Gandhara Airways
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| Founded | 31 January 1936 | ||||||
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| Hubs | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Flying Blue | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | |||||||
| Fleet size | 201 | ||||||
| Destinations | 165 | ||||||
| Company slogan | Explore Your World | ||||||
| Parent company | Gandhara Aviation Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Rhea, Gandhara | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Revenue |  GAD 12.42 billion (2016) | ||||||
| Operating income | GAD 875.7 million (2016) | ||||||
| Employees | 33,346 (2016–17) | ||||||
Gandhara Airways (Arabic: الخطوط الجوية الغانذاري, Al-Khuṭūṭ al-Jawwiyyah al-Gāndhāri), legally Gandhara Airways S.A.M., is the flag carrier airline of Gandhara, headquartered in Rhea. It operates domestic and international passenger and cargo services, mainly from its hub at Rhea International Airport.
Gandhara Airways works closely together with its sister company Freehan Airways.
History
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. After the state of Gandhara became the sole shareholder, the company was renamed to 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. Even though Gandhara Airways is a state-owned company, the airline is self-financing without any financial backing by the Gandhari government.
Destinations
As of February 2018, 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. Several new destinations are added each year.
Gandhara Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Fleet
As of February 2018, the Gandhara Airways fleet (excluding its subsidiary Air Nura) consists of the following aircraft:
| Gandhara Airways Fleet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes | |||
| F | C | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 30 | — | — | 0 | 12 | 138 | 150 | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 30 | — | — | 0 | 12 | 176 | 188 | |
| Airbus A321neo | — | 12 | — | TBA | Deliveries begin in 2018. | |||
| Airbus A330-200 | 15 | — | — | 12 | 42 | 183 | 237 | |
| 0 | 27 | 251 | 278 | |||||
| Airbus A380-800 | 12 | 3 | — | 14 | 76 | 399 | 489 | All aircraft have Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. Deliveries through 2019. |
| 14 | 76 | 427 | 517 | |||||
| 0 | 58 | 557 | 615 | |||||
| Boeing 737-700 | 18 | — | — | 0 | 8 | 120 | 128 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 25 | — | — | 0 | 8 | 156 | 164 | All aircraft have CFM56-7BE engines. |
| Boeing 747-8I | 20 | — | — | 6 | 48 | 314 | 368 | Largest Boeing 747-8I operator. |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 9 | — | — | 12 | 42 | 236 | 290 | |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 5 | — | — | 8 | 42 | 310 | 360 | |
| Boeing 777-8 | — | 15 | — | TBA | Deliveries planned to start from 2020. | |||
| Boeing 777-9 | — | 45 | — | TBA | Deliveries planned to start from 2020. | |||
| Boeing 787-10 | — | 25 | 20 | TBA | Deliveries begin in 2018. | |||
| Irkut MC-21-300 | — | 35 | — | 0 | 16 | 147 | 163 | Deliveries begin in 2019. |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100/95 | 28 | — | — | 0 | 12 | 75 | 87 | Outernatian launch customer. |
| Cargo Fleet | ||||||||
| Airbus A330-200F | 6 | — | — | N/A | Max. payload: 150,000 lb (68,000 kg). | |||
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 3 | — | — | N/A | Max. payload: 248,600 lb (112,760 kg). | |||
| Total | 201 | 135 | 20 | |||||
Loyalty program
Gandhara Airways adopted Flying Blue as its frequent-flyer program. Miles are awarded based on the distance travelled, ticket fare, and class of service. Membership into the program is free. There are two types of miles: Award Miles and Level Miles. Award Miles can be exchanged for rewards and expire after 20 months without flying. Level Miles are used to determine membership level and remain valid until 31 December of each year.