Nairobi — Aircraft manufacturer Airbus wants to resume supplying Kenya Airways with planes.

Airbus vice-president for Africa and Indian Ocean Hadi Akoum said the company wished to renew ties with the national carrier.

Mr Akoum said Kenya Airways was one of most successful airlines on the continent. "We hope we will be part of the successful KQ venture," he said yesterday during the launch of the Airbus air travel outlook for 2006 in Nairobi.

Kenya Airways retired its Airbus fleet in 2004 in favour of the US-based Boeing. Mr Akoum was due to meet Kenya Airways top management yesterday afternoon.

He said an engineer or a pilot trained on any Airbus plane can easily handle any aircraft in its family, which reduces training costs. Mr Akoum said the airline has retained its position as the world's leading jetliner manufacturer having smashed previous industry records for new orders.

Has outsold Boeing

Airbus outsold its rival for the fifth consecutive year, booking 1,055 net orders against Boeing's 1,002 last year. In delivering 378 new airliners, compared to its competitor's 290, Airbus held its lead as the most productive manufacturer.

East Africa recorded a huge increase in tourist arrivals in line with forecasts that air transport on the continent would double by 2015.

This will create a demand for more than 640 new passenger and freight jetliners over the next 20 years, Mr Akoum said.