Kenya Airways will retain its Embraer Authorised Service Centre (EASC) even as it plans to phase out the Brazilian-made aircraft from its fleet.
KQ is the only carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa with the authorisation to service Embraer jets and the airline says phasing out of this model from its fleet will not affect the service centre.
The carrier plans to progressively get rid of the Embraer from its fleet as it adopts a monotype aircraft in the coming years.
“We have an independent approval as an approved maintenance organisation from KCAA with capability for the E170/190. We will continue offering maintenance service and the phasing out of the fleet does not impact our technical offering,” said the airline.
“We intend to retain the capability as we have done with the B767 and B777 fleet so that we support the regional and international operators operating the fleet.”
EASC supports quite a number of African Airlines operating on the E175 and E190 fleet such as Air Botswana, and Air Burkina.
Kenya Airways is considering the Boeing 737 Max as a possible replacement for the Embraer 190 as the carrier moves to maintain consistency within its fleet.
The national carrier announced in July that it would be ditching the Brazilian-made Embraer jets, which form the bulk of its fleet as it seeks to adopt an all-Boeing type.
At the moment, KQ operates 39 aircraft, both owned and leased, which comprise nine Boeing 787 wide-body jets that are mainly used for long-haul flights.
Kenya’s flag carrier also operates eight Boeing 737 narrow-body jets, 13 Embraer jets and two Boeing 737 freighters.
KQ uses Embraer for short routes within Africa and domestic flights to Mombasa and Kisumu from its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
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