Kenya Airways is talking to "about three or four" foreign institutional investors and airlines about buying a stake to raise cash for the lossmaking carrier, its chief executive said on Monday.

The airline, 27 percent-owned by Air France KLM, has been reducing the size of and modernizing its fleet, selling land and cutting jobs to recover from losses caused by a slump in tourism.

"We are talking to about three or four parties," Mbuvi Ngunze, the CEO of Kenya Airways, told Reuters.

The search for a strategic investor is part of a plan, drawn up with the help of U.S. investment bank PJT Partners, to raise new debt and equity funds.

Ngunze did not say how much they planned to raise but the company previously said it would need about 70 billion shillings ($692 million).

The carrier is also talking to its creditors, including banks, to amend terms of its debt and provide it with sufficient funds for operation in the short term, he said.

The Kenyan government, which has a 29.8 percent stake, said it was still examining the proposals for recapitalization.