Zambia Airways

Zambia Airways Corporation was the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia.

History

Zambia Airways was founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of Central African Airways. The original fleet consisted of two Douglas DC-3 and three DHC-2 Beaver. By 1967 Zambia Airways had become independent of Central African Airways and acquired a pair of BAC 1-11-207s and a couple of HS.748s. They 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. In 1975 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-10. This was the only widebody used by Zambia Airways and 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", was reportedly 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. The author James Ferguson, in his book about Zambian society, also recalls services to Belgrade and Larnaca.

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. In 1992, the government reportedly indicated that the airline would be responsible for its own debt services and had to operating expenses from its own revenues. Under this directive and in a worsening economic climate, the airline very quickly scaled back both domestically and internationally, and was liquidated in 1995.

The carrier Zambian Airways, which in 2007 was the only Zambian airline flying scheduled routes, is unrelated and was derived from the privatised Mines Air Services Limited.

Code Data

* Former IATA Code: QZ
* Former ICAO Code: ZAC
* Former Callsign: ZAMBIA

Historical Fleet

*2 - Douglas DC-3
*3 - DHC-2 Beaver
*2 - BAC 1-11-207s original delivery to Central African Airways
*2 - HS.748s original delivery to Air Botswana
*2 - Boeing 707-338(C) original delivery to QANTAS
*2 - Boeing 707-321(C) original delivery to Pan American Airways
*1 - Boeing 707-351(C) original delivery to Northwest Airlines
*2 - Boeing 707-349(C) original delivery to Flying Tigers
*1 - Boeing 707-348(C) original delivery to Aer Lingus
*1 - Boeing 707-336(B) original delivery to Isleña de Aviación
*1 - Douglas DC-8-43 from Alitalia
*1 - Douglas DC-8-54F from Alitalia
*1 - Douglas DC-8-62CF from Alitalia
*1 - Douglas DC-8-71 original delivery to Japan Airlines
*0 - Boeing 737-2M9original delivery to Zambia Airways
*1 - Boeing 737-291 original delivery to Frontier Airlines
*1 - Boeing 737-248 original delivery to Aer Lingus
*1 - Douglas DC-10-30 original delivery to Zambia Airways
*1 - Douglas DC-10-30(F) original delivery to Lufthansa
*1 - Douglas DC-10-30(C)F original delivery to SABENA
*2 - ATR 42-312 original delivery to Zambia Airways
*1 - Boeing 757-23A(PF) original delivery to Zambia Airways

Accident and Incidents

* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19781117-0 HS.748 accident 1978]
* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19830704-0 HS.748 accident 1983]

External links

* [http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/qz.htm Contemporary timetable images]
* [http://www.al-airliners.be/t-z/zambia/zambia.htm In Memoriam]
* [http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/zm/zambia.htm AirTimes timetables]