Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation
| File:Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation logo.jpg.png.jpg | |||||||
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| Founded | 1991 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating bases | N'djili Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Lubumbashi Int'l Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Destinations | 20 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||
| Key people | David and Daniel Blattner | ||||||
| Website | www.caacongo.com | ||||||
Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (literally "African Aviation Company", commonly abbreviated CAA and marketed as flyCAA) is a regional airline from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa.[2] It offers an extensive network of domestic scheduled passenger flights,[3] as well as cargo flights. Due to safety and security concerns, CAA has been included in the list of air carriers banned in the European Union,[4] along with many other airlines from the Congo.
History
Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA) was founded in February 1991 by David and Daniel Blattner as an air taxi company, initially operating a single Grumman Gulfstream I. More Gulfstreams were added to the fleet, as well as Convair 580, Antonov An-26 and Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft as the company moved from air taxi to passenger and cargo services. In 2005 two ex-Spirit Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-81 aircraft were acquired, followed by two McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft in 2008. In 2009 a Fokker 50 was acquired and eventually a further four Fokker 50s joined the fleet. The McDonnell Douglas aircraft were eventually disposed of and replaced with Airbus A320 aircraft.[5]
In 2012 CAA formed a commercial and strategic alliance with rival FlyCongo which led to consolidation into a single brand, flyCAA, in October 2012. The aircraft inherited from FlyCongo, three McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and a Boeing 767-200, were phased out.[5]
In January 2016, the airline terminated their only international route to Johannesburg after failing to receive renewed traffic rights.[6]
Destinations
According to the August 2013 timetable, CAA operates scheduled flights to the following destinations:[7]
| City | State | Airport |
|---|---|---|
| Beni | DR Congo | Beni Airport |
| Boende | DR Congo | Boende Airport |
| Bukavu | DR Congo | Kavumu Airport |
| Bumba | DR Congo | Bumba Airport |
| Bunia | DR Congo | Bunia Airport |
| Gemena | DR Congo | Gemena Airport |
| Goma | DR Congo | Goma International Airport |
| Isiro | DR Congo | Matari Airport |
| Kalemie | DR Congo | Kalemie Airport |
| Kananga | DR Congo | Kananga Airport |
| Kindu | DR Congo | Kindu Airport |
| Kinshasa | DR Congo | N'djili Airport (base) |
| Kisangani | DR Congo | Bangoka International Airport |
| Kongolo | DR Congo | Kongolo Airport |
| Lisala | DR Congo | Lisala Airport |
| Lodja | DR Congo | Lodja Airport |
| Lubumbashi | DR Congo | Lubumbashi International Airport (focus city)[3] |
| Mbandaka | DR Congo | Mbandaka Airport |
| Mbuji-Mayi | DR Congo | Mbuji Mayi Airport |
| Tshikapa | DR Congo | Tshikapa Airport |
Fleet
The FlyCAA fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2016):[8]
| Aircraft | In Service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A321-200 | 1 | — | ||
| Fokker 50 | 3 | — | ||
| Total | 4 | |||
Fleet development
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Over the years, the following aircraft types were operated:
 |
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | ||
| Antonov An-26 | ||
| Antonov An-32 | ||
| Boeing 727 | ||
| Convair CV-580 | ||
| Fokker 50 | ||
| Fokker 100 | ||
| Ilyushin Il-18 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 |
A Douglas DC-8 had been purchased by CAA and painted in its colors but was never delivered and evetually scrapped at Johannesburg International Airport.
Accidents and incidents
The only fatal accident involving an aircraft of Compagnie d'Aviation Africaine occurred on 4 March 2013, when a Fokker 50 (registered 9Q-CBD) crashed near Goma International Airport. Of the nine people that had been on the flight from Lodja, six were killed.[9] There were however a number of non-fatal incidents which resulted in CAA aircraft being damaged beyond repair:
- On 1 April 1997, a Convair CV-580 (registered 9Q-CRU) was destroyed at Tshikapa Airport when it overshot the runway and hit an embankment following a failed take-off abortion. There were fourteen occupants on board the scheduled flight to Mbuji-Mayi.[10]
- On 18 November 1999, another CV-580 (registered 9Q-CEJ) had to be written off following an off-airport emergency landing near Tshikapa due to an engine failure that had been encountered shortly into the flight to Kananga.[11]
- On 19 November 2009, Flight 3711 from Kinshasa overran the runway upon landing at Goma Airport. Of the 117 occupants on board the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 registered 9Q-CAB, around 20 were injured.[12]
- On 2 January 2010, a cargo-configured Boeing 727 (registered 9Q-CAA) veered off the runway during an emergency landing attempt in heavy rain at N'djili Airport. Previously, the pilots had reported a loss of hydraulic pressure.[13]
See also
- List of airlines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- List of companies based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
References
- ^ a b "Information about Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation at rzjets.net". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "AeroTransport Data Bank". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Great Circle Mapper". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ EU Mobility and Transport, List of airlines banned within the EU, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/search_en.htm
- ^ a b c d e "Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation". Airliner World: 32–36. February 2015.
- ^ ch-aviation.com - Congo's flyCAA ends international flights 8 January 2016
- ^ "Timetable (6 August 2013)" (PDF). Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 12.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Harro Ranter (4 March 2013). "ASN Aircraft accident Fokker 50 9Q-CBD Goma Airport (GOM)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Harro Ranter (1 April 1997). "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 9Q-CRU Tshikapa Airport (TSH)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Harro Ranter (18 November 1999). "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 9Q-CEJ Tshikapa". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Harro Ranter (19 November 2009). "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) 9Q-CAB Goma Airport (GOM)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Harro Ranter (2 January 2010). "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-231F Super 27 9Q-CAA Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
External links
Media related to Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation at Wikimedia Commons