Battle for pilots hits fever pitch as KQ spreads its wings

By John Oyuke

A vicious battle for experienced pilots is in the offing as Kenya Airways upgrades its fleet in anticipation of increased passenger traffic.

Last week, the national carrier added a new Embraer E190 jet to its fleet.

This adds fresh impetus to the ongoing battle for African travellers pitting Kenya Airways (KQ), Ethiopia Airlines and South African Airlines on many routes in the continent.

The move also opens another key battlefront with operators like Jet Link, Fly540 and Air Kenya over pilots.

As the E190 jet registered as 5Y-KYR touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, another Kenya Airways E190 — expected to be delivered to Nairobi next month — was making its maiden test flight in Brazil, which is the home of Embraer.

The airline now has added five E170s and three E190s as part of its fleet expansion programme to cater for the growing travel market.

But while Kenya Airways is making efforts to boost its training plans, its rivals in the region believe the carrier is eyeing their pilot pool in what would lead to a season of grim staff poaching.

Increasing demand

In a recent interview, the operations manager at Fly540, Nixon Ooko pointed out that demand and pay for pilots will rise in coming years, especially with the entry of new carriers.

Industry analysts say compensation for pilots has almost doubled in the last three years, putting pressure on margins as airlines spend millions of shillings yearly on training.

It is estimated that the entry level pay for a commercial pilot is between $2,000 (Sh186,000) and $3,000 (Sh279,000) depending on the type of aircraft, while that of captain — the pilot in command — is between $4,000 (about Sh360,000) and $6,000 (Sh570,000).

Early this year, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said aviation industry would have to raise wages to address looming labour shortage.

A recent study found that 560,000 people would need to be trained over the next 20 years, including 360,000 maintenance workers, 160,000 pilots and 40,000 aircraft controllers to deal with the looming shortage.

"A wave of retiring babyboomers and skyrocketing demand in emerging markets are creating shortages — particularly of pilots, controllers and mechanics," said Raymond Benjamin, ICAO secretary general.

Large incentives

He said strong aviation growth in some parts of the world is also accentuating the problem, because they offer large incentives to attract workers to relocate.

"There are some places where demand is so strong that they suck up all the graduates of other countries," he said.

Kenya Airways Chief Executive Titus Naikuni is also on record saying the airline’s greatest challenge is getting the pilots to fly the planes.

"This is why we are talking with Embraer not just to supply us with the aircraft but also support us to get the skills required," he says.

Kenya Airways launched its own flight simulator at its Pride Centre training premises located at Embakasi, Nairobi in April this year.

The simulator is expected to deal with the emerging issue of acute pilot shortage. The airline immediately signed up 100 pilots for training.

"We shall employ all 100 of them, and I am ready today to take even 200 pilots if I can get them," Naikuni said while commissioning the facility.

Naikuni said pilot shortage is not unique to Kenya, but is worldwide.

He blamed Government withdrawal from pilot training programmes in most countries, saying it had contributed to the current shortage.

"It is quite expensive to train pilots. It used to be a state responsibility but has now been left to the private sector and now airlines have to initiate this process," explained Naikuni.

But even as Kenya Airways seeks pilots to captain their airplanes, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority says it also needs pilots to work as inspectors.