- KALPA executive council member Mwenda Mabura said the association believes the airline is able to end its loss-making streak if necessary steps are taken.
- Mabura said a new set of departmental heads as well as the CEO should be hired in a competitive, transparent and fair process.
An umbrella association for pilots in Kenya has expressed doubts that the management of Kenya Airways can turn around the fortunes of the loss-making airline.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism of the Senate, Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) said plans by the current management to return to profitability are unlikely to bear fruits.
“I don’t believe the board and management can make the national carrier bounce back to profitability,” KALPA executive council member Mwenda Mabura told the committee on Tuesday.
Mabura, however, said the association believes the airline can end its loss-making streak if necessary steps and measures are taken.
“A new leadership team is needed which has a different management style; people who will augur well with the employees on the ground and instil the confidence that the Kenyan taxpayer needs to invest in the company,” he said.
Mabura said a new set of departmental heads as well as the CEO should be hired in a competitive, transparent and fair process.
“Competent and qualified Kenyans should be given priority,” he said.
His remarks come barely a day after KQ unveiled its plans to transition away from Embraer and Bombardier aircraft in favour of Boeing planes as part of its mono-fleeting strategy.
The move is aimed at optimizing KQ's fleet and network plan to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Losses recorded by the national carrier stood at Sh38.26 billion by December 2022.
CEO Allan Kilavuka explained that mono fleeting reduces fleet operational maintenance and training costs for crew and engineers.
The current KQ fleet consists of a mix of owned and leased planes, including wide-body jets like the Boeing 787, narrow-body jets such as the Boeing 737, Embraer regional jets, Bombardier Dash 8-400 jets, and Boeing 737 freighters.
On Tuesday, Busia senator Okiyah Omtatah claimed KQ has been making losses because the management has been taking care of vested interests of some individuals at the expense of the airline.
“The ideas are there, why are they not being implemented? The board and management comprise of people who know what needs to be done,” he said.
Omtatah further claimed that the airline’s growth has been hindered by sabotage. “The saboteurs must be exposed,” he said.
Mabura further noted that in 2015, the airline hired five groups of expatriates to come up with recovery strategies but nothing materialised.
“They need to tell us why they hired five groups of expatriates all at once. What did they achieve and how much did it cost? They should tell us,” he stated.
Another executive council member Mathew Karimi said stakeholders are “hoping to see action one day.”
“A lot of people want to see action. Losses are pilling yet nobody is being held accountable,” he stated.
Mabura said the incoming leadership must rebuild the vibrant team spirit that was once there. “Little can be achieved without passionate and patriotic employees,” he said.
In May, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargey demanded that the government states measures it's taking to arrest losses by the national carrier.
The senator said the government should further apprise the House of the current operational and financial status of the airline.