Airline plans Sh1.5 billion pilots college (04/11/06)

 

Kenya Airways has set aside Sh1.5 billion for the establishment of a pilot training school.

 
 
Head of corporate quality and safety Alex Avedi announced that the national carrier had acquired a facility near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for the establishment of the school, which will also train engineers.

Some Sh500 million will be channelled to physical facilities while Sh1 billion will be used to buy equipment.

Currently, he said, KQ trained its pilots mainly in South Africa, adding that the proposed school would help cut training costs and boost the carrier's operations including passenger safety.

In an interview with the Nation at his office on Wednesday, Mr Avedi said KQ gave priority to safety and used Sh1 billion annually to train pilots on the issue.

The company, South African Airlines, and Com Air (another South African firm which partners with British Airways), are the only ones in sub-Saharan Africa that undergo International Air Transport Association (IATA) operational safety audit, done after every two years.

"We spent Sh70 million to prepare for the audit and were certified in October 2005," Mr Avedi said.

He said KQ had been elected to chair the African Aviation Safety Council and also represent Africa on the IATA safety council.

He said KQ had also invested in the modernisation of its fleet to enhance safety.

By December, he said, the airline will not be flying Boeing 737-200 planes.

The listed firm's most modern plane is a Boeing 777.

The company has further ordered for 787 Dreamliner planes, to be received in 2010, whose first model will be in the market in 2008.

KQ's 35-seater domestic flight planes will be replaced by 70-seater regional jets.

Mr Avedi said Africa's safety record was poor because many operators used obsolete planes while the quality of engineers and pilots was poor.

"They are flying a lot of old equipment... Many do not also invest in refresher training," the official said.

According to IATA, Africa leads in the number of air accidents although it has the lowest traffic globally.

Source: All Africa

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