KQ's half-year loss for the period ended June 30 has increased to Sh8.56 billion from Sh4.03 billion in similar period last year.
This is despite a slight growth in total income during the period which closed at Sh58.9 billion compared to Sh52.2 billion.
Total operating cost edged up to Sh61.5 billion compared to Sh53.2 billion last year, eroding gains made on income.
The management has attributed the loss partly to the return in to KQ service of two Boeing 787s that were on sub-leasing to Oman Air, investment in mew routes and adoption of the new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS16).
Chairman Michael Joseph on Tuesday said the growth in revenues which rose 12 per cent were due to improved passenger, cargo and other revenue streams that were mainly driven by the positive performance of recently introduced routes.
"These results include revenues from routes such as New York, Libreville, Mogadishu which were opened in the second half of 2018," Joseph said.
As a result, the airline recorded a 6.6 per cent increase in passenger numbers to hit 2.4 million, he has noted.
