Africa World Airlines

Africa World Airlines Limited (AWA) is a Ghanaian airline company with its head office in Accra, Ghana,[5] and its main hub at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.

Africa World Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
AW AFW BLACKSTAR
Founded2010
Commenced operations21 September 2012
Operating basesKotoka International Airport
Fleet size8
Destinations11
Parent companyHNA Group
HeadquartersAccra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Key peopleTogbe Afede XIV (Founder)[1]
Michael Cheng Luo (CEO)[2]
Sean Mendis (COO)[3]
Employees381 (2020)[4]
Websiteflyafricaworld.com

It is the largest airline in Ghana with over 600,000 passengers transported in 2019, accounting for 68% of domestic passengers and 20% of all air passengers in the country.[6] The airline has been consistently profitable since 2014. [7][8]

History

Africa World Airlines was incorporated in 2010 and commenced domestic flights in 2012. It is a joint venture between Ghanaian shareholders SAS Finance Group and SSNIT, with minority shareholdings also by both HNA Group and China-Africa Development Fund via Zhongjia Investments of China. [9][10][11]

International flights to Nigeria commenced in 2015, and the airline was the largest international carrier operating to Nigeria by 2019 with 200 monthly frequencies to both Lagos and Abuja. [12] AWA had consolidated its position as the premier airline in Anglophone West Africa by February 2021 with its dominance of the Nigerian regional travel market. [13]

AWA became a full member of IATA in October 2017,[14] and has maintained an active IOSA safety audit registration since 2015.[15] It is the only airline operator in Ghana to maintain IOSA registration. [16]

AWA suspended passenger operations in April 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19 in Ghana, but resumed domestic passengers operations the following month.[17][18] The airline continued to operate humanitarian flights to repatriate Ghanaians stranded abroad during the period of closed borders,[19] and began a phased resumption of international flights from September 2020.[20]

Fleet

Current fleet
Africa World Airlines ERJ-145s parked in Accra.

The Africa World Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of September 2020):[21] [22]

Africa World Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Service Passengers
B E Total
Embraer ERJ-145LR 8 0 50 50[23]
Total
8

Fleet development

Africa World Airlines took delivery on 30 August 2012 of its first Embraer 145 aircraft that was used to operate domestic routes. .[24] A second aircraft was delivered on 8 September 2012.[25] The airline added a third aircraft in 2013 and a further five aircraft between 2016 and 2019. All these aircraft were previously operated by Tianjin Airlines which is a sister company within the HNA Group.[26]

Destinations
An Africa World Airlines ERJ-145LR at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja

Africa World Airlines operated the following scheduled services as of January 2021.[27] [28]


Country City Airport Notes Refs
Cote D'IvoireAbidjanFélix-Houphouët-Boigny International AirportSuspended
GhanaAccraKotoka International AirportHub
HoHo AirportStarts April 2021[29]
KumasiKumasi Airport
TakoradiTakoradi Airport
TamaleTamale Airport
WaWa AirportSuspended
LiberiaMonroviaRoberts International Airport
NigeriaAbujaNnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
LagosMurtala Muhammed International Airport
Sierra LeoneFreetownLungi International Airport

Partnerships

In 2019, AWA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South African Airways to jointly pursue opportunities in West Africa, including a system-wide codeshare agreement and other commercial partnerships.[30] The codeshare went into effect in October 2019.[31]

The airline also announced an interline partnership with Emirates to provide domestic and regional feed to their flights at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.[32]

AWA also signed a tripartite partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and ASKY to offer seamless travel within the West African region.[33]

In October 2019, AWA and Brussels Airlines concluded an interline partnership to connect passengers through their joint networks.[34]

AWA and Air Burkina announced in January 2020 that they had concluded a partnership for passengers to connect from Ouagadougou through Accra to Lagos, Abuja and Abidjan.[35]

Africa World Airlines and Cabo Verde Airlines also announced a partnership effective from February 2020 to improve connectivity in West Africa between their respective networks.[36]

Awards and recognition

Africa World Airlines has been recognised as "Domestic Airline of the Year" in Ghana for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.[37][38]

In September 2019, the airline was inducted into the CIMG Hall of Fame after being voted the winner in the "Domestic Airline of the Year" category for five consecutive years.[39]

In October 2019, Africa World Airlines received the 2019 AviaTour award for "Best Passenger Experience".[40]

Africa World Airlines was also recognised as "Best Airline in West Africa" for 2019 by the Balafon Travel Awards being held during the Accra Weizo 2019 travel conference and exhibition.[41]

In December 2019, the prestigious Routes Africa Awards honored the airline with the Airline Excellence Award for "Innovation and Capacity Growth" in recognition for AWA's steady growth and creative marketing.[42]

In 2019 the company picked up the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Hall of Fame Award in the Elite Category under 10 years.[43]

AWA also received recognition and commendation from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Jair Bolsonaro in July 2020, for assisting with the repatriation of Brazilian citizens from 7 countries in West Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. [44] [45]



References
  1. "Togbe Afede's Airline Takes Delivery of Second Aircraft". www.ghanaweb.com.
  2. "Africa World Airlines re-appoints Michael Cheng Luo as CEO". centreforaviation.com.
  3. "Africa World Airlines - Local, Reliable Talent". Business Focus.
  4. https://www.flyafricaworld.com/about/
  5. "Contact Us". Africa World Airlines. April 16, 2020.
  6. "Traffic Statistics". Ghana Airports Company Limited. January 16, 2021.
  7. "HNA's Africa World Airlines helps the Ghanaian government". PR Newswire. April 8, 2020.
  8. "Africa World Airlines will be West Africa's leading carrier". Anna.aero. November 5, 2019.
  9. "Hainan Airlines, Africa World Airlines launch JV". Air Transport World.
  10. "HNA Group and Africa World Airlines sign Joint Venture Agreement". Bravia Capital. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  11. "Africa World Airlines - World Airline News". World Airline News.
  12. "Mendis confident in post-virus world". African Aerospace. September 7, 2020.
  13. "Nigeria loses West African air travel market to Ghanaian carrier". This Day (Nigeria). January 29, 2021.
  14. "IATA presents certificate to Africa World Airlines". Ghana News Agency. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  15. "IOSA - Africa World Airlines". IATA.org. May 19, 2019.
  16. "IATA Team visits AWA". Twitter (@flyAfricaWorld). December 14, 2018.
  17. https://www.gh-aviation.com/11/527/africa-world-airlines-to-suspend-all-flights-by-monday-due-to-covid-19-pandemic
  18. https://twitter.com/flyafricaworld/status/1252007780606775296
  19. https://www.flyafricaworld.com/2020/04/bringing-ghanaians-home/
  20. https://www.afritraveller.com/post/africa-world-airlines-to-resume-international-operations
  21. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 15.
  22. "Africa World Airlines Fleet". AirFleets.
  23. "Africa World Airlines on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  24. "Africa World Airlines First Aircraft Lands". The Ghanaian Times.
  25. "9G-AEU Africa World Airlines". JetPhotos.net. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  26. "Africa World Airlines Finalizing Launch Plans for ERJ-145". CH Aviation.
  27. "Africa World plans low cost services in Ghana". Flightglobal.com.
  28. "Africa World Airline To Take Off, September". Ghana News Agency.
  29. https://citinewsroom.com/2021/01/africa-world-airlines-to-begin-flights-to-ho-airport-for-ghs99-by-end-of-april-2021/
  30. "Africa World Airlines signs agreement with South African Airways". Ghana News Agency.
  31. "Africa World Airlines and South African Airways Unveil New Codeshare Agreement". Aviation Tribune.
  32. "Interline agreement between Emirates Airline, Africa World Airlines". WAM - The Emirates News Agency.
  33. "AWA, ASKY, Ethiopian Airlines partner to bring seamless travel to Ghanaians". www.myjoyonline.com.
  34. "Africa World and Brussels Airlines interline to provide seamless travel for passengers". Voyages Afriq. October 8, 2019.
  35. "Africa World Airlines and Air Burkina announce Interline Partnership". GH-Aviation.
  36. Drum, Bruce (January 30, 2020). "Cabo Verde Airlines and Africa World Airlines improve air connections in West Africa".
  37. "Africa World Airlines wins 'CIMG Domestic Airline of The Year 2016'". www.ghanaweb.com.
  38. "McDan Group, Internet Solutions bosses win CIMG Marketing Man, Woman of the year". www.myjoyonline.com.
  39. "AWA inducted into CIMG Hall of Fame". ghananewsagency.org.
  40. "Aviation: Africa World Airlines Bags Best Passenger Experience Award | ATQ News". www.atqnews.com.
  41. "Africa World Airlines Limited on LinkedIn: #airlines #travel #tourism | 21 comments". www.linkedin.com.
  42. "Cape Town Air Access named the Overall Winner for second year runningin the Routes Africa 2019 Awards". Modern Ghana.
  43. "List of winners at CIMG Awards 2019". MyJoyOnline.com. 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  44. "Africa World ERJ145s Repatriate Brazilians". Embraer Commercial Aviation. 2020-07-24.
  45. "Foram repatriadas 130 pessoas na África Ocidental". Twitter (@JairBolsonaro) (in Portuguese). 2020-07-23.
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