FALCON JET CENTRE, LTD.: #2 Maintenance Area, Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, Middlesex, England, TW6 3AE, United Kingdom; Phone 44 1818-976021; Fax 44 1818-977638; Year Founded 1974. Falcon Jet is established at London (LHR) in 1974 to operate executive and small group passenger charters on a worldwide basis, with emphasis on Northwest Europe. Twenty-six years later, the company employs 11 pilots and flies 1 each Dassault Falcon 20 and Falcon 50 plus 1 British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125-700B Hawker.
FALCONAIR CHARTER, A. B.: Sweden (1967-1970). Not to be confused with Falcon Aviation, A. B., which is also based at Malmo, this nonscheduled operator is established in the spring of 1967 to fly passengers to regional holiday destinations. Revenue operations commence in May with three Vickers Viscount 784Ds.
Initially successful and in need of additional capacity, the company seeks a lease of two Lockheed L-188Cs formerly operated by Eastern Air Lines. The first arrives in December 1968, with the second entering service in January 1969. The two big turboprops not only fly to European destinations, principally in Austria and Switzerland, but to winter vacation areas of the Mediterranean. A third L-177C, also ex-EAL, is purchased.
Service diminishes after a change in ownership during the spring of 1970. Operations cease on September 1, after which the two chartered
Electras are returned to their lessor and the owned unit is sold by receivers to Sterling Airways, A. S.
FAMA (FLOTA AEREA MERCANTE ARGENTINA, S. A.): Argentina (1946-1949). In order to ensure more local involvement in Argentine commercial air service development, the Argentine government in 1945 authorizes the establishment of joint-stock companies able to offer regularly scheduled commercial flights. The first to be set up, on February 8, 1946, is FAMA.
Initially capitalized at $150 million, the infant carrier’s shareholders include the national government (33.3%) and private interests (66.7%), including aviation enthusiast Dr. Jose Dodero’s steamship concern, Do-dero having just established an air transport subsidiary for his company, Compania Argentina de Aeronavegacion Dodero, S. A., and anxious for further involvement. Dr. Dodero’s initial participation results in the acquisition of a fleet comprising 1 Short S.25 Sunderland 3 flying boat, 1 Douglas DC-4 (the first of 15 to be delivered in the next 2 years), 3 Avro 685 Yorks Is, and 5 Douglas DC-3s. Having already obtained the required permissions from Chile and the U. K., a Sandringham makes a proving flight to London on June 4, the same day the first DC-4 begins service to Santiago de Chile.
Unable to sell his interest in transatlantic flying boat services and a participant in the founding of another airline—ALFA (Aviacion del Litoral Fluvial Argentina, S. A.)—which uses flying boats and is thus in conflict with government officials, Dodero withdraws from active participation with the carrier in August, though remaining a stockholder.
On September 17, FAMA inaugurates a DC-4 frequency to London via Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Dakar, Lisbon, and Paris. Madrid service begins on October 11. Ten days later, DC-4 flights are launched to New York via Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Belem, Port of Spain, and Havana.
In December, orders are placed for six Douglas DC-6s.
On December 23, an Avro 685 York I with 6 crew and 15 passengers crashes 31 km. from Rio de Janeiro while on initial approach; there are no survivors.
During early 1947, the fleet is upgraded by the addition of three Avro Lancastrian 4s, six Vickers-Armstrong 615 Vikings, and three Bristol 170 Mk. 1A Freighters. These serve as both a supplement to the DC-4 international frequencies and as provider of domestic and regional flights to Santiago de Chile, Porto Alegre, and Sao Paulo. Orders are also placed for five Convair CV-240s.
An Avro 691 Lancastrian I with 5 crew and 13 passengers is involved in a landing accident at Natal on June 11 (5 dead).
Rome is added to the European route network on July 9.
On July 25, an Avro 685 York I with six crew is involved in an accident while landing after a test flight; two people aboard are killed, along with two on the ground.
A C-54A with four crew is lost while landing at Itapermirim, Brazil, on August 12; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
The fleet is upgraded in 1948 by the addition of six DC-6s, the first of which arrives on May 18; all of the other equipment except for the DC-4s is sold. The new pressurized acquisitions provide New York and Europe trunk services, while some of the unpressurized Douglas transports fly the regional service to Santiago, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Natal, and Belem and others are stationed in Europe to maintain the Lisbon-Madrid-Rome link.
Meanwhile, on May 14, a Vickers 615 Viking 1B with five crew aboard crashes while landing at Junin, Argentina; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
On July 13, two DC-4s, the Sky Chief Pueblo and the Sky Chief Taos, are purchased from the disbanded American carrier Santa Fe Skyways.
FAR EAST AIRLINES COMPANY, LTD. (KYOKUTO KOKU): Japan (1952-1958). Capitalized at ?50 million (US$150,000), FEA is formed at Tokyo in August 1952. Representing investors, Tomoo Kondo is named president with Choichi Inouye as vice president. Inouye, the grand old man of Japanese commercial aviation, had formed the country’s first airline, Nippon Koku Yuso Kenjyujo (Japan Air Transport Research Institute), on June 4, 1922.
Operator and route certification is sought from the government, with permission for the initiation of aerial work contracts received on October 21. Two single-engine Auster J/5 Autocars are purchased on November 15. The company is incorporated on December 26.
Meanwhile, a competitor at Osaka, Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transport Company, Ltd. (Nihon Herikoputa Yuso Kabushiki Kaisha) has been registered.
FEA purchases a pair of de Havilland DH 104 Doves from JHAT on March 18 and on May 26, both companies simultaneously receive domestic charter authority. While watching JHAT initiate Bell 47D-1 flights, FEA prefers to inaugurate its services with fixed-wing aircraft slightly larger than the Doves. Thus a pair of Miles, later Handley Page, Marathons are ordered from the U. K. as it awaits scheduled authority from the government.
The company’s premier service, a mail run, is completed on January 20, 1954 between Tokyo and Osaka. At this point, officials from FEA and JHAT agree to operate complementary rather than competing services.
When FEA launches scheduled passenger frequencies on February 1, they are undertaken between Osaka and Iwakuni.
On February 21, a passenger commits incendiary suicide aboard a J/5. The Autocar catches fire in midair and crash-lands at Yata Village, from whence the two injured crewmen are rushed to hospital.
Service to Fukuoka from Iwakuni begins on April 20.
The first Miles Marathon is received in September and it enters service between Osaka and Kochi on October 1.
Takamatsu joins the route network on May 23, 1955.
In October, the Miles Marathon is grounded due to loose ribs; it is replaced by Douglas DC-3s.
Service is initiated from Fukuoka to Oita on April 7, 1956.
On April 13, 1957, the carrier begins joint operations with Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transport Co., Ltd. The last FEA services to be started are those from Oita to Kagoshima and Miyazaki on July 1.
A decision for consolidation of the two airlines is taken on October 30.
On March 1, 1958, the two companies are actually merged and the single carrier is renamed All Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA).
FAR EAST CARGO LINES: Marsovaya St. 8, Khabarovsk, 680011, Russia; Phone 7 (4212) 339 949; Fax 7 (4212) 713 101; Code FEW; Year Founded 1997. FECL is set up at Khabarovsk in 1997 to operate all-freight charters throughout the nation, particularly in Siberia. S. A. Samoilovov is general director and he begins revenue flights with an unspecified number of Ilyushin Il-76Ts.
Service is maintained in 1998-2000, with charters operated as far away as Singapore and the U. S. West Coast. Destinations now visited include Almaty, Archangle, Aomonri, Chita, Harbin, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Los Angeles, Moscow, Niigata, Omsk, Petropavlovsk, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Shenyang, Singapore, Ulan-Ude, Vladivostock, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Director General Leonid V. Nagomy’s fleet is altered to include one each Antonov An-24B and Ilyushin Il-62M.
FAR EASTERN AIR TRANSPORT, INC. (FEATI): Philippines (1945-1947). FEATI is the new name chosen by Eugenio Lopez for his prewar airline, Iloilo-Negros Air Express Company (INAEC). With a fleet of former Douglas C-47s converted to DC-3 standards and backing from Pan American Airways (PAA), FEATI gets a leg up on Philippine Air Lines (PAL) by resuming service first, flying from Manila to Iloilo in November 1945.
With government support as well as backing from Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), PAL resumes service on February 14, 1946.
A major competition between the two carriers begins. During the spring, the FEATI fleet is increased to 12 DC-3s and, in May, scheduled flights are inaugurated to Bangkok and Hong Kong.
President Lopez acquires several C-54s (military DC-4s) and these are employed, beginning on August 20, on new services from Manila to Iloilo, Cebu, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
A DC-3 with 4 crew and 10 passengers is lost near Mt. Banahaur in the Philippines on December 14 (12 dead). Still, nonscheduled flights from Manila to Oakland, California (across the Bay from San Francisco) begin two days later via Guam, Kwajalein, and Hawaii.
A C-54A with 5 crew and 37 passengers is lost 130 km. W of Lasq, China, on January 11, 1947 (7 dead). Following the crash of this non-scheduled transpacific flight, FEATI is grounded. Before it can resume operations, the new Philippine government, which had certified both carriers, agrees to support only one. On May 3, FEATI sells out to PAL for PP 3.4 million.
FAR EASTERN AIR TRANSPORT CORPORATION (FAT): No. 5, Alley 123, Lane 405, Tun Hwa North Road, FAT Building, Taipei, 105, Taiwan; Phone 888 (2) 712-1555; Fax 888 (2) 712-2428; http:// Www. fat. com. tw; Code EF; Year Founded 1957. K. T. Siao, who becomes chairman, and former Air Force pilot Tung Ching Hu, who becomes president, join millionaire businessman, T. C. Hwoo, in forming FAT at Taipei in August 1957. Ad hoc Beech 18 services are initiated to communities in the southern half of Taiwan.
Employing a fleet of three Douglas DC-3s, the carrier begins nonscheduled charter services in June 1960 from Taipei to Kao-hsiung.
Scheduled services begin in January 1965 and provide regular links from the capital to the Taiwanese cities of Kao-hsiung, Hualien, Makung, Painan, and Taitung.
Enplanements total 41,995.
Airline employment in 1966 totals 120 and the fleet comprises 5 Beech 18s and 3 DC-3s. Orders are placed for a Handley Page HPR-7 (Dart) Herald 201, which enters service on February 21.
Two former Ansett Airlines of Australia (Pty.), Ltd. DC-6Bs are acquired on March 12, 1967.
Operations continue apace during the next two years.
A DC-3 is lost at Kao-hsiung on February 15, 1969. Its No. 2 engine having failed, the HPR-7 Herald 201 with 4 crew and 32 passengers makes an emergency belly landing in southern Taiwan near Tainan on February 24 and slides into a creek; there are no survivors.
A chartered DC-3 with 3 crew and 28 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Phantiet, Vietnam, on April 24; there are no fatalities.
Not long after takeoff from Taipei on February 20, 1970, a DC-3 freighter with two crew crashes into a 1,230-ft. high mountain; there are no survivors.
The first of nine used Vickers Viscount 800s are acquired from Australia beginning in April. These replace the DC-6Bs and DC-3s that are chartered to Air Vietnam, S. A.
By 1972, enplanements reach 470,470.
The employee population in 1973 is 900. Two Sud-Est SE-210 Car-avelle VIRs join the fleet along with two Bell 212 helicopters for use in support of the company’s offshore oil industry operations.
Passenger boardings accelerate 38.9% to 770,000.
Another Caravelle, a Douglas DC-8-50, and a third Bell 212 are acquired in 1974.
A DC-3 with 27 aboard crashes near Taipei on July 31; there are no survivors.
En route from Tainan to Taipei on October 7, a Vickers Viscount 810 is taken over by a lone assailant armed with a knife and four gasoline-filled bottles, who demands to be flown to mainland China. Before the aircraft can be diverted, the hijacker is overpowered by a flight attendant and a security guard.
Enplanements for the year total 723,330.
The Douglas transports leased to South Vietnam are returned in March and early April of 1975.
Coming in from Hualien, a Vickers Viscount 837 with 5 crew and 70 passengers stalls and crash-lands onto a Taipei runway in heavy rain on July 31 (27 dead).
Passenger boardings jump 15.4% to 855,000 while freight traffic is up by 24.1% to 757,000 ton kilometers.
Airline employment in 1976 stands at 950, a 10% increase. Three Boeing 737-247s are acquired from Western Airlines and these allow substantial service upgrades.
Consequently, customer bookings accelerate 30.9% to 1,185,785 while cargo booms up 24.7% to 2.5 million FTKs.
A DC-3 is damaged beyond repair while landing at Tainan on April 16, 1977, when its landing gear collapses; there are no serious injuries reported.
Enplanements for the year total 1,478,726.
Airline employment is increased 9.2% in 1978 to 1,112 and the fleet comprises 3 Boeing 737-247s first flown by Western Airlines, 3 Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle VIRs, 7 Vickers Viscount 800s, 2 Handley Page Heralds, 4 DC-3s, and 3 Bell 212 helicopters.
Passenger boardings shoot up 28.4% to 2,065,258 and freight traffic is up by 16.4% to 2.53 million FTKs. Operating income is up by 24.5% to $32.5 million.
The number of workers is decreased by 8.6% in 1979 to 1,067. A JT8D engine test stand is completed and two more B-737s, one each Dash-222 and Dash 2Q8, join the fleet.
Passenger enplanements advance 7.4% to 2,265,382.
Despite souring economic conditions, the carrier hires 3.3% more employees in 1980, for a total of 1,102.
New charter destinations include Singapore, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. The equipment list is enhanced through the addition of two B-737-130s. All other propeller equipment (except the helicopters) and the French-made jetliners are retired.
Customer bookings decline by 13.5% to 1,959,000 while cargo is down 24.2% to 756,000 pounds. Revenues total $34 million.
The employee force is reduced by 1.4% in 1981 to 996.
Severe corrosion causes the pressure hull of Flight 103, a B-737-222 with 6 crew and 104 passengers, to rupture 14 minutes after takeoff from Taipei to Kao-hsiung on August 22; the aircraft disintegrates and there are no survivors. The little Boeing had been delayed on the ground for two hours prior to departure because of known pressurization problems.
Passenger boardings dip 10.6% to 1,750,583 while freight is up by 16.2% to 2.45 million FTKs. Revenues are $34.9 million and an operating profit of $801,000 is recorded.
The number of employees is lowered again in 1982, dropping by 7.4% to 924. The effects of the world economic recession bring traffic downturns. Customer bookings decline 17.5% to 1,445,100, while cargo is down even further, off 31% to 436 million FTKs. On revenues of $30.4 million, an operating loss of $2.5 million is suffered, along with a net decline of $1.6 million. The number of workers is increased by 2.3% in 1983 to 936. Enplanements swell 4.7% to 1,512,600 while freight leaps upward by 45.3% to 633,500 FTKs. An operating profit of $1.6 million is recorded, but a net loss of $601,843 must be absorbed.
Scheduled and nonscheduled service is maintained throughout 1984-1986.
Following the death of founder Hu during the latter year, his family becomes divided over shareholding and takes their dispute to court. As a result, the government’s Civil Aviation Administration appoints former China Airlines, Ltd. (CAL) Deputy President Hong I. Chang as president, with instructions to keep the company going until the dispute is settled while, simultaneously, preparing it for international operations.
Enplanements in 1987 total 1,817,945 and profits of $7.37 million (operating) and $7.6 million (net) are generated.
The workforce is increased by 6.5% in 1988 to 980 and the fleet now includes 2 B-737-130s and 6 B-737-200s. Orders are outstanding for two Avions de Transport Regional ATR72s, with options taken on four others.
Passenger boardings jump 10.3% to 2,026,694, but cargo is off by 2.3% to 861,000 FTKs. Revenues advance by 14.7% to $59.2 million and with costs under control, the operating profit is $9.2 million and net gain reaches $11.3 million.
Operations continue apace in 1989 and in 1990, the list of destinations visited by the 1,196-employee carrier includes Kao-hsiung, Hualien, Kinmen, Tainan, Taitung, Makung.
The fleet comprises 3 Boeing 737-247s, 1 B-737-222, 1 B-737-2Q8,
1 B-737-27A, and 2 B-737-130s, and 1 ATR72.
Enplanements total 2,118,129 and 4.74 million pounds of freight are transported.
In 1991, plans are made to upgrade the fleet through the addition of three McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83s (MD-83s) and an MD-82. The latter will replace the two B-737-130s that will enter storage pending their sale.
Hong I. Chang remains president and plans are still under discussion for the start of international flying.
Passenger boardings jump to 2,271,058 and cargo rises to 6.99 million pounds.
In 1992, all of the B-737-200s begin withdrawal as another MD-82 enters the fleet. Service is inaugurated to Kinmen. Bookings double to 4,642,938 and freight is up to 7.56 million pounds.
In 1993, Vice President-Operations C. W. Lee oversees a workforce of 1,326 and a fleet comprising 3 leased MD-83s and 3 B-737-247s,
2 B-737-130s, 1 each B-737-222, B-737-2Q8A, B-737-27A, and 2 chartered MD-82s.
Routes link Taipei with Kao-hsiung, Hualien, Kinmen, Tainan, Taitung, and Makung. Domestic and international charters are also available.
While climbing away from Kao-hsiung on October 25, an MD-82 with 8 crew and 152 passengers loses its fan cowl from the No. 1 engine. The aircraft returns for a safe emergency landing, but then runs off the end of the runway and over a ditch, causing the landing gear to fail. Seriously damaged, the aircraft slides to a stop; no injuries are reported.
Operations continue apace in 1994. Enplanements total 4,406,750 and there are profits: $48.18 million operating and $38.18 net.
Airline employment grows by 6% in 1995 to 1,510. The B-737-222 and two B-737-130s are sold and replaced by two owned B-757-29Js, one owned and three leased MD-83s, and three owned MD-82s.
Passenger boardings ascend 20.6% to 5,550,062 and operating revenues climb 14.1% to $223.49 million. Expenses are up 17.5% to $173.58 million, leaving an operating gain of $49.9 million and net gain of $34.84 million, down from the previous year.
The fleet in 1996 includes 2 owned B-757-29Js, 3 leased and 1 owned MD-83s, 2 leased and 3 owned MD-82s, 1 leased B-757-2Q8, and 1 each owned B-737-2Q8A and B-737-27AA. The company continues to fly 14 domestic routes and offers service to Palau and the Philippines.
Enplanements total 5,338,385 and the operating profit is $32.46 million.
Airline employment grows by 9.3% in 1997 to 1,888.
One of the company’s two B-757-29Js unveils a new white and red livery on February 28 as a promotion the country’s second major league baseball league. The newly repainted narrow-body is hijacked to Xiamen, China, on March 10; all of the hostages aboard are released and the perpetrator is detained.
During the third week of November, an order is placed with Boeing for five B-757-200s and two MD-83s, the first of which will begin to arrive at its Taipei base in early 1998. Options are also taken on five additional B-757s.
During this month the company celebrates its fortieth anniversary. Merger discussions begin with TransAsia Airlines, Ltd.
Customer bookings advance by 2.7% to 5,486,521, while cargo accelerates 14% to 2.85 million FTKs. Revenues move ahead 2.8% to $184.93 million, while expenses climb 5% to $154.83 million. The operating profit slips to $30.1 million, while net gain is boosted to $22.66 million.
Just after landing at Taipei following a February 23, 1998 service from Kao-hsiung, a B-757-29J with 126 passengers skids off the wet runway; no injuries are reported.
In late April, the Civil Aeronautics Commission at Taipei refuses a company request to send pilots to Beijing for Boeing simulator training. As CAAC (The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China)
Will not allow CAC officials to oversee the training, any simulator time gained would be uncertifiable.
Enplanements during the 12 months total 5.08 million and a $5.5-million profit is reported on revenues of $171 million. By the start of 1999, airline employment has been cut by 12.9% to 595.
Service is maintained in 2000. On January 27, the company receives the last of five B-757-27As delivered since December 1998. It also continues to fly three MD-82s and five MD-83s.
Flights between Taipei and Chiayi end on October 23 and are reduced on the route between Taipei and Kao-hsiung. On December 1, new service is introduced between Taipei and Kinmen Island.
World History
