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Zambia Airways

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zingani (talk | contribs) at 17:38, 18 December 2009 (→‎The Brand). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Not to be confused with Zambian Airways.

Zambia Airways is the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia. The most loved Airline Brand in southern Africa Having a rich history for over sixty years.

1.History

Founding Years

Zambia Airways trace its long history back directly to the formation, on 1 June 1946, of Central African Airways (CAA), which came into being as the joint airline of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi), with 50 percent, 35 per- cent and 15 percent respectively of its share capital being held by the governments of those three countries. At its formation, CAA acquired some of the assets and personnel of Southern Rhodesia Air Services (SRAS), a combined airline and communications squadron that had been formed at the beginning of World War II from the dissolution of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Airways (RANA). RANA had itself been formed in October 1933 by the merger of two small privately owned companies which, in the late 1920s, had provided Central Africa with its first "regular" air services. (Those inverted commas are necessary: given the undeveloped state of the territory, its airfields, its navigational aids and the aircraft themselves, that marvellously elastic term 'technical delay' could, in those pioneering days, be read as meaning almost anything from a puncture to a lion having eaten the pilot!)

1.1.1 CAA Takes off

File:ZAmbia.jpg
Early logo

Central African Airways started operations with a mixture of ex SRAS aircraft, but soon took delivery of five De Havilland Doves and three Vickers Vikings. Ultimately, the airline acquired a total of seven Doves and 12 Vikings. Services were steadily expanded to cover a route network extending as far north as Nairobi and as far south as Johannesburg, as far east as Blantyre and as far west as Maun in Bechuanaland (now Botswana).De Havilland Rapides and other types acquired from SRAS were steadily phased out as Doves and Vikings were brought into service. In August 1948 CAA inaugurated the first air freight service in Africa, using two Bristol 170 Freighters leased from Britain's Ministry of Civil Aviation; they were used on 'Copper Trader' services between Johannesburg and Ndola, via Bulawayo and Lusaka, and between Salisbury (now Harare) and Lusaka. The former service was extended in September 1948 to Dar es Salaam and Lindi In Tanganyika (now Tanzania), via Mbeya and Kasama in Northern Rhodesia. During its first six months of operation, 246 711 ton-miles were achieved with a load factor of 48 percent; however, technical problems seem to have soured CAA's management on these two aircraft, and the lease was terminated in December 1949. Technical troubles, mainly associated with the engines, had also plagued the Doves, particularly on services to remote bush stations in Northern Rhodesia's Barotse-land region. The airline operated, 'social' routes to a string of small isolated communities in this region; these services were never financially viable, but were the communities' sole regular link with the outside world. Their air-fields were about as basic as air-fields can get - with the exception of Mongu's three million bricks, their runways were unpaved Africa as God had made It and Man had smoothed it, with a terminal building that in Sesheke's case consisted of a rondavel about four metres in diameter with a thatched roof, and a second smaller rondavel that was probably the loo! This. however, was luxurious in comparison with Senanga's terminal building, which a photograph taken as late as the early 1960s shows to have been a small tent borrowed from the District Commissioner! Nyasaland's remote airfields were not any better. This type of airfield, and the absence of engineering staff, called for aircraft made of sterner stuff than the Doves, with their light construction and complicated systems.....

1.1.2 Enter the Beaver

To replace them, CAA introduced (in 1951) the De Havilland (Canada) Beaver aircraft. A single-engined, square, chunky-looking aeroplane designed for short airfields, it was as simple and rugged as a pick-up truck (and unfortunately not a great deal faster!) Initially, CAA used them in Southern Rhodesia, on feeder services connecting Gwelo (now Gweru), Gatooma (now Kadoma) Que Que (now Kwekwe) and Fort Victoria (now Masvingo), with regional services through Bulawayo and Salisbury, plus a service between Salisbury and Umtali (now Mutare).These services became less popular, and were eventually withdrawn in November 1958, as Southern Rhodesia's bone-shaking strip and gravel roads were widened and tarred, and faster and more economical motor cars appeared. The Beavers were put on to services In Barotseland in Northern Rhodesia, returning to Lusaka for light maintenance at the weekend. They also operated a similar service in Nyasaland. Fatigue cracking in the wings caused the Viking fleet to be temporarily grounded at the end of1951, and two Douglas DC3 Dakotas were chartered to tide the airline over until Viking services could be resumed, in February 1952. This was to be CAA's first encounter with Dakotas, an aircraft type that would later play an important role in the airline's operations.

1.1.3 Off to London

The introduction by BOAC in May 1952 of Comet services between London and Livingstone cut hard into the profitability of CAA's service between Salisbury and Nairobi, and It was decided to test the feasibility of a Salisbury-to-London service using Vikings; a route proving flight was made in June 1952. In March 1953, all but two of the Vikings were again grounded following a fatal crash in Tanganyika which had resulted from structural failure in a wing. Fortunately, the first of what would eventually become eight Dakotas was delivered just afterwards, and with chartered aircraft, the airline was able to maintain services. After the politicians 'and bureaucrats had finally got bilateral negotiations sorted out, CAA Inaugurated a weekly 'Zambezi' service with Vikings between Salisbury and London in April 1953, at a lower fare than BOAC's Comet service. Compared with today's 10 and a half hours, the four-day flight, with numerous refuelling stops and nightstops at hotels, seems ponderously slow, until one compares it with its main rival, the Union Castle mailship service which took at least 14 days between Britain and Cape Town, after which one still had to get from Cape Town to Salisbury! The flights took off each morning at an early hour, with sleepy passengers grumbling irritably at being woken so early; at some places, because of temperature and altitude, the flight had to leave early, or not at all! In-flight catering was fairly basic by today's standards the aircraft's galley lacked facilities for heating anything other than beverages, so each passenger would be presented with a square 'biscuit' tin with a snugly fitting lid, containing sandwiches, biscuits and fresh fruit. (Years later, when improvements in aircraft galleys and changes in public taste made them redundant, hundreds of these pale blue tins, with CARs distinctive 'gullwing' logo on the lid, were recruited for new duties as parts bins in the Technical Stores; a few survive to this day though very few of today's staff know what they originally did their living,l) The 'Zambezi' service was increased to twice-weekly in 1954. April 1954 saw the introduce of a weekly Viking service from Salisbury to Durban, which started the popularity of the Natal coast's beaches with Rhodesian holidaymakers. In 1956 and 1957 most of Vikings were disposed of,their places being taken by the more popular and less troublesome Dakotas, which operated services too busy for Beavers and too lean for the new Viscounts.

1.1.4 'Viscounts'

An important milestone had been reached in August 1954 when CAA ordered five Vickers Viscount type 748 aircraft. The cost, including spares and spare engines, was just under 2 million, Pounds which sounds ridiculously cheap by today's standards, but in fact represented a huge outlay for a small airline in those days. The first aircraft, VP-YNA, arrived at Salisbury at 25 April 1956 and was in service by early June, including operating a weekly tourist-class service to London, via Northern Rhodesia, Uganda, the Sudan, Libya, Malta and Italy.. The last of the five aircraft, VP-YNE, was delivered in July 1956: tragically, it was destroyed, with the loss of most of its passengers and crew, when it hit high ground while on approach to Benghazi on 9 August 1958. Accident Report Email webmaster for complete report. (3mb) Viscount services to London finally ceased in September 1960. As CAA could not then afford long-range aircraft to enable it to compete favourably with larger airlines on overseas routes, management concluded an agreement to 'sell' its traffic rights on the Salisbury-London route to BOAC for 1 0 years, for a very favourable sum. This agreement enabled CAA to concentrate on its regional and domestic services, which it soon brought to a highly efficient standard. Improvements to the airport at Bulawayo enabled Viscounts to land there from January 1959.

1.1.5 Skybus'

Skycoast' services, which combined a flight from Salisbury to Durban and a Union Castle steamship cruise to Cape Town and return, were introduced in January 1959. and became very popular. At about the same time, 'Skybus' flights were introduced between Salisbury and Blantyre, and later extended to Lilongwe and 'Fort Jameson (now Chipata), and Lusaka and Ndola. These cut price, no-frills flights proved extremely popular with African passengers; experienced travellers took their own cushion, as the canvas seats provided were about , comfortable as an old-fashioned church pew designed to prevent the faithful from falling asleep during the sermonl 'Flame Lily' packaged holidays were introduced in May 1960, and soon became very popular with tourists from South Africa, and later from East Africa and Mozambique. Technical problems arose again in January 1961 when faults were found in the wing spars of VP-YNA, and two aircraft were temporarily grounded, causing some disruption of services. VP-YNA was flown to Britain, and permanent repairs were performed by Marshalls of Cambridge. Dakota and Argonaut aircraft chartered from the Royal Rhodesian Air Force enabled CAA to maintain services.

1.1.6 The Bac 1-11


The need for faster and larger aircraft caused CAA to place an order with British Aircraft Corporation for two BAC 1 - 1 1 aircraft in September 1962. The order was worth 3 million Pounds including spares and spare engines; the aircraft were scheduled for delivery in June1965. In October 1962. the airline leased a Douglas DC6 from Alitalia for long-range charter work; the aircraft was also used as a supplement on regional services when necessary. CAA's Engineering Division was earning considerable extra revenue at that time by doing contract maintenance, particularly on Viscounts of Aden Airways and on C-46 aircraft on lease to the United Nations for operations in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire). Additional routes opened in 1961 and 1962 included a weekly flight between Kitwe and Ndola in Northern Rhodesia using Dakotas, and a weekly Viscount flight from Salisbury to Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), plus a weekly Dakota service from Fort Victoria to Lourenco Marques. Three flights a week commenced between Bulawayo and the newly opened Wankie (now Hwange) National Park, using Dakota aircraft. Economically, CAA was doing well, but storm clouds were gathering on the political horizon.

1.1.7 The federation ends

File:ZambiaAirwaysloggo.jpg
Another Zambia Airways logo

The Central African Federation founded in 1953 was due to be dissolved at the end of 1963, and 1964 would see Northern Rhodesia attain its independence as Zambia, and Nyasaland as Malawi..The governments of both new countries wished to have their own national airline,. but it was quickly realised that this dream would not easily be fulfilled. CAA's engineering base, stores and most of the infrastructure and personnel needed to support the airline were based at Salisbury: only minor rectification work on an aircraft could be attempted away from Salisbury at that time. An agreement was reached in December 1963 that provided at least a temporary solution to the problem. CAA would remain in existence but be responsible to a higher authority consisting of transport ministers from the three governments. Separate subsidiaries of CAA were formed, to operate in each country. These were Air Malawi Ltd, Zambia Airways Ltd and Air Rhodesia (Pvt) Ltd.The engineering base and headquarters remained part of CAA; engineering personnel were employed and paid by CAA and seconded, as required, to stations in Malawi and Zambia. All assets in each country at the time of the Federation's dissolution became part of that country's airline. CAA operated the Viscounts on behalf of each airline, and an ingenious arrangement of detachable nameplates on each side of the rear fuselage enabled the same aircraft to be used on services without seriously offending anybody's national pride. The Dakota fleet was divided between the three countries and the Beaver fleet was divided between Zambia and Malawi, Rhodesia having no requirement for this aircraft type. Initially, nearly all maintenance was done at Salisbury. Dakota and Beaver aircraft were repainted in the new airlines' liveries and carried their new logos, Cumbersome as the administrative arrangements may have appeared, they actually worked surprisingly well, and the new airlines proved to be profitable and efficient. The Rhodesian Government's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, however, soon upset that and added venom to what had previously been a smooth-running cooperation. Sanctions imposed by Britain and independent African states, closed down almost all international flights operating through Rhodesia, with the exception of Portugal's TAP and SAA. CAA was barred from operating to most neighbouring states, so the DC6 leases was terminated in December 1965.An embargo on the supply of aircraft parts resulted in numerous ruses together with the extra cost of fuel resulting from an unsuccessful oil embargo considerably increased the airline's expenses. The two BAC1-11aircraft were still undelivered at the time of UDI, delivery having been delayed by modifications to improve the engines' performance under hot- and-high conditions. The aircraft were eventually taken over by Zambia Airways.

Ascension

The bad relations existing between the governments of Rhodesia and its two partners caused the tripartite airline to become increasingly unworkable after November 1965and in 1967 a divorce was agreed upon. Zambia Airways was officially launched as an independent airline on 1 September 1967. The original fleet consisted of two Douglas DC-3 and three DHC-2 Beaver. Zambia Airways took the undelivered two BAC 1-11s, which had been leased to another airline pending a settlement of the dispute. Although Zambia Airways would have nothing more to do with Rhodesian flights, flights between Blantyre and Salisbury continued and in fact increased. Zambia Airways also leased from Alitalia a DC-8 with which services from Lusaka to London were started. Originally the London route was flown twice a week with intermediate stops at Nairobi, Kenya and Rome, Italy

1.2.1 The Jet age

In 1975, saw the advent of the jet age with the addition of the Boeing 707 replaced the DC-8 and the Boeing 737-200 replaced the BAC 1-11s and was often put into service to Johannesburg and other medium-haul routes.The widebody era arrived in 1984 with the acquisition of a DC-10and was used to open a route to New York, which would at least occasionally make an intermediate stop in Libreville. This first DC-10, registered number 348 and christened "Nkwazi", a point of national pride for many Zambian citizens. In 1989, a second DC-10 was leased from Sabena and later Lufthansa to help operate longhaul flights from Lusaka to London,Frankfurt, Rome, and Amsterdam, as well as a weekly service non-stop to Bombay in cooperation with Air India Meanwhile, the ATR 42 replaced the HS.748s. The next fleet expansion consited a of Boeing 757-200F which substituted one of the 707s. Zambia Airways ordered the MD-11 and leased DC-8-61 while waiting for the delivery of the MD-11, which never occurred.

1.2.2 Code Data

Concentration

Destinations

Factors behind the Collapse

Management Trial

Fleet

Current Fleet

Aircraft operated

2.2.1 1970

Zambia Airways Corporation fleet in 1970 [1]
Aircraft Total Orders Notes
BAC One-Eleven 2
de Havilland Canada Beaver 2 0
Douglas DC-3 3 0
Douglas DC-8 1 0
Total 8 0

Future Aircrafts

QZ legacy

The Brand

Zambia Airways was southern Africa's most favorite airline in its time of service. A lot of different nationals traveled on the airline from most southern African countries to and from Europe, America and Asia. There was a time when the airlines services where of very high standard compered to todays well known low cost carriers. even when you travelled economy class and the service onboard was indeed magical. The stewards and stewardesses (nowa days flight attendants) where very helpful and kind. A choice of chicken or fish was always served and a variety of soft drinks. Alcohol was at an extra cost for Economy class, they served Carlsberg Beer at $1, a small bottle of wine would go for $2 and also offered the miniature spirit bottles. Off course all that was for free in Business and First Class. The flag ship pride and joy was the "NKWAZI" DC10-30 aircraft, registration N3016Z which was bought in 1984 brand new!

The routes it operated from Lusaka where to Johannesburg, Harare, Gabarone (code share with Air Botswana), Manzini (codeshare with Royal Swazi), Windhoek, Lilongwe, Lubumbashi, Nairobi, Dar es Salam, Mauritius, Bombay, Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Monrovia (refuel stop only), New York JFK. Zambia Airways was also seen in other destination with their 707-320 freighters and later it's 757-200F.

Zambia Airways sadly came to an end in 1994. The airline was liquidated by the new Zambian government and all it's assets sold off, including it's main building headquarters in Lusaka Ndeke House and the Zambia Airways Complex housing where it housed more than 1000 employees!

No airline has replaced Zambia Airways up to today as she was known. Other airlines in Zambia are privately owned and have nothing to do with the national carrier.

Aero Zambia

Zambian Express

Zambian Airways

Mines Air Services Limited (MAS) was incorporated in 1948 as a subsidiary of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM). As part of the process of privatisation of the mines, MAS was disposed of by the Government of Zambia on 28 April 1998. MAS purchased two new Raytheon Beech 1900D Airliner aircraft from Raytheon Credit Corporation (RCC) in July and August 1998 respectively. The company had operated these two aircraft and purchased additional aircrafts, under the trading name of Zambian Airways.

On the 10th January, 2009, the company announced it was suspending operations citing high fuel costs as the main reason. The airline said in a notice to passengers at Lusaka airport that it had experienced difficulties after jet fuel rose 100 percent in the last 18 months, increasing its operational costs by 50 percent. "This created a lot of problems for Zambian Airways as a growing business. In the interest of our stakeholders and our employees, we have decided with immediate effect to suspend all our operations until further notice," it said. Dozens of passengers flying to South Africa were left stranded, eye witnesses said. The airline has been operating two flights a day to South Africa and used to fly several times a week to other major hubs in southern Africa.

41 passengers had been stranded in Johannesburg as a direct result of the airline suspension of operations. The Zambian government announced on the 9th February, 2009, that it intended to sue Zambian Airways in order to recover the money the airline owes various firms. Its debt was noted to be US $29 mil.[2]

Current Players

Marketing

Tail fins

Code share

=Loyalty Program

Airport Lounge

Alliances

Electronic Check-ins

Cargo

Regional and Local

International

Accident and Incidents

Brand relaunch

References

  1. ^ Flight International 26 March 1970
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