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| Air Zimbabwe |
Air Zimbabwe is the national airline of Zimbabwe, headquartered at Harare International Airport in Harare. It operates services in southern Africa, Asia and to London Gatwick Airport. Its main base is Harare International Airport. The company is a member of the African Airlines Association. Air Zimbabwe is currently ranked as a two-star airline by Skytrax.
History
Air Zimbabwe formally came into being on 1 September 1967, when the Government of Rhodesia created Air Rhodesia Corporation in order to succeed Air Rhodesia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Central African Airways Corporation (CAAC) that was established in 1964 to operate domestic services within Rhodesia. Air Rhodesia actually inherited CAAC operations following its dissolution at the end of 1967. It became the short-lived Air Zimbabwe Rhodesia in June 1979, and finally Air Zimbabwe in April 1980 when the Republic of Zimbabwe was formed. The carrier began scheduled services on 2 April 1980 to London-Gatwick.
In May 1982 the Government directed Air Zimbabwe and the national freighter airline Affretair to merge their operations. In July 1983 the freighter company was taken over by Air Zimbabwe.
In 2003, it was reported that Air Zimbabwe had been struggling financially and at the mercy of local and international banks. In February 2004, it was reported that Air Zimbabwe had been temporarily suspended by IATA over unpaid debts. As the Chinese–Zimbabwean economical ties increased, a Harare–Beijing service was launched in November 2004. In April 2006, it was reported that passenger numbers had fallen from 1 million in 1999 to 230,000 in 2005. Acting chief executive Captain Oscar Madombwe blamed the decline on negative publicity about the political and economic situation in the country, safety concerns among travellers which he said were unjustified because the airline had an impeccable safety record, and shortages of hard currency, new equipment and fuel.
In late October 2006, prices on Air Zimbabwe flights rose 500% due to inflation increasing to over 1,000%. The Zimbabwean Central Bank said at that time it could not continue supporting Air Zimbabwe and other money-losing state companies. The airline increased its domestic and international fares between 200% and 500% in an apparent attempt to stay solvent. Prices are reported by the airline to have increased due to the need to pay for fuel, spare parts, and catering with foreign currency, which is in short supply.
The carrier added Kuala Lumpur into its network in 2009. It was informed in February 2011 that the airline suspended its flights to Johannesburg over likely impoundments of its planes by creditors due to unpaid debts.
A capacity boost was disclosed to occur on the Harare–London-Gatwick route effective 1 April 2011. The Harare–London route was once served by both British Airways and Air Zimbabwe; it has become one of the most lucrative routes for Air Zimbabwe since British Airways discontinued the service in 2007.
The initial fleet of five Boeing 707 sourced from Lufthansa replaced the Boeing 720 aircraft used by Air Rhodesia. These 707s joined the Vickers Viscount fleet, which was added to with the purchase of two Viscounts from the UK operator Dan Air. Three Boeing 737 aircraft were ordered from Boeing in the mid 1980s to enhance regional routes. Long haul operations that were once operated with the 707s were gradually shifted to the newly acquired Boeing 767-200ER equipment; the first of them entered the fleet in late 1989. A British Aerospace BAe 146 was added to the fleet from the air force in the 1980s. Leased Fokker 50s were used from 1995 but proved unsuitable to the hot and high conditions and were returned to the lessor. The BAe 146 has been subsequently grounded.
In 2005 the airline leased two MA-60 turboprops from China, which were later supplemented by a third donated example in 2006, to operate domestic and short regional routes.
It was announced in 2006 that the Zimbabwean Government had ordered 5 Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft (2 passenger and 3 freighter versions) from Russia, in order to replace the company's ageing Boeing 767 long-haul fleet. After talks with Russian authorities, the order was cancelled. Likewise, in late 2010 the airline announced it had ordered two Airbus A340-500s to serve both the Harare–Beijing and the Harare–London routes; the order was later cancelled after the company failed to raise the money.