001.
Kenya Airways trailed regional rival Ethiopian Airlines, which jumped significantly to become one of the world’s top 30 carriers.
Ethiopian Airlines, which rose 11 spots to position 26, emerged as Africa’s best carrier, with South African Airways and Air Maroc placing 66 and 79, respectively, to remain among the top 100 carriers worldwide.
Rising global fuel prices cost Kenya Airways a ninth consecutive half-year loss, increasing its default risk and pushing it deeper into a negative equity position.
KQ, which has been surviving on State bailouts since the Covid-19 pandemic, reported a Sh9.8 billion loss last month, a better performance than the Sh11.48 billion loss it reported a year ago.
Skytrax awards are based on customer feedback. More than 350 global airlines’ performance and service quality are evaluated by travelers.
The ranking comes as the aviation industry recovers from the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the industry suffer one of the worst losses after passenger flights were grounded to stop the virus’s spread.
