(Ecofin Agency) – South Africa and Kenya are among the rare African countries to have an aircraft maintenance center. They plan a partnership to expand their operational capabilities.
Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways Technical (SAAT) are considering a partnership in the field of aircraft maintenance and repair (MRO), according to comments attributed to the CEO of the Kenyan group Allan Kilavuka, by Aviation Week Network. According to this source, the partnership is part of the perspective of strengthening KQ’s operational capabilities in this segment, in order to better cover its needs in this area. There is also talk of expanding the service to other companies.
Currently, around 65% of the airline’s MRO division’s capacity is dedicated to its maintenance needs while the remaining third serves other African carriers such as Moçambique’s Linhas Aéreas, RwandAir and Kenya’s Astral Aviation. SAA Technical, one of the few MRO centers in Africa, has on the other hand still untapped capacities, due among other things to the loss of a significant part of the South African Airways fleet with the bankruptcy period leading to the suspension of its activities.
The initiative is also expected to accelerate KQ’s business diversification program, which has recently returned to profitability and is counting on the parallel segments of its company name to maintain its growth and continue its expansion.
It should be noted that the two companies, still subsidized by the State for their survival, had already unveiled a strategic partnership in 2021 for the establishment of a pan-African carrier. However, the project is struggling to materialize.
Henoc Dossa
Edited by: Feriol Bewa
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