Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation

Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA; African Aviation Company), marketed as flyCAA, is a regional airline from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa.[2] It offers an extensive network of domestic scheduled passenger flights,[3] as well as cargo flights. Due to safety and security concerns, CAA has been included in the list of air carriers banned in the European Union,[4] along with many other airlines from the Congo.

Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation
IATA ICAO Callsign
BU FPY AFRICOMPANY[1]
Founded1991
Operating basesN'djili Airport
Focus citiesLubumbashi Int'l Airport
Fleet size7
Destinations20
HeadquartersKinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Key peopleDavid and Daniel Blattner
Websitewww.caacongo.com

History
The former CAA logo

Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA) was founded in February 1991 by David and Daniel Blattner as an air taxi company, initially operating a single Grumman Gulfstream I. More Gulfstreams were added to the fleet, as well as Convair 580, Antonov An-26 and Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft as the company moved from air taxi to passenger and cargo services. In 2005 two ex-Spirit Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-81 aircraft were acquired, followed by two McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft in 2008. In 2009 a Fokker 50 was acquired and eventually a further four Fokker 50s joined the fleet. The McDonnell Douglas aircraft were eventually disposed of and replaced with Airbus A320 aircraft.[5]

In 2012 CAA formed a commercial and strategic alliance with rival FlyCongo which led to consolidation into a single brand, flyCAA, in October 2012. The aircraft inherited from FlyCongo, three McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and a Boeing 767-200, were phased out.[5]

In January 2016, the airline terminated their only international route to Johannesburg after failing to receive renewed traffic rights.[6]

In 2020, the airline acquired an Airbus A330-200 with the stated intention of flying to Brussels, which under current European Union restrictions would require CAA to operate the service using foreign registration and crew.[7]

Destinations

According to the August 2013 timetable, CAA operates scheduled flights to the following destinations:[8]

City State Airport
Beni DR Congo Beni Airport
Boende DR Congo Boende Airport
Bukavu DR Congo Kavumu Airport
Bumba DR Congo Bumba Airport
Bunia DR Congo Bunia Airport
Gemena DR Congo Gemena Airport
Goma DR Congo Goma International Airport
Isiro DR Congo Matari Airport
Kalemie DR Congo Kalemie Airport
Kananga DR Congo Kananga Airport
Kindu DR Congo Kindu Airport
Kinshasa DR Congo N'djili Airport (base)
Kisangani DR Congo Bangoka International Airport
Kongolo DR Congo Kongolo Airport
Lisala DR Congo Lisala Airport
Lodja DR Congo Lodja Airport
Lubumbashi DR Congo Lubumbashi International Airport (focus city)[3]
Mbandaka DR Congo Mbandaka Airport
Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo Mbuji Mayi Airport
Tshikapa DR Congo Tshikapa Airport

Fleet

Current fleet
A CAA Fokker 50 at Goma International Airport (2010)

The FlyCAA fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):[9]

FlyCAA fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A330-200 1 — 406
ATR 72-500 2 — 70
Fokker 50 4 — 50
Total 7 —

Former fleet
An Airbus A320 at Montpellier – Méditerranée Airport, France, being prepared for delivery to CAA (2011)
A CAA McDonnell Douglas MD-81 approaching N'Djili Airport (2006)
A former CAA BAC One-Eleven at Mbuji Mayi Airport (2008). The depicted aircraft (9Q-CDY) had been wet-leased.[1]
A former CAA Boeing 727 freighter aircraft landing at Goma International Airport (2006)

Over the years, the following aircraft types were operated:

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired
Airbus A320-200
2010
2016
1 Airbus A321-200[10]
2016
2016
Antonov An-26
Antonov An-32
Boeing 727
Convair CV-580
1993
Fokker 50
2009[5]
active
Fokker 100
2011
2015
Ilyushin Il-18
McDonnell Douglas MD-81
2005[5]
2010
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
2008[5]
2010

A Douglas DC-8 had been purchased by CAA and painted in its colors but was never delivered and eventually scrapped at Johannesburg International Airport.

Accidents and incidents

The only fatal accident involving an aircraft of Compagnie d'Aviation Africaine occurred on 4 March 2013, when a Fokker 50 (registered 9Q-CBD) crashed near Goma International Airport. Of the nine people who had been on the flight from Lodja, six were killed.[11] There were however a number of non-fatal incidents which resulted in CAA aircraft being damaged beyond repair:

  • On 1 April 1997, a Convair CV-580 (registered 9Q-CRU) was destroyed at Tshikapa Airport when it overshot the runway and hit an embankment following a failed take-off abortion. There were fourteen occupants on board the scheduled flight to Mbuji-Mayi.[12]
  • On 18 November 1999, another CV-580 (registered 9Q-CEJ) had to be written off following an off-airport emergency landing near Tshikapa due to an engine failure that had been encountered shortly into the flight to Kananga.[13]
  • On 19 November 2009, Flight 3711 from Kinshasa overran the runway upon landing at Goma Airport. Of the 117 occupants on board the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 registered 9Q-CAB, around 20 were injured.[14]
  • On 2 January 2010, a cargo-configured Boeing 727 (registered 9Q-CAA) veered off the runway during an emergency landing attempt in heavy rain at N'djili Airport. Previously, the pilots had reported a loss of hydraulic pressure.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Information about Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation at rzjets.net". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. "AeroTransport Data Bank". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. "Great Circle Mapper". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. EU Mobility and Transport, List of airlines banned within the EU, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/search_en.htm
  5. "Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation". Airliner World: 32–36. February 2015.
  6. ch-aviation.com - Congo's flyCAA ends international flights 8 January 2016
  7. https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/compagnie-africaine-daviation-caa/compagnie-africaine-daviation-mulls-flights-from-kinshasa-to-brussels/
  8. "Timetable (6 August 2013)" (PDF). Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  9. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 12.
  10. "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 12.
  11. Harro Ranter (4 March 2013). "ASN Aircraft accident Fokker 50 9Q-CBD Goma Airport (GOM)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  12. Harro Ranter (1 April 1997). "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 9Q-CRU Tshikapa Airport (TSH)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  13. Harro Ranter (18 November 1999). "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 9Q-CEJ Tshikapa". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  14. Harro Ranter (19 November 2009). "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) 9Q-CAB Goma Airport (GOM)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  15. Harro Ranter (2 January 2010). "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-231F Super 27 9Q-CAA Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH)". Retrieved 6 June 2015.

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