Comair (South Africa)
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| Comair | ||
|---|---|---|
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| IATA MN |
ICAO CAW |
Callsign COMMERCIAL |
| Founded | 1946 (as Commercial Air Services) | |
| Hubs | OR Tambo International Airport | |
| Focus cities | Cape Town International Airport, Durban International Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Executive Club | |
| Member lounge | Terraces Lounge | |
| Alliance | Oneworld | |
| Fleet size | 15 | |
| Destinations | 8 | |
| Headquarters | Johannesburg, South Africa | |
| Key people | ||
| Website: http://www.comair.co.za/ | ||
Comair is an airline based in South Africa. It operates scheduled services on domestic trunk routes as a British Airways franchisee and an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. Its main base is OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, with hubs at Cape Town International Airport and Durban International Airport[1].
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[edit] History
The airline was established and started operations on 14 July 1946 as Commercial Air Services. It was founded by Second World War South African Air Force colleagues AC Joubert, JMS Martin, L Zimmerman and JD Human. Scheduled services between Rand Airport, Johannesburg and Durban began in 1948, using a Cessna Model 195.
The airline grew over the next decades, to the point where it was able to start service on major domestic routes in 1992, using Boeing 737-200 aircraft. In addition to domestic flights to destinations such as Cape Town and Durban, it also offered a few international flights in Southern Africa, e.g. to Gaborone and Harare.
A franchise agreement with British Airways was signed in 1996 and in early 2000 British Airways acquired a minority holding. It was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in July 1998. The airline is owned by the management (25%), institutions and public (52%), British Airways (18%) and employees (5%) and has 1,447 employees (at March 2007)[1].
In 2001 Kulula.com was set up. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comair and was set up as a low-cost airline.
On 6/09/2007 Comair extended its franchise agreement with British Airways for a further 11 years [2]
[edit] Destinations
Comair serves the following destinations (at June 2008)[1] :
- Domestic scheduled destinations: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.
- Regional scheduled destinations: Harare, Livingstone, Mauritius, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.
[edit] Fleet
The Comair fleet includes the following aircraft (at 9 June 2008):
- 5 Boeing 737-200
- 9 Boeing 737-300
- 6 Boeing 737-400
- 1 Boeing 737-800 (which is operated by transavia.com)
Comair has announced that it will be considering replacing its entire fleet from 2010 onwards with an order of 12 Boeing 737-700 (replacing B737-200 and -300) and 12 Boeing 737-800 (replacing B737-400 and Kulula.com MD-82) being discussed.[citation needed]
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- 1 March 1988: Comair Flight 206, using an Embraer 110 Bandeirante, crashed in Johannesburg, killing all 17 occupants.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, p. 67.
- ^ business.iafrica.com | business news Comair to stay with British Airways
- ^ "Accident Synopsis » 03011988," Airdisaster.com
[edit] External links
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