Qatar airways has reportedly poached 20 among the finest aeronautical engineers of the national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ).
It is reported that the wealthy Middle East airline raided KQ for the talented technicians after one of them was loaned to Qatar airways to fix an aircraft after it developed mechanical problems at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The engineer is said to have taken a record two hours to correct the problem as opposed to the five hours it would have taken a Qatar airways engineer to complete the same task.
The managers were further impressed by the fact that the engineers had three certificates in different engineering fields.
It is also reported that the poached engineers were offered triple the salary they were earning at KQ.
Speaking to the Star, KQ's Human Resources Director Alban Mwenda, confirmed that some of their staffers had left the struggling airline.
“In the airline industry, these movements are expected especially in airline specific jobs. Many Middle East carriers and other airlines are in an expansion stage and have been scouting for talent.
"Kenya Airways offers excellent training which has placed our technical staff amongst the best trained in the world,” he stated.
This comes days after KQ announced it would retrench 600 workers in an effort to cut costs after making a record loss of Sh25.7 Billion in 2015.
In September last year, the airline received a loan of Sh4.2 Billion from the government to keep its operations going, on condition that it would initiate a turn around strategy to regain the airline's past glory.
The Qatar Airline is considered one of the most successful in the world with luxurious facilities.
