Gandhara Airways: Difference between revisions
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| airline = Gandhara Airways<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ar|nocat=true|خطوط غندارى الجوية}}}}<br>{{small|''Khuṭūṭ Gāndhārī al-Jawwiyyah''}} | | airline = Gandhara Airways<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ar|nocat=true|خطوط غندارى الجوية}}}}<br>{{small|''Khuṭūṭ Gāndhārī al-Jawwiyyah''}} | ||
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* [[Wikipedia:Flag carrier#List of flag-carrying airlines|List of flag-carrying airlines]] | * [[Wikipedia:Flag carrier#List of flag-carrying airlines|List of flag-carrying airlines]] | ||
[[Category:Gandhara Airways]] | |||
[[Category:Gandhara]] | [[Category:Gandhara]] | ||
[[Category:Airlines of Gandhara]] | [[Category:Airlines of Gandhara]] | ||
[[Category:Companies based in Rhea]] | [[Category:Companies based in Rhea]] |
Revision as of 17:09, 17 August 2019
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Founded | 31 January 1936 | ||||||
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Hubs | Rhea International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Sky Rewards | ||||||
Subsidiaries | Air Nura | ||||||
Fleet size | 164 | ||||||
Destinations | 165 | ||||||
Company slogan | Explore Your World | ||||||
Headquarters | Rhea, Gandhara | ||||||
Key people | Leila Hayek (Chairwoman & CEO) | ||||||
Revenue | GAD 12.97 billion (2018) | ||||||
Operating income | GAD 1.141 billion (2018) | ||||||
Employees | 32,767 (2018) |
Gandhara Airways (Arabic: خطوط غندارى الجوية, Khuṭūṭ Gāndhārī al-Jawwiyyah), legally Gandhara Airways S.A.M., is the flag carrier airline of Gandhara. Headquartered in Rhea, the airline operates domestic and international passenger and cargo services, mainly from its hub at Rhea International Airport.
History
Early years
On 31 January 1936, the company Airwork opened a new airline in Gandhara, named Gandhara Airwork. The ownership was split between the Gandhari Monetary Agency (52%), Airwork (40%), and private Gandhari investors (8%). Exclusivity of air transport operations was granted to the new company by the government, and the airline commenced operations in June 1936 with daily flights between Rhea and Port Eden, using de Havilland D.H.86 aircraft. A division of Gandhara Airwork, named Gandhara Airlines, was established in 1937.
In 1951, Gandhara Airwork was acquired by the Gandhari government. When the state of Gandhara became the sole shareholder, Gandhara Airwork and Gandhara Airlines were merged to form a new company named Gandhara Airways. The airline became a subsidiairy of the state-owned holding company Gandhara Aviation Group in 1978, when the Gandhari government decided to bring all aviation services under one umbrella. As Gandhara Airways, the company grew and became one of the largest airlines of Outernatia.
1990s
Despite being a state-owned company, the airline was self-financing without any financial backing by the Gandhari government. During the 1990s, the demand for privatisation grew both within the company and across the Gandhari aviation industry. The demand from Gandhara Airways was based on the philosophy of minimum governance and the belief that privatisation would have a positive effect on operational efficiency, making the airline more competitive. Privatision of Gandhara Airways could also increase competition in the aviation market, which in turn would improve the quality of services and lower the ticket prices.
The privatisation process of Gandhara Airways began in 1998, when the Gandhara Aviation Group sold 20% of the shares with plans to reduce its stake in the airline further to 36% in the future. New legislation was approved by the Parliament of Gandhara to ensure that the airline continues to be majority-owned by Gandhari shareholders. The new law gave the airline the right to buy back shares, if foreign ownership would rise above 40%. From 45%, the airline was given the right to issue new shares without offering existing shareholders first refusal. If foreign ownership exceeds 50%, the law allows the company to force shareholders to sell shares at their original purchase price, or to declare the shares void.
2000s
After taking an initial stake in Air Nura in 1996, Gandhara Airways assumed complete ownership of the low-cost airline in 2004.
Destinations
As of June 2019, Gandhara Airways serves 165 destinations: 27 domestic destinations (plus 4 destinations in Asabiya and 3 in Diyafa), and 131 international destinations across Aurora, Internatia, and Outernatia.
Gandhara Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Fleet
Gandhara Airways operates a fleet composed of narrow-body, wide-body, and cargo aircraft from six aircraft families: Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A350 XWB, Boeing 747, and Boeing 777.
As of June 2019, the Gandhara Airways fleet (excluding its subsidiary Air Nura) consists of the following aircraft:
Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | W | Y | Total | ||||
Airbus A220-100 | 4 | 6 | 8 | — | 100 | 108 | |
Airbus A220-300 | 6 | 19 | 12 | — | 118 | 130 | |
Airbus A320-200 | 30 | — | 12 | — | 138 | 150 | Older aircraft to be replaced by Airbus A320neo. |
Airbus A320neo | 4 | 43 | 12 | — | 138 | 150 | Deliveries until 2021. |
Airbus A321-200 | 24 | — | 16 | — | 169 | 185 | |
Airbus A321neo | 5 | 7 | 16 | — | 169 | 185 | Deliveries until 2020. |
Airbus A330-200 | 15 | — | 31 | 21 | 183 | 235 | |
Airbus A350-900 | 3 | 17 | 38 | 28 | 214 | 280 | Deliveries until 2020. |
Airbus A350-1000 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 32 | 256 | 334 | Deliveries until 2020. Outernatian launch customer. |
Boeing 747-8I | 20 | — | 56 | 32 | 288 | 376 | Largest Boeing 747-8I operator. |
Boeing 777-200ER | 17 | — | 40 | 24 | 216 | 280 | |
Boeing 777-300ER | 19 | — | 40 | 32 | 296 | 368 | |
Gandhara Airways Cargo fleet | |||||||
Airbus A330-200F | 6 | — | Cargo | ||||
Boeing 747-400ERF | 3 | — | Cargo | ||||
Total | 164 | 110 |
Cabin
Gandhara Airways offers three cabin classes on board their wide-body aircraft for international long-haul routes: Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class. Narrow-body aircraft for short-haul and medium-haul flights have Business Class and Economy Class seats. The airline has made efforts to uniform their fleet and offer the same type of seats across different aircraft models. Many aircraft received new interior. Originally, the airline offered First Class seating on board most of their wide-body aircraft, but as Business Class seats evolved and became more private with a better level of service, the need for First Class suites went down.
Business Class
Gandhara Airways has two types of Business Class seats, for wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. The Business Class on wide-body aircraft features reverse herringbone seats designed by Porsche Design in a 1-2-1 configuration, except on the upper deck of the Boeing 747-8I, where the seats are arranged in a 1-1 configuration. Each seat has direct aisle access and converts into a fully flat bed with a length of 82 inches (210 cm). The seats have a width of up to 21 inches (53 cm), with an HD personal television and additional enclosed storage space on the side.
On narrow-body aircraft, Business Class seating is in a 2-2 abreast arrangement. The seats have a pitch of 36 inches (91 cm) or 38 inches (97 cm) and are 21 inches (53 cm) wide.
Loyalty program
Sky Rewards is the frequent-flyer program of Gandhara Airways. Membership into the program is free. Within the Sky Rewards program, miles can be earned by taking flights with Gandhara Airways, Air Nura, and Lost Islands Airways. The amount of earned miles is determined by the ticket fare, class of service, and membership tier. There are four membership tiers: blue, silver, gold, and platinum. The membership tier depends on the number of flights being taken between 1 January and 31 December each year.
Miles can be redeemed for free tickets, upgrades to a more expensive seating class, extra baggage allowance, and lounge access. Miles can also be used at hotels, restaurants, car rentals, and several shops. Miles can be claimed up to six months after an eligible flight and they expire after two years without an eligible flight.