(1959-1978). Originally formed in South West Africa as the nonscheduled South West Air Transport, Ltd. in 1946, this carrier begins scheduled operations two years later in 1948. Following a merger with Oryx Aviation (Pty.), Ltd. in March 1959, the company is renamed Suidwes Lugdiens.
Employing the aircraft of the merger partners, including 7 Ryan Navions and 1 de Havilland DH 89A Dragon Rapide, Suidwes Lugdiens continues over the next 3 years to provide scheduled flights linking Windhoek’s Eros Airport with Grootfontein, Otjiwarongo, Outjo, Swakopmund, Tsumeb, and Walvis Bay. Regular charters are also provided to Luderitz.
Two Cessna 205s are acquired in December 1962, while in February 1963, the last Navion is sold. During the next decade, the fleet grows further, adding 4 PA-23 Aztecs, 1 PA-23 Apache, 1PA-28 Cherokee Six, 3 PA-30 Twin Comanches, 1 PA-31-310 Navajo, 1 Cessna 182, 3 Cessna 402s, 6 Cessna 310s, 1 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, and, most importantly, 3 Douglas DC-3s and 2 DC-4s.
One of the Aztecs operates a feeder service for South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. from Windhoek to Keetmanshoop. Late in the 1960s, a joint service is offered with Air Cape (Pty.), Ltd. between Walvis Bay and Alexander Bay via Luderitz. Other destinations visited include Ka-tima, Mulilo, Ondangwa, and Rundu.
Namib Air (Pty.), Ltd. becomes a subsidiary during 1966.
In November 1974, Namib Air-Suidwes Lugdiens becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Safmarine, Ltd. A. Lombard is appointed chairman with A. J. Koorts as managing director. Airline employment stands at 72 and the fleet is comprised of 1 Fairchild Hiller FH-227B, 2 Douglas DC-4s, 2 DC-3s, 1 Piper PA-31-310 Navajo, 3 Cessna 402s, and 6 Cessna 310s.
An order is placed with Fokker Aircraft in 1977 for an F.28 Fellowship; however, the government of the Netherlands refuses an export license. On December 1, 1978, the corporation is reorganized and renamed Namib Air (Pty.), Ltd.
SULTAN AIR (SULTAN HAVA YOLLARI, A. O.): Turkey (1989-1994). With shareholding divided between Turkish interests and Transwede Airways, A. B., SHY is set up at Istanbul on July 17, 1989 to offer international charter services. Yavuz Cizmerci is appointed president and he recruits a workforce of some 400. Two Aerospatiale (Sud-Est SE-210) Caravelle XBs are leased from Transwede Airways, A. B. and are employed on August 1 to inaugurate nonscheduled services to destinations in Germany, Austria, Greece, Israel, and Italy. The French-made jetliners appear in the colors of their Swedish owner, with Sultan titles.
The Caravelles are returned to Transwede Airways, A. B. in July 1990 and replaced by one each chartered Boeing 737-205 and 737-248; a lease is also taken on a B-737-2Q8. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August has a disastrous impact on travel to the Turkish holiday destinations, although many Turkish workers employ the airline to return home from Europe. With Allied forces gathering for a counterattack, Sultan stands down for financial reasons.
Following the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm in late February 1991, Sultan resumes flights in late March, though with little success due to the continuing uncertainties of the Mideast area. Another light Boeing is added for a new service known as VIP Air. The livery of the new plane features a peacock displaying full plumage forward of the wing and aft the cockpit windows and small titles aft the wing and over the windowline that read “Operated by Sultan Air.” VIP Air is not successful and is reintegrated into Sultan by the time the winter season begins at the end of October.
With Transwede Airways, A. B. out of the picture, Turkish interests hold complete shareholding in the airline in 1992. The two Boeing aircraft are reinforced with a pair of chartered Airbus Industrie A300B4-203s.
Destinations now visited include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel, Berlin, Bergamo, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brest, Brussels, Cagliari, Catania, Dusseldorf, Eindhoven, Ercan, Frankfurt, Graz, Hamburg, Hanover, Klagenfurt, Le Havre, Leipzig, Leningrad, Lille, Linz, Lyon, Madrid, Marseilles, Maastricht, Metz, Milan, Munich, Nantes, Nuremberg, Paderborn, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Saarbrucken, Seville, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv, Turin, Venice, Verona, Vienna, and Zurich. The Airbuses are returned at the end of the year and are replaced with a pair of leased B-727-200As.
Airline employment in 1993 stands at 450. A new B-737-3G7 is acquired during the summer and is christened Sabiha Gokcen, in honor of the first female commercial pilot in Turkey. Concerns over the carrier’s maintenance operations and safety causes the airline to cease its flights and liquidate its assets in 1994.
World History
