Category: Airlines Of Africa

Bamako Trijet: TZ-ADR and Air Mali

16/5/2021

Mali, like almost all African nations, has a rather torrid history since independence but also a colourful and interesting national airline. Perhaps it is an illustration of the nation's poverty that the largest equipment it ever owned was a 727 but the recent March 2021 release of an Aeroclassics model of this aircraft gives me the welcome opportunity to investigate the airline.

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Pariah No More: SAA’s 747-400s

27/1/2020

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Apartheid made South Africa an international pariah and its national airline unwelcome across most of Africa. The purchase of 747SPs allowed SAA to continue long-haul flights that were at least slightly competitive, however as the 1980s drew to a close and the international backlash against apartheid grew countries like the USA and Australia withdrew landing rights. Both South Africa and SAA needed change and fortunately for both the 90s would bring it.

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Parrot Jumbo: Air Gabon’s 747

30/11/2019

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The history of African flag carriers is something I always find interesting. Not only are they exotic but they often had lovely liveries and tended to operate small numbers of widebodies, making them rare visitors to select European locations. Plus of course, on the less impressive but just as interesting side, they often have histories rife with state interference, graft and civil war. Air Gabon certainly ticks many of these boxes.

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Hope & Despair: Air Congo's Struggle

20/10/2019

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European colonialism has left a bitter legacy in many African nations, but probably none has been so disgraceful and damaging as the Belgian influence in what has become the Democratic Republic of Congo. Independence did not bring the new chapter the Congolese wanted and instead the next 50 years have been as bad or worse than what went before. Nevertheless throughout this period a veneer of normalcy was provided by the national carrier Air Congo (later Air Zaire).

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Escape from Dar: Kenya Airways Birth

22/3/2019

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The main trio of East African nations, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have a long history of co-operation but also rivalry. This has seen various organisations oversee the joint relationship and historically the sharing of a national airline in East African Airways Corporation. Unfortunately, the failing partnership would lead to the collapse of EAAC and some drastic measures being taken to enable the birth of Kenya Airways from the ashes.

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Crash Course: Egypt’s Soviet Adventure

3/10/2018

5 Comments

Since independence Egypt has had a volatile history, which included a period where ties with the Soviet Union grew stronger. It also however coincided with a time when you had to be brave to fly the national airline at all and the number of aircraft, both Soviet and Western that it crashed was quite staggering. Here I take a look at how Soviet types fared flying from Cairo.

5 Comments

Strats in Africa: West Africa-London

30/9/2017

7 Comments

I have previously written about the history of Nigeria Airways but the acquisition of a fine pair of African Stratocruisers gives me an opportunity to take a closer look at the first years of both it and its predecessor WAAC that is too good to pass up. The Stratocruiser was the height of luxury, but was never very economic to operate and so it is I guess little surprise that some ended their years on high value but low competition routes to the former African colonies.

7 Comments

Giraffe Survivor: Air Tanzania Corporation

2/8/2017

5 Comments

Too often the history of African national airlines reads like a black comedy of dodgy dealings, rampant cronyism and flagrant corruption. Accordingly very few of the many national carriers have survived. One that has, against the odds, is Air Tanzania, however the airline has certainly had some serious ups and downs and is a very different beast nowadays to when it started.

5 Comments

Skypower Pt3: Air Nigeria to the Rescue?

8/4/2017

3 Comments

Few countries have been so poorly administered as Nigeria, and Nigerian aviation history is chock full of failed airlines and failed attempts to rehabilitate failing airlines. By 1992 Nigeria Airways was a right mess, racked by corruption and owing more than US$100 million. There was hope though that it could be turned around and a radical proposal to split the airline and create Air Nigeria for a brief time looked like it might be the answer.

3 Comments

Skypower Pt2: DC-10s to A310s

6/4/2017

1 Comment

During the 1970s Nigeria Airways used the relative stability within the country to expand into one of Africa's best airlines. This was bolstered by assistance from KLM, but the 1980s would see all of these gains wasted and worse rampant corruption strip the airline bare, leaving behind a shell of its former self. Service levels and reliability collapsed and debts spiralled out of control, whilst almost everyone it seemed stole from poor old Skypower.

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Skypower Pt1: WAAC to VC10s

4/4/2017

5 Comments

Throughout the 1960s and 70s Nigeria Airways was one of the strongest and most affluent of the African airlines. The Nigeria state was far from stable however, enduring multiple coups and civil war, and these factors gradually built into the fabric of the state and the state run airline itself. In the long run this institutional weakness would prove terminal but in the 60 and 70s Skypower was a powerful symbol of Nigeria's pride and potential.

5 Comments

Spirit Not Profit: Air Namibia's Long Haul

25/1/2017

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Operating a small national airline in Africa is hard work. There are issues around corruption, high operating costs, aircraft procurement, volatility of local currencies against the US dollar, infrastructure, misreporting of Africa as if it's a single entity in the Western press, small fleets with long haul routes and competition from foreign airlines. Profitability is hard to come by. Air Namibia has never made a profit but its keeps trying and keeps flying.

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Rocket Power: Ethiopian Convairs

11/12/2016

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Despite the turmoil of Ethiopia's history in the past 40 years the government carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, has avoided being heavily impacted. Unlike other African airlines, which are too often corrupt, nepotistic, poorly run shambles, Ethiopian has been able to remain professional and market oriented. This has enabled it to be a beacon of profitability within Africa growing to be the continent's most successful airline with an ultra-modern fleet of over 80 aircraft. Needless to say however during the 1940s and 50s its aims were less grandiose.

2 Comments

Fresh Air 500s: Tristars in the Congo

18/7/2016

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The Democratic Republic of Congo is a huge nation of much promise that has been mired in regional conflict, corruption and crimes of the worst kinds pretty much ever since the Belgians set foot in it. It is no surprise therefore that airline operations within such an environment have themselves been challenging. Hewa Bora Airways briefly seemed like a way forward, but as with so many African national carriers its history is a mess. Nice Tristar though!

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West African Nines: Ghana's DC-9-51s

30/3/2016

1 Comment

Ghana has always been one of the more stable African nations and Ghana Airways was once one of the better run African national airlines. The fleet, though small, was kept modern throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Douglas and Fokker products and for many years the airline was the operator of West Africa's only DC-9. In fact the carrier's allegiance to old Douglas products was one of the factors in its downfall.

1 Comment

<<Previous

Bamako Trijet: TZ-ADR and Air Mali

Pariah No More: SAA’s 747-400s

Parrot Jumbo: Air Gabon’s 747

Hope & Despair: Air Congo's Struggle

Escape from Dar: Kenya Airways Birth

Crash Course: Egypt’s Soviet Adventure

Strats in Africa: West Africa-London

Giraffe Survivor: Air Tanzania Corporation

Skypower Pt3: Air Nigeria to the Rescue?

Skypower Pt2: DC-10s to A310s

Skypower Pt1: WAAC to VC10s

Spirit Not Profit: Air Namibia's Long Haul

Rocket Power: Ethiopian Convairs

Fresh Air 500s: Tristars in the Congo

West African Nines: Ghana's DC-9-51s

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