(Africa) Air Afrique @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
    McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
  • Régie Air Afrique poster<br>(1930s) Régie Air Afrique poster<br>(1930s)
    Régie Air Afrique poster
    (1930s)
  • Republic of the Congo stamp<br>for the airline's foundation (1961) Republic of the Congo stamp<br>for the airline's foundation (1961)
    Republic of the Congo stamp
    for the airline's foundation (1961)
  • Douglas DC-6B (F-BGSN) Douglas DC-6B (F-BGSN)
    Douglas DC-6B (F-BGSN)
  • Boeing 707-379C Boeing 707-379C
    Boeing 707-379C
  • Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle
    Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle
  • Forest hikes in Gabon Forest hikes in Gabon
    Forest hikes in Gabon
  • Douglas DC-8-63CF<br>(leased from Transamerica) Douglas DC-8-63CF<br>(leased from Transamerica)
    Douglas DC-8-63CF
    (leased from Transamerica)
  • "Air Afrique et vous" advertisement "Air Afrique et vous" advertisement
    "Air Afrique et vous" advertisement
  • Boeing 747-200F (Cargo) Boeing 747-200F (Cargo)
    Boeing 747-200F (Cargo)
  • Airbus A300B4-203 Airbus A300B4-203
    Airbus A300B4-203
  • Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
    Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
  • Boeing 737-200 Boeing 737-200
    Boeing 737-200
  • Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 767-300ER
    Boeing 767-300ER
  • Antonov An-12BP<br>(leased from Air Sofia) Antonov An-12BP<br>(leased from Air Sofia)
    Antonov An-12BP
    (leased from Air Sofia)

Air Afrique

Air Afrique was a pan-African airline, owned for most of its history by around ten West and Central African states, and established in 1961 as the transnational carrier of francophone West and Central Africa, at a time when most of the newly independent countries of the region could not build and sustain a national airline of their own. Its headquarters were in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), with Dakar-Yoff (Senegal) as secondary hub. Its IATA code was RK, its ICAO code RKA and its call sign "AIRAFRIC". The carrier was a member of IATA and of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

For forty years the company, with its green livery and its globe emblem, was the symbol of a newly independent Africa. It began a steady decline in the early 1980s, yet many years later it was still regarded as one of the most reputable carriers on the continent. Weighed down by debts, it ceased operations in January 2002 and was declared bankrupt on 7 February 2002.

The name had already been used before the war by the Régie Air Afrique, a French state company which operated the trans-Saharan routes from Algiers to Niamey, Bamako, Fort-Lamy and Brazzaville in the 1930s, and was absorbed into Air France in 1941.

History

Origins (1960-1961)

Air Afrique was originally conceived in February 1960 as a joint subsidiary of Air France and Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) to take over the regional services these two airlines operated in Africa. The new company was registered in September 1960 as Air Afrique (Société de Transports Aériens en Afrique).

During the first conference of francophone countries held in Abidjan in October 1960, the Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny recommended the creation of a multinational airline. Eleven heads of state gave their agreement in Brazzaville in December 1960, whereas Gambia, Ghana and Mali declined to join. At the third conference, held in Yaoundé in early 1961, the original company was renamed Société pour le Développement du Transport Aérien en Afrique (SODETRAF). The Treaty of Yaoundé, signed on 28 March 1961, founded the new Air Afrique: Air France and UAT each held 17% of the capital, the eleven member states (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Dahomey, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Upper Volta) sharing the remaining 66%.

The flight attendant Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith, then the only qualified African person in French civil aviation, became the very first employee of the company.

Expansion (1961-1975)

The Senegalese Cheikh Boubacar Fall was appointed first chief executive on 25 June 1961. Operations started on 1 August 1961 on the regional network, with twelve Douglas DC-4s leased from Air France and UAT. On 15 October 1961 an Air France Lockheed Constellation (an L-1649 Starliner), flying on behalf of the company from Paris to Port-Étienne, Dakar, Abidjan, Cotonou and Douala, opened the long-haul services. Pressurised Douglas DC-6s, also leased from UAT, soon joined the fleet.

On 5 January 1962 the airline introduced its first jets, Boeing 707s leased from Air France, on the Paris-Dakar-Abidjan and Paris-Douala-Brazzaville routes, and in December of the same year it ordered its own jets, two Douglas DC-8s. Also in 1962, the company joined IATA. In 1963, after the merger of UAT and TAI gave birth to UTA, ownership was reorganised: SODETRAF received a 28% stake, the balance being held by the member states, and Air Afrique became the owner of its own fleet. The same year it began Hajj pilgrimage flights to Jeddah, and in April 1964 it was authorised to link Africa with the United States (New York). The staff grew from about 2,500 in 1965 to 3,370 in 1970 and 3,726 in 1975.

Togo joined the consortium in 1965, and Sud Aviation Caravelles were ordered the same year for the regional network. In 1971, after a dispute with the other partners, Cameroon left the company to found Cameroon Airlines. The first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, named "Libreville", was delivered on 28 February 1973; the type became the flagship of the company on the routes to Europe. Cheikh Fall, who had led the airline for twelve years, was succeeded by the Ivorian Aoussou Koffi in 1974.

Decline and restructuring (1976-2000)

Gabon withdrew in 1976 to set up Air Gabon, while Sierra Leone joined briefly in 1978. In July 1980 the staff peaked at 5,100. Orders were placed with Airbus and Boeing at the end of the 1970s and in the 1980s, and the airline operated Airbus A300s, a Boeing 747 freighter and leased Boeing 727s.

From the early 1980s losses accumulated, due to overstaffing, political interference, unprofitable routes imposed by the member states, the rise of national carriers and the competition of foreign airlines. By the end of the decade the debt had reached some 200 billion CFA francs. In March 1989 Rolland Billecart, a senior French civil servant, was appointed chairman and chief executive to straighten out the company; 1,600 jobs were cut in June 1989. In 1990 Air France took control of UTA, and thus of its stake in Air Afrique. The first Airbus A310-304 arrived in 1991.

The 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 was a severe blow, as most of the debts and costs were in foreign currencies; several aircraft were seized by creditors. In 1995 the airline carried 761,000 passengers and lost 19 million US dollars. Billecart left in 1997 and was replaced by the Mauritian Harry Tirvengadum. In July 1998 four A310-300s had to be returned to their owners, reducing the fleet from fifteen to eleven aircraft.

The end (2001-2002)

In January 2001, Jeffrey Erickson, former chief executive of TWA, was appointed by the World Bank to restructure the company; his plan, which involved laying off about half of the staff, was rejected by the member states. By June 2001 the debt amounted to 431 million US dollars. In August 2001 a rescue plan supported by France planned to create a new Air Afrique in which Air France would hold 35%, but the plan failed. Struck also by the drop in air traffic following the attacks of 11 September 2001, Air Afrique stopped flying in January 2002 with a single leased aircraft still in service, and was declared bankrupt on 7 February 2002. Air France took over most of its routes; the short-lived Afrinat International Airlines was intended to succeed it, but the project of a new pan-African carrier never really materialised.

Member states

  • Benin (Dahomey) : 1961-2002.
  • Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) : 1961-2002.
  • Cameroon : 1961-1971.
  • Central African Republic : 1961-2002.
  • Chad : 1961-2002.
  • Congo-Brazzaville : 1961-2002.
  • Gabon : 1961-1976.
  • Ivory Coast : 1961-2002.
  • Mali : 1992-2002.
  • Mauritania : 1961-2002.
  • Niger : 1961-2002.
  • Senegal : 1961-2002.
  • Sierra Leone : 1978-1979.
  • Togo : 1965-2002.

Destinations

At the time of its closure, Air Afrique served 22 destinations: Abidjan, Athens, Bamako, Bangui, Banjul, Brazzaville, Casablanca, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Geneva, Libreville, Lomé, Marseille, N'Djamena, New York, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Paris, Pointe-Noire and Rome. Over its history it also flew to Bordeaux, Lyon, Nice, Jeddah and many other African cities.

Fleet

Over forty years Air Afrique operated, owned or leased, about forty different types or variants, among which :

  • Airbus A300B4, A300-600R and A310-300.
  • Antonov An-12 (freighter leased from Air Sofia).
  • Boeing 707-320C, 727, 737-200 and 737-300, 747-100 and 747-200F, 767-300ER.
  • Douglas DC-3, DC-4, DC-6B, DC-8 (series 50, 50F and 63CF).
  • Lockheed L-1649 Starliner and L-1011 TriStar.
  • McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, MD-11 and MD-81.
  • Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle 10R and 11R.
  • Convair 990.

Some typical fleets :

  • 1975 : 3 Caravelles, 1 DC-3, 5 DC-8s and 1 DC-10-30.
  • 1980 : 2 Caravelle 10Rs, 3 DC-8-50s, 2 DC-8-50Fs, 1 DC-8-63 and 3 DC-10-30s.
  • 1990 : 3 A300B4s, 1 DC-8-63F and 3 DC-10-30s.
  • 2000 : 1 An-12, 2 A300-600Rs, 3 A300B4-200s, 2 A310-300s, 2 Boeing 707-320Cs, 5 Boeing 737-300s and 1 Boeing 767-300ER, with two Airbus A330-200s on order.

Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network, Air Afrique suffered seven accidents and incidents, two of which caused fatalities.

  • 3 May 1963 : Douglas DC-6B F-BIAO, flying from Douala to Lagos, struck Mount Cameroon after flying too low on a prohibited route. All 55 people on board were killed. It was the first hull loss and the deadliest accident of the company.
  • 28 February 1971 : Douglas C-54A TT-DAA, on a cargo flight, crashed short of the runway at Fort-Archambault (Sarh, Chad) after the pilot misjudged the height of the aircraft.
  • 24 July 1987 : DC-10-30 flight 056 from Brazzaville to Paris via Rome, with 148 passengers and 15 crew, was hijacked over Milan by a Lebanese man, Hussein Ali Mohammed Hariri. During a refuelling stop at Geneva the hijacker shot dead a French passenger and wounded a steward, before the aircraft was stormed by the Swiss police.

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