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Kenya’s national carrier CEO, Sebastian Mikosz pocketed a cool $628,900 last year despite the airline registering an after-tax loss of $75 million

Kenya Airways CEO Sebastian Mikosz
  • Mr. Mikosz’s executive pay comprised a salary of Sh42 million, allowances worth Sh16.4 million and non-cash benefits amounting to Sh4.44 million.
  • The Polish national was hired in June 2017 to turn around Kenya Airways fortunes after years of being in the red.
  • In 2017, KQ reported an after-tax loss of Sh7.5 billion ($75 million) and the previous year the airline registered a Sh6.4 billion ($64 million) loss.

Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Sebastian Mikosz pocketed a cool Sh62.89 million ($628,900) last year despite the airline registering an after-tax loss of Sh7.5 billion ($75 million).

Mikosz’s annual salary indicates he is paid an average of Sh5.2 million ($52,000) per month.

Mr. Mikosz’s executive pay comprised a salary of Sh42 million ($42,0000), allowances worth Sh16.4 million ($164,000) and non-cash benefits amounting to Sh4.44 million ($44,400).

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The Polish citizen was hired in June 2017 to turn around Kenya Airways fortunes after years of being in the red.

In 2017, KQ reported an after-tax loss of Sh7.5 billion ($75 million) and the previous year the airline registered a Sh6.4 billion ($64 million) loss.

The Sh7.55 billion ($75.5 million) net loss for the year ended December 2018 came in the backdrop of higher costs that offset a growth in revenue.

The 2018 results marked the sixth year in a row in which the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed airline remained in the red. 2018 was also the fifth consecutive year that KQ shareholders missed dividend payouts.

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The carrier last declared a dividend of Sh0.25 per share for the year ended March 2012, when it made a Sh1.6 billion ($16 million) net profit.

Mikosz’s pay stood at Sh46.69 million ($466,900) in 2017 during which he worked for seven months, translating into an average monthly pay of Sh6.67 million ($66,700).

This comprised a salary of Sh24.63 million, allowances (Sh18.6 million) and non-cash benefits (Sh3.4 million).

It is not Mikosz alone who, however, laughed all the way to the bank. Kenya Airways pilots also took home fat cheque.

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About half of Kenya Airways’ revenue is dished out to its pilots, who form the minority of the workforce, as fat salaries.

According to KQ’s latest financial report for the nine months to December 2017, its pilots were paid a combined Sh4.25 billion ($42.5 million) from the airline’s Sh9.45 billion ($94.5 million) wage bill.

Mr. Mikosz last month told the parliamentary committee that senior KQ staff in the rank of captain earned an average monthly salary of Sh1.6 million ($160,000) double what Africa’s most profitable airline, Ethiopia Airlines, pays its pilots monthly.

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