KQ to establish Pilot Training School in NBO
As reported by the Daily Nation: 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.

KQ's 35-seater domestic flight planes will be replaced by 70-seater regional jets. This is an nteresting excerpt from the article. KQ seem to planning to get rid of the measly Saab 340s. They have lost a bit of business to the competition who use jets in their domestic ops that are faster & more comfortable for a slightly lower fare. This move was long overdue IMHO. The introduction of 70 seater RJs will mean a new type into KQ fleet and shall definitely not be A or B. cheers,

Great news for KQ - in the long run has got to be more cost effective than contracting flight instruction out. Re the 70 seaters, it seems that they will be CRJs of some sort (I think the CRJ600 is the 70 seater??). Bombardier was talking about KQ at AAD 2006 apparently.

70 seater will probably be ATR 72 as their partner PW said they are happied with ATR. Fuel efficient, Faster and cheap to operate.

Establishing an own school to train pilots and crew is the best thing an airline can do. It does not only give the Kenyan youth the chance of an aviation career, but ensures that flightdeck members follow the same procedures, use the same language and act just as the airline wants. Hope this will set new standards in respect to safety in the region, as other airlines could train their pilots there too... Cheers, Felix

Thanks KQ