The saying in Africa that ‘what a man can do ,a woman can do better’,
has not really come to play on the continent. But that does not mean
that African women are not taking the bulls by the horns in their
endeavours and fields of specialization. In fact, there are so many
organizations on the continent whose helms of affairs are controlled by
women who have broken the ranks of men.
The saying in Africa that ‘what a man can do ,a woman can do better’,
has not really come to play on the continent. But that does not mean
that African women are not taking the bulls by the horns in their
endeavours and fields of specialization. In fact, there are so many
organizations on the continent whose helms of affairs are controlled by
women who have broken the ranks of men.
These women no longer see some professions that used to be taken as
only limited to men’s world but have broken the jinx and are CEOs and
Commanders in such fields.
Only on Wednesday, a feat in the women’s world was achieved in the
world of Aviation as Kenya Airways (KQ) a first – that Captain Irene
Koki Mutungi was promoted to be the first African Captain on the world’s
latest plane, the Boeing B787 Dreamliner.
Over the years, Irene Mutungi has proven herself to be not just a pilot, but the first African female captain of an airline.
It is no surprise that from the age of 17 when she started her flying
lessons from Kenya School of Flying, later to Oklahoma City Flight
School and until now as the first female captain at Kenya Airways, Koki,
as fondly called, has been a novelty to the majority of Kenyans and
African women.
Of course, her professional career has been followed meticulously and
very publicly despite her aversion to being in the limelight.
Her male counterparts see her as a shining star and her movement to a
command position on the Boeing 737-300 to have followed the normal
pilot seniority system in Kenya Airways. Koki has risen steadily through
the ranks, having previously been the First Officer of the 767-300 ER,
the second largest aircraft in the Kenya Airways fleet, and recently,
the first Kenya Airways woman captain of a Boeing 767-300 until she
finished her course for type conversion successfully and was elevated to
fly in the left hand seat of KQ’s latest acquisition.
Captain Mutungi was the first ever and only female pilot at Kenya
Airways for about six years – more ladies have since joined the airline
in the cockpits of their various planes – and has risen steadily through
the ranks.
Following the first delivery of the new bird on April 5, are another 5
of such aircraft expected this year before in 2015 a further three of
these aircraft will be delivered by Boeing to “The Pride of Africa.”
Mutungi’s latest professional accomplishment is a first and is indeed
for the world of aviation and as such a cause for celebration, as she
becomes the first African female Boeing 787 Captain in the world.
Congratulations to Captain Irene and let this be an encouragement for
all other ladies who have set their minds on flying and making a career
with Kenya’s national airline.
Before now, for captain Mutungi, the cockpit of a B737-300 is as
familiar as her living room. She became the first female airline captain
in Africa and the first female pilot at Kenya Airways when she was just
shy of 30 years.
When Irene took control of the cockpit for the first time, she admitted feeling a great sense of achievement and responsibility.
She reckoned that a successful pilot needs to be alert, and calm
under pressure. The ideal pilot should also be detail oriented,
punctual, able to multitask and skilled in communication.
For Irene, it’s all about having a positive outlook on life.
“If you look at yourself as successful in all you do, then you will indeed succeed”, she said.
If you were on the maiden flight from Nairobi to Entebbe aboard KQ
4lO last year, you would have saluted the courage of Mutungi, first
Kenya Airways female captain, who, accompanied by an all-women crew: a
first officer, flight engineer, flight purser and flight attendants,
heralded her promotion to captain at the East African airline with the
flight.
Now a commander, she is always right up there with the stars, and has
proven herself beyond the skies. Koki, as she prefers to be called by
close friends, was the first and only female pilot at Kenya Airways for
about six years.
On meeting her for the first time, her beautiful, intelligent and
charming dispositions that portray her more like a beauty model, will
goad you to query the courage that has sustained her in the skies and
provided her safe landing in many airports beyond the continent. She has
had her fair share of good and bad experiences from passengers, weather
and aircrafts as well.
“Air passengers are one set of people you learn to deal with, and I have learnt how to fairly deal with them,” she says.
Kenya Airways serves more than 2 million passengers annually and has
the largest network into Africa. The carrier is going through an
aggressive expansion program.
The acquisition of Boeing 787 Dreamliner places KQ on the road to
modernity, with flight comfort sampled, and assured, on arrival by
President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Direct flights, say from Seattle to Nairobi, Paris to Nairobi, or
Nairobi to Guangzhou, or Frankfurt, that Boeing 787 Dreamliner delivers
in record time, makes good business sense. And KQ is within its
adventure rights to dream of great in-flight times ahead.
With nine Dreamliners in its fleet, when fully delivered, KQ will
have the potential to fly to nine of 20 most-visited cities across
continents, with guaranteed comfort to its high value clientele. But
there is the small business of balancing comfort with profits, given the
huge investment.
Barcelona, Miami, Mecca, Bucharest, Las Vegas, Singapore, Rome,
Pattaya, Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, Antalya, and other cities would be a
flight away for the Pride of Africa. Even Seattle, in the far northwest
of the United States, the base of this aero-technology, would be a mere
16 hours away, instead of the usual stopovers of 36 hours or more.
At about Sh11 billion apiece, and Sh99 billion for the Boeing 787
fleet, KQ will need 270 regular passengers and prize cargo to deliver a
direct Nairobi-Sydney, Australia, flight at a profit.
