Starbow
 |
||||
|
||||
| Founded | 2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating bases | Kotoka International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 5 | |||
| Destinations | 4 | |||
| Headquarters | Accra, Ghana | |||
| Key people | Kwaku Nimoh Mensah, Keith Luxton, Andy Smith | |||
| Website | flystarbow.com | |||
Starbow is a privately owned airline headquartered in Osu, Accra, Ghana.[1] It operates both domestic and regional flights out of its base at Kotoka International Airport, Accra. Currently, Starbow is the largest locally registered airline in Ghana.
Contents |
History [edit]
Starbow Formation and Launch [edit]
The company was originally founded in 2007 as Aero Surveys Limited and later rebranded as Air Shuttle. It operated two (2) Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft for domestic air taxi services.
In 2011, the ownership of the airline changed, which resulted in a further rebranding to a new commercial name, Starbow, with regional flights in mind. A communication and recruitment campaign was launched and 2 94 seat BAe 146-300 jet aircraft were acquired for scheduled domestic passenger services.
Starbow, began domestic flights out of Kotoka International Airport on 26 September 2011 serving Kumasi and Tamale The aircraft entered service configured to offer both business and economy class seating. Starbow added its 3rd destination on 8 November 2011, with return flights to Takoradi from its Accra base.
Starbow Growth [edit]
3 February 2012 and after just 5 months in operation Starbow announced that they had finalised a deal to lease 2 additional BAe 146-300 aircraft that would double their fleet to 4 aircraft after they had finalised a deal to lease two further BAe146-300 aircraft.[2] The aircraft entered into service less than 6 months later.
Starbow's international route was announced on 31 July 2012. The up to 5 times weekly service from Accra to Cotonou in Benin started 13 August 2012.[3] Abidjan in the Ivory Coast became the carrier's second international destination. The route launched on 8 November 2012 with flights operating up to 5 times weekly from Accra.[4] However, all international services were suspended in early 2013 due to poor performance.
Starbow announced on 16 December 2012 that they will be adding a 97 seat BAe 146-200 shortly. The aircraft arrived in Accra on the same day and is currently being prepared to enter service [5]
Destinations [edit]
Current Destinations [edit]
Starbow currently operates to and from the following destinations:
- Accra - Kotoka International Airport Hub
- Kumasi - Kumasi Airport
- Takoradi - Takoradi Airport
- Tamale - Tamale Airport
Starbow also operates charter services from its Accra base to other cities in the sub-region.
Possible Future Destinations [edit]
Starbow recently announced that they are planning to expand international operations from there Accra hub in the near future.[6] New destinations that have been mentioned include:
Fleet [edit]
As of 17 December 2012, the Starbow fleet consists of :
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| BAe 146-200[9] | 1 | — | — | 97 | 97 | |
| BAe 146-300 | 4 | — | 8 | 86 | 94 | |
| Total | 5 | |||||
Starbow recently announced that they plan to double the size of there fleet in the next 12 to 18 months [10]
References [edit]
- ^ "Contact us." Starbow. Retrieved on 6 May 2013. "832 First Street Adjacent to the Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters Osu, Accra"
- ^ 3rd and 4th BAe146-300 added to Fleet
- ^ Starbow launch first International route with flights from Accra to Cotonou
- ^ Accra to Abidjan route launched
- ^ Starbow's fleet grows with the additional of its first BAe146-200
- ^ Starbow Plans International Expansion
- ^ Starbow Plan to add Flights to Monrovia in December 2012
- ^ Starbow Plan to add Flights to Freetown in December 2012
- ^ Starbow takes delivery of 4th aircraft
- ^ Starbow Plan to Double Fleet
External links [edit]
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
