KQ chief operating officer tenders resignation

Mbuvi Ngunze CEO Mbuvi Ngunze: “Yves Guibert will be leaving us by the end of July 2016 to pursue a new venture in the airline industry.” PHOTO | FILE 

By DOREEN WAINAINAH, dwainainah@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Yves Guibert, the carrier’s chief operating officer (COO), has given notice of intention to leave within the next two months.
• Mr Guibert adds to the list of top managers who have resigned or sent home in the past 12 months.
• Chief finance officer Alex Mbugua, Rick Sine (fleet director), Gerard Clarke (commercial director) and Alban Mwendar (the human resources director) have left the company since last October amidst a wave of turbulence punctuated by pilot strikes.

One more senior executive has left troubled national carrier Kenya Airways, signalling the continuation of management restructuring that began in earnest last year.

Yves Guibert, the carrier’s chief operating officer (COO), has given notice of intention to leave within the next two months, adding to the list of top managers who have resigned or sent home in the past 12 months.

“Yves Guibert will be leaving us by the end of July 2016 to pursue a new venture in the airline industry,” Mbuvi Ngunze, the Kenya Airways chief executive said in a memo to employees.

Mr Guibert has worked at Kenya Airways for seven years and has more recently been instrumental in driving Safety and Operational efficiency in his role as director, manager of Ground Services and more recently as COO.

KQ, as the airline is popularly known, is expected to announce Mr Guibert’s replacement at a later date. 

Kenya Airways chief finance officer Alex Mbugua, Rick Sine (fleet director), Gerard Clarke (commercial director) and Alban Mwendar (the human resources director) have left the company since last October amidst a wave of turbulence punctuated by pilot strikes.

Mr Mwendar, who the board had requested to stay on to oversee the ongoing rationalisation programme, announced last week that he was exiting the airline to pursue other interests.

Kenya Airways also sent Alex Avedi, the director of corporate quality, safety, security and environment and Captain Paul Mwangi, the director flights operations, on a leave of absence for an unspecified duration to facilitate dialogue between the airline and its disgruntled pilots.

KQ has been fighting vicious battles with own staff over the management’s turnaround plan that is meant to pull the airline out of the loss-making territory.

READ: KQ pilots’ strike called off, HR director leaves the airline

Kenya Airways pilots went on strike a fortnight ago seeking to force out the carrier’s entire management team who they accuse of bringing it down through mismanagement and incompetence.

“We are convinced that the current group chief executive lacks the aviation experience, capacity and moral authority to champion the airline’s recovery, as clearly stated in the Senate report,” the pilots said in a statement two weeks ago.

A Senate committee formed to look into the airline’s operations recommended “restructuring of its operations and putting into place a management team with sufficient skills and experience in the aviation industry and with the ability to turn around the company.”

The unsanctioned strike led to the cancellation of 25 flights and loss of between Sh200 million and Sh300 million in revenues even as it left more than 10,000 customers stranded.

The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa), through a memo by secretary- general Paul Gichinga said the rationalisation exercise was unnecessary and needed to be stopped immediately.

Mr Gichinga said a similar exercise conducted in 2012 by the same management did not change the company’s trajectory, insisting that only a new approach to the problems would bring lasting change.

The staff restructuring, which began this month, affected about 36 pilots who have been seconded to rival airlines for three years when KQ hopes to recall them.

The restructuring is expected to boost KQ’s bottom-line by about Sh20 billion, adding to the Sh14.6 billion that the airlines hopes to make from the sale of assets, including aircraft.

KQ recently hired American consultancy McKinsey to help restructure its operations after it sank deeper into the red with a Sh11.95 billion net loss for the six months to September, compared with Sh10.45 billion it reported in 2014.

Kenya Airways’ total negative equity position stands at Sh33.9 billion, indicating the premium being placed on the restructuring strategy that McKinsey is executing.

Last week, KQ and Turkish Airlines finalised an agreement for delivery of the B777-300ER aircraft that has been sub-leased to the European carrier.

READ: KQ plane disposals down to two after Turkish lease

This year alone, KQ has signed a sale agreement with Omni Air International (Omni) for two B777-200ERs and a sublease agreement with Oman Air for two B787-8s. Both B777-200ERs have since been delivered to Omni and the first of the two 787-8s was delivered to Oman Air at the beginning of April.

Mr Ngunze has insisted that subleasing and selling of aircraft should improve flight costs by Sh700 million ($7 million) a month, taking the airline closer to the profits territory.

The sale of some of its aircraft last year lowered KQ’s operating costs by Sh8.3 billion to Sh58.9 billion and improved its operating loss position to Sh2.18 billion from the previous year’s Sh10.5 billion