Compagnie Nationale Air Guinée,in its latter years known asAir Guinee Express,was anairlinebased inConakry,Guinea.Its main base wasConakry International Airport.[1]
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| Founded | 1960 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2002 | ||||||
| Hubs | Conakry International Airport,Guinea | ||||||
| Headquarters | Conakry,Guinea | ||||||
| Website | mirinet /AirGuinee/ | ||||||
Air Guinée was thenational airlineofGuinea;it had its head office inKaloum,Conakry.[2]Founded in 1960, the company was privatised in 1992, and was eventually dissolved in 2002; remaining portions of the business continued as Air Guinee Express, which operated domestic services.
Code data for Air Guinee Express
editHistory
editAir Guinee
editWhen the idea ofAir Afriquewas being mooted,GuineaandMaliopted not to join the consortium with other, mainlyFrench West African,nations, and instead chose to form their ownnational airlines.In March 1960 theGuinean governmentsigned a series of agreements with theSoviet Union,one of which provided for the supply of aircraft, crews and other technical assistance, ostensibly aimed at upgradingConakry's airport.[3]The company was founded by decree N°048/PRG/ on 31 December 1960,[4]with technical support from the Soviets, who also supplied an aircraft: anIlyushin Il-14.The aircraft originated fromCzechoslovakiaand was crewed by Czechoslovakian crews. Operations began before the end of the year, with flights fromConakrytoBokéandKankan,both of which had previously been operated byUnion Aéromaritime de Transport.Service toBamakocommenced shortly afterwards, and the route was shared between Air Guinée, UAT andAir France.In April 1961, Air Guinée wasnationalised.[3]
Over the years services toDakar,FreetownandMonroviawere started, with plans to serviceParisandMoscowalso raised; however, these services were not implemented because Guinea failed to obtain traffic rights toFrance.Before the relationship between Air Guinée and the Soviets concluded in 1963, the airline had obtained oneYakovlev Yak-40,fourAntonov An-24sand twoAntonov An-12s.In December 1962 Air Guinée signed a contract withAlaska Airlineswhich saw the American airline providing management expertise, in addition to twoDouglas DC-6s.The deal would have seen Alaska Airlines contracting with the airline over a seven-year period; however, the contract ended after only six months, leading to theUnited States Agency for International Developmentpaying aUS$700,000 debt owed by the Guinean airline to Alaska Airlines.[3]
Services from Conakry to Dakar with the Il-18 were inaugurated on 24 August 1962, and the route was later extended toLagosviaMonrovia,AbidjanandAccra.The Il-18 was later replaced by twoDouglas DC-4swhich were purchased from Alaska Airlines, and the airline also obtained fourLASA-60s.By mid-1963 the Air Guinée fleet comprised sixAvia-14s,threeIlyushin Il-18s,twoDouglas DC-4s,twoLASA-60s,oneAero 145,oneMil Mi-14helicopter, fiveYakovlev Yak-18s,threeAntonov An-2sand one Yodel.[3]
In 1965Pan American World Airwayswas contracted to provide technical personnel and a DC-4 for the airlines' use; however, the agreement did not last for long, and the Soviets returned to the airline, supplying anAntonov An-24for delivery in 1966-1967.[3]In December 1965, the airline temporarily suspended operations as only one route was showing a profit, and the aircraft were suffering frequent breakdowns.[5]On 9 July 1967 one of the airline's Il-18s was written off in an accident atCasablanca.The aircraft was on a scheduled flight toPraguewhen due to bad weather it was diverted to Casablanca. On landing, its left wing hit a building, causing the aircraft to crash into "rough ground". There were no fatalities amongst the 102 occupants on board, but the aircraft had to be written off.[6]
In the 1970s the fleet was expanded with the addition of oneBoeing 707,oneBoeing 727-100and oneBoeing 737-200.An Air Guinée Il-18 crashed at Conakry on 3 September 1978, killing 15 of the 17 on board.[3]
In 1985 anAirbus A300was delivered to the airline in order to allow it to commence services toParisandBrussels.By the early 1990s, Air Guinée operated domestic services from Conakry toBoké,Faranah,Kankan,Kissidougou,Labé,Macenta,SiguiriandNzérékoré,and international flights to Abidjan, Bamako, Dakar, Freetown, Lagos and Monrovia.[3]
By the late 1980s, the airline had cost the country someUS$4 million and had no prospects for turning a profit for its shareholder, the Guinean government.
Privatisation
editThe company was privatised in 1992, and was eventually dissolved in 2002.[7]Its operations were taken over by Groupe Futurelec and the airline rebranded as Air Guinée Express.[1]
Destinations
editAir Guinee Express operated services to the following international scheduled destinations (at January 2005):Abidjan,Bamako,Banjul,Dakar,Freetown,KinshasaandLagos.
Fleet
editThe Air Guinee Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at March 2007):[1]
- 4Antonov An-12
- 4Antonov An-24B (including at least 1Xi'an Y7-100
- 1Bombardier Dash 7 Seris 100
Previously operated
editAt June 2005 the airline also operated:[citation needed]
- 1Boeing 737-200delivered in 2003.
Incidents and accidents
edit
- On 11 August 2004 a Boeing 737-200, registration 3X-GCM, failed to take off from Freetown -Lungi International Airport(Sierra Leone). There were no fatalities among the 127 passengers and crew members. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off; the wreckage can still be seen resting next to the runway.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcFlight International27 March 2007
- ^"Bienvenue."Air Guinée. Retrieved on 26 February 2010.
- ^abcdefgGuttery, Ben R. (1998).Encyclopedia of African airlines.New York City, New York: Ben R. Guttery. pp. 78–79.ISBN0-7864-0495-7.
- ^"Historique"(in French). Air Guinée. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2008.Retrieved15 January2010.
- ^"Guinea: A Reason to Worry".Time.7 January 1966. Archived fromthe originalon June 23, 2008.Retrieved15 January2010.
- ^"Accident description".Aviation Safety Network.Retrieved15 January2010.
- ^O'Toole, Thomas; Baker, Janice E. (2005).Historical dictionary of Guinea(4 ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 13.ISBN0-8108-4634-9.Retrieved15 January2010.
External links
edit
- Air Guinee Express Fleet DetailArchived2007-03-12 at theWayback Machine
- (in French)Air Guinée official website(Archive)
