Bhoja Air
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| Founded | 1993 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 7 November 1993 6 March 2012 (Relaunch) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 2000 (Pre relaunch) 22 April 2012 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Jinnah International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
| Destinations | 5 | ||||||
| Parent company | Bhoja Group of Companies, Arshad Jalil | ||||||
| Headquarters | Karachi, Pakistan | ||||||
| Key people | M. Farouk Omar Bhoja (Chairman) M. Arshad Jalil (MD) | ||||||
| Website | www.bhojaair.com.pk | ||||||
Bhoja Air (Bhoja Airlines (Pvt) Ltd) (Urdu: بھوجا ائیر), is an airline based in PECHS, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.[1] It operates a small domestic scheduled network. It ceased operations in 2000 due to financial difficulties, but after clearing its dues with the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan it was relaunched in 2011 and its inaugural flight was on 6 March 2012. After the 20 April 2012 accident, the Bhoja Air fleet size was reduced to one airplane. According to Pakistani law any airline must have at least three planes in operation. Thus on 29 May 2012, The Ministry of Defence of Pakistan has temporarily imposed a ban on the operations of Bhoja Airline in Pakistan [2] [3]
History
On 7 November 1993, Bhoja Air started operations on domestic routes between Karachi, Lahore and Quetta with a dry leased Boeing 737-200. It was registered in Pakistan making Bhoja the first private airline in the country to operate a Western manufactured aircraft. Bhoja Air is a privately owned airline of the Bhoja Group of Companies with its head office at Shahrah–e-Liaquat, Karachi and corporate offices at KDA Scheme No 1. In 1996, it signed a deal with the handling agent group OGDENS with complete ground handling equipment at Karachi, capable of handling Boeing 747s. In the same year another sister company, Pakistan Aviators and Aviation located at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore was purchased[according to whom?], along with a hotel for passenger stop-overs.
On 24 January 1998 Bhoja Air commenced international flights from Karachi to Dubai. Later, Bhoja Air operated flights to the U.A.E from all major cities of Pakistan. However due to financial difficulties, Bhoja Air suspended its operations in 2000, although its airline licence issued by CAA – Pakistan remained valid and it maintained a fully functional headquarters office in Karachi and a flight ops and ramp office at Karachi Jinnah International.
M. Farouk Omar Bhoja is the non-executive Chairman of the airline and has a 5% shareholding in the entity; Zeeshan M. Karimi and Mazahir Hassan hold 7.5% each; and the remaining controlling interest is held by Arshad Jalil and his family.[4][5]
Operations suspension
Bhoja Air have temporarily suspended operations since 29 May on orders by CAA for not meeting criteria of minimum three operational aircraft in their fleet, at the time Bhoja were only operating one Boeing 737-200 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, with a 737-400 stored at Karachi airport, this aircraft has since been bought by Shaheen Air and repainted in their livery.
Bhoja plans to resume service by mid August 2012 with additional aircraft and assistance from a foreign airline, details of which have not been announced yet.[6]
Destinations
Bhoja Air serves the following destinations in Pakistan as of June 2012, however all operations are temporarily suspended on CAA orders, service is planned to resume from 15 August:[7]
| City | Airport | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Islamabad | Benazir Bhutto International Airport | |
| Karachi | Jinnah International Airport | Base |
| Lahore | Allama Iqbal International Airport | |
| Multan | Multan International Airport |
Bhoja also planned on launching another domestic station Sukkur however that did not materialise despite being listed in the airlines website booking menu.
Fleet
The Bhoja Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2012):[8]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | two more being added |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 | 1 | operated by Star Air Aviation |
| Total | 2 |
Former fleet
Bhoja Air previously operated the following aircraft:
| Aircraft |
|---|
| Yakovlev Yak-42D [9] |
Incidents and accidents
On 20 April 2012, a Boeing 737-236 (AP-BKC), Bhoja Air Flight 213 carrying 127 people on a flight from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport destined for Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport crashed near Chaklala killing all on board. Eye-witness reports say that the aircraft was already on fire on its landing approach before it crashed, perhaps due to a strike of lightning.[10][11][12] Initial reports suggest that as the pilots of Flight 213 attempted to land amidst rain and strong winds, the aircraft might have flown into an unexpected wind shear.[13] The aircraft was on dry-lease from South African airline Comair, and had been acquired and placed in service by Bhoja Air in February 2012.[14] Minister for Interior A. Rehman Malik said on Sunday, the 22nd of April 2012 that all shareholders of the Airline, had been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).[15]
References
- ^ "Contact Us." (Archive) Bhoja Air. Retrieved on 21 April 2012. "46-K, Block 6, P.E.C.H.S., Karachi, Pakistan." - See map, Archive
- ^ Bhoja Airline temporarily banned in Pakistan Geo News Pakistan, May 29, 2012
- ^ "[1]"
- ^ http://tribune.com.pk/story/368245/bhoja-air-crash-officials-differ-over-the-events-that-led-to-crash/
- ^ http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-14080-CAA-reluctant-to-cancel-Bhoja-Air-licence
- ^ CAA temporarily orders Bhoja operations suspension
- ^ Bhoja destinations
- ^ Bhoja Air Amateur Fleet List
- ^ Yak-42 in Lithuanian Airlines logo/livery with Bhoja Air titles
- ^ "All 127 on board Islamabad-bound plane perish". Dawn.Com. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "Bhoja Air plane crash kills 127 in Pakistan; black box found". Ndtv.com. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ Awami Admin. "Bhoja Aircraft Crashed near Koraal Chowk Rawalpindi". Awami Web. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ Wind shear may have caused the crash
- ^ Name *. "AP-BKC Background | Planespotters". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "Bhoja Airlines owner put on ECL". Pakwatan.com. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
External links
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- Official Website of Bhoja Air
- Official website (Archive)
- Official website (Archive)
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