Spirit Vs. Mind
Hi, this' my first time post ever on PPRuNE. I'm an avid follower of many of it's threads from way back, including this one, but I've never gotten myself to post a reply on anything. See, the thing is, my spirit abhors rumours but my mind thrives on them. That explains why I'm a religious per-taker of rumours but am not such an excellent 'per-giver' of them actually. But then, since there are soon-yet-to-come holes and REAL turbulent times ahead for the Kenyan aviation industry, it's time to pickup some new hobbies for those of us in it.
So, to the rumour at hand...it's actually more of factual now that there is going to be a huge and thorough shakeup at KQ. Even though the spirit might want to believe and stick to the rumour going around that KQ might recruit new pilots in June of 2016, my mind is sharp enough to know better. From sources high in the food chain, word is that there will be a HUGE cut down in capacity.
First and foremost, all Boeing 777s are to leave. Two 777-200 are sold to Oman Air, two more to be sold. The 777-300 are leaving for Turkey. That's it for those beautiful birds. Well, so-long!
More, 3 Boeing 737-700 to be sold out.
To follow, are 3 Boeing 787 Dreamliners which are on plans to be leased out soon leaving only 6 Dreamliners as the only wide bodies for long hauls. At times I wonder what the state of mind of the people making decisions at KQ is when they are doing so? I know their spirits are in the right place but my worry is their minds? That's why am proud of KALPA, they seem to be have their mind and spirit in sync and in the right place for calling for the exit of these decision makers. To many people, and that includes majority of the bloggers and KOT, who have little to no knowledge of what's going on, KALPA is being 'just selfish with everything they really care about being an increase in their paychecks and not about the state of the company'. I'm not going to pretend to know everything and judge we Kenyans for pretending to know everything, but all I'm saying is maybe we should listen to people who spent thousands of hours in an industry that forms the core of their livelihood. They might know a lot more than just the KQ company theme-colour and the name of the CEO.
Let's assume hypothetically Mr. Boeing woke up one sad morning and heard of a fault in one of the Boeing 787 aircraft systems which necessitated him to send out a notice to all air operators operating his dream aircrafts, and ask them to ground their 787 fleet till the design problem is fixed. Even though there will be a cost implication on Mr. Boeing from the airlines, will KQ ground all its long-haul operations? My spirit tells me yes, but from the decisions I've seen being made, my mind tells me the Embraer will put on the Hanoi route. I pity the dispatchers who will be asked to put up a repetitive through plan for that. I bet they will be fired for making it to long and too costly!
Okay back to the rumour at hand. The downsize is not on the fleet capacity only, rumour has it that the aircraft-to-manpower ratio is going to be restructured significantly. That includes close to 100 pilots, from what's being said, flight attendants and ground personnel are also to be included. All departments are to be touched as I hear. Furthermore, the Boeing 737NG flight simulator is currently undergoing a cost benefit analysis to determine if its worth a keep or its better to be sold to another party for operation or complete ownership. Ahem, anyone know Cpt. J.M.Ririani? You can cough the wind to his direction. 'Pride 2' can become 'Kenya School of Advanced Flying'!
Tough times ahead I must say! If you were banking on the AB initio program maybe its time to align your spirit with your mind. It's going to be hash but we can never run away from the reality. We have to face it as it comes. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, and in the same breathe also this state at KQ might change for the better depending on what actions we see being taken, which I must say is critical at this point. For those of us with licenses and ratings, not to worry, am sure Youth Aviation will need people to file their flight plans and pick NOTAMS and METARS from the flight information offices.Or better still,new ab initio pilot trainees at Wilson airport flying schools might want to hear stories from South Africa from an experienced ground instructor. Am just kidding...it can't, and let's pray it doesn't, get to those levels.
End of rumour post1.