Uganda Airlines, which recently reported a Ush237 billion ($66.66 million) loss for the 2023/24 financial year, projects an even wider deficit in the year to June 2025, largely due to start-up costs of new routes and rising costs of maintenance.

 

The 2023/24 figure, though a 26 percent improvement on the previous year’s losses, triggered uproar in Parliament, which demanded to be informed if the airline would ever become commercially viable.

Critics described the trajectory as unsustainable, particularly when the company is calling for additional fleet investments.

Citing unaudited results for the 2024/25 year, Uganda Airlines CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki said losses are expected to rise by 14 percent to Ush271.1 billion ($76.25 million).

The company, nonetheless, expects a 17 percent increase in revenues to Ush430.8 billion ($121.182 million) from Ush367.6 billion ($103.404 million) in 2023/24, supported by a 23 percent surge in passenger numbers to 515,000, up from 419,000 the previous year.

Further cost pressures are expected as the fleet of Bombardier CRJ-900s enters the mandatory engine overhaul cycle. Last week, the airline carried out its first in-house engine change on airframe 5X-KNP — a move officials say will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, since only the power plant, rather than the entire aircraft, will need to be shipped to maintenance facilities abroad.

The carrier added Abuja, Lusaka and Harare to its network in September 2023 and launched its much-anticipated London Gatwick flights on May 18, expanding to 17 destinations.

Bamuturaki said the loss is likely to persist if new services to Accra, Cape Town and Riyadh go ahead.“If we launch those three routes, the loss will grow. However, leasing a plane for them will free up some capacity in the fleet to increase regional frequencies. That will lift revenue and keep losses at about the same level as 2024/25,” she said.

Uganda Airlines plans to increase Nairobi and Juba frequencies to three daily flights, while Kinshasa and Mogadishu will be upgraded to daily services. The management sees frequency on such high-demand regional routes as critical to growth.

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