Zambia Airways

02/12/2023

Many thanks to Lombe Tresha for sending us this photo of his father. Anyone else have a parent in this photo?

29/03/2023

Many thanks to Arthur Chikoye Simaluwani for providing us with this photo of Zambia Airways engineers in Dublin 1975.

We have not posted in some time and look forward to receiving more photos if anyone has out there.

02/04/2022

Many thanks to Winnie Trudeau for providing us with this picture of her sister Elizabeth Fundafunda, among the first trained Zambia Airways cabin crew and Chief of Cabin Crew. Seen here with a UM (Unaccompanied Minor).

09/03/2022

Small Airlines, Great Expectations

In the past years 4 small African airlines have taken delivery of state-of-the-art long-range aircraft with big expectations namely Air Senegal, Air Tanzania, Rwandair and Uganda Airlines.

Air Senegal with a total fleet of 10 aircraft and 7 on order has taken delivery of the Airbus A330-900 for its long-range operations.

Air Tanzania with a total fleet of 11 aircraft and 4 on order has taken delivery of the Boeing 787-8 for its long-range operations.

Rwandair with a total fleet of 12 aircraft has taken delivery of the Airbus A330-200 and -300 for its long -range operations.

Uganda Airlines with a total fleet of 6 aircraft has taken delivery of the Airbus A330-800 for its long -range operations.

All these airlines are either flying to or plan on extending operations to destinations such as Brussels, Paris, London, New York, Washington, Mumbai, the far-east and many more.

Zambia Airways (QZ) Intercontinental network back then was to New York, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Larnaca and Bombay at one time. This gave the chance for travelers to fly directly to Zambia of which several also used Lusaka as a connection hub to other southern African countries such as Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zaire etc.

So what are your thoughts on this? Do you think intercontinental direct flights to Zambia can help boost Zambian tourism and the economy?

21/02/2022

Today we have a look at a long survivor of Zambia Airways Boeing 707-338C with registration 9J-AEL still flying after 55 years!

The aircraft rolled out of the Boeing factory in July of 1967 and was delivered to Qantas Airways in September the same year. After only 10 years of service with the Australian airline it was sold to Zambia Airways and delivered from Sydney to Lusaka in May of 1977 with new registration 9J-AEL.
The aircraft remained with QZ for a further 10 years or so before being sold to Trans Arabian Air transport some time in 1988. In 1992 it went to Grumman Aerospace for joint-STARS conversion and since 1996 it’s been with the 93rd Air Control Wing at Robins air force base as USAF E-8C Joint-STARS P-2 where it still flies to this day.

04/02/2022

Today we are going to introduce you to one of the Boeing 707’s used by Zambia Airways that was a star in a movie but with a tragic ending… The plane was used in the 1970 movie “Airport” when at the time it was with Flying Tiger Line. It was then taken up by Irish airline Aer Lingus which leased it to Zambia Airways in 1975 to 1977 and then again in 1980 for a short while. The aircraft eventually ended up operating as cargo for Transbrazil in 1987. On 21 March 1989 the aircraft crashed 2 kilometers short of the runway when making its approach for landing at Sao Paulo. The result of this was when one of the crew members accidently activated the air brakes causing the aircraft to stall and crash into a residential area. All 3 crew members and another 22 people on the ground perished and more than 200 people injured.

22/01/2022

Hi Nkwazi’s! How is everybody doing?
Today we are going to compare the flagships of Zambia Airways Douglas DC10-30 and Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767-200ER. We will compare the 2 aircraft and see why QZ didn’t also go for the 767 just like Air Zimbabwe did but first we need to check out some statistics…

Passengers: The DC10-30 is a bigger aircraft than the 767-200ER. QZ had their aircraft configured in a 3 class with total seating of 230 passenger while AirZim 767 had theirs in 2 class configuration seating 197 passengers.

MTOW (maximum take of weight) and payload: The DC10-30 had a MTOW of 555,000 lbs compared to the 767-200ER 395,000 lbs. That’s a 160,000 pounds (72.5 tones) difference between the two aircraft! Furthermore the maximum payload of the DC10-30 was by 23,400 lbs (10.6 tones) more than the 767-200ER.

Range: The DC10-30 had a smaller range than the 767-200ER but QZ could take on more passengers and cargo! On average the DC10-30 could fly a maximum range of 5500 nautical miles while the 767-200ER would fly 6500 nautical miles. One might think that the difference of 1000 nm is not a lot but its actually about 2 hours of flying time. Of course at the time QZ was flying to London, Rome, Frankfurt, Larnaca and Bombay and the range of the Nkwazi was more than enough.

Date of first flight: One must take into consideration that the DC-10 in general had been flying already for over a decade from the 70’s although the 767-200ER was first introduced in 1984. More specifically the QZ DC10 first rolled off the production line in 1980 and was sitting around for 3 and half years before Zambia took delivery of it in 1984. Just this alone played a major role in price. Yes both of the airlines received brand new planes however AirZim got their first delivery at the end of 1989. Had QZ also opted for the 767-200ER they would have had to wait for at least 5 years if not more and by this time QZ was already flying to the USA from 1988.

So to basically summarise up on QZ’s DC10-30 Vs UM’s 767-200ER. The Nkwazi carried more passengers in a 3 class configuration, more cargo, higher take off weight and payload but didn’t fly so far as the 767-200ER but if you can make a refueling stop over then who needs much range especially if your plane costs quite a few millions of dollars less.

12/01/2022

A wonderful photo by Keyur Desai of the ATR-42, Boeing 737-200 and DC10-30 at Lusaka taken in September of 1993. As he tells us…

“I was fortunate enough to fly the entire QZ network from 1972 to 1993. The pilots had such pride in what they did that it rubbed off on a young impressionable boy (me), and instilled deep passion for aviation that has not left me 35 years later. This site brings back so many great memories of what I feel would have been Africa's top airline, would it have been allowed to remain operational. Thanks to all the pilots who allowed me to sit in the cockpit for the ATR 42/DC-10 flights... incredible!!”

07/01/2022

A happy new year to everyone! We start our post this year with inflight food. So who remembers... chicken or beef? What was your choice on the international flights?

29/12/2021

50 Years of Zambian Aviation Paperback – Illustrated. First published December 2, 2014. This book is now out of print and was limited available. A must have for all Zambian aviation geeks. Who has it?

23/12/2021

32 years ago this is how the QZ route network looked like. (Zambia Airways route map effective December 4, 1989.)

Furthermore in the issue of Flight International on 8 July 1989, McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) announced its orders for the MD-11, one of them being for QZ which was expected delivery to Zambia Airways in January 1992. To be noted that had QZ gone ahead with this order Zambia would have been the first operator in Africa for the MD-11.

17/12/2021

A sad picture today taken 28 years ago of the Zambia Airways DC 8 plane which was dispatched to Gabon…

Jacob Chisela writes:

It hurts so bad. Zambia Airways (QZ) was contacted to quote and prepare the Boeing 737 or the Douglas DC8 to take the Zambia KK11 to Ivory coast. Coordinator of Charters Fred Nguluwe phoned to get us in Technical Services to ready the aircraft and Flight Operations to assign crew. Fred went on radio to alert all Zambia Airways operating departments to be on standby.

We stayed on standby up to the time the ZAF Buffalo took off for Kinshasa then Libreville.

Unbeknown to me next day I reported early for work at the airport. As I opened the door to my office the phone was ringing. It was a call from Gabon. Air Gabon called me because my number was the international Technical pool contact. I got the sad news of the crash of the Buffalo and the demise of the Zambia National Football Team including my cousin and best friend pilot Victor Mubanga.

We wept. We tried to keep track of the recovery efforts and results. The sea water was cloudy and rough. For days 'recovery was hampered. finally the aircraft was located and bodies (some in pieces ) recovered.

Fred radioed this time the authorities wanted the DC8 made ready. A team of cabinet ministers including Dr Vernon J Mwaanga and Dipak Patel (who wept in uncontrollably at departure).

Gabonese football fans asked the simple question : "what's wrong with you Zambians. You send a rubbish aircraft to kill Ephort Chabala (their idol) and now you bring a nice big plane to take the dead bodies.

It hurts so bad.

14/12/2021

We have reached 8000 likes with your support. A very big thank you especially to those who have contributed to this page with photographic content. Do keep those photos from the past coming in.

13/12/2021

Then & Now...

Seen here is the BAC 111 (One-Eleven) 9J-RCH at Lusaka in 1970.

The aircraft was first delivered to Central African Airways in 1966 as VP-YXA and within 2 months was leased to British Eagle as G-ATTP the same year by Zambia Airways. Back to Zambia Airways as 9J-RCH in 1967 then leased to Air Malawi as 7Q-YKE in 1970 and back to Zambia Airways as 9J-RCH in 1972. To Dan-Air as G-ATTP in 1975 then to Ladeco as CC-CYM in 1991. Withdrawn from use at Santiago De Chile by 1994. It now rests at the National Aeronautical Museum (Museo Nacional Aeronautico y del Espacio) at Los Cerrillos, Chile (from 1999). - Pictured below.

Photo Credit: Kjell O Granlund - Scanavphoto

09/12/2021

This DC8-71 was first delivered to Japan Airlines in 1970 as a DC8-61. It then went on to fly from 1981 to 1988 with various airlines such as Overseas National Airways, Saudi Arabian, Icelandair, Pointair and Kenya Airways for short periods before ending up with Zambia Airways in 1989. It flew for QZ for almost 5 years before being repossessed for outstanding debt at the end of 1994.

Seen in this picture it is parked in Shannon. It was converted to a freighter in 1995 and joined Emery Worldwide. The aircrafts last resting ground was in Roswell, New Mexico where it was broken up in 2005.

Photo credits to Eric Johnston.

06/12/2021

Many thanks to Jacqui Williams for sending us this photo taken sometime in the late 70's. Lusaka Airport - Pictured is a VC10 and 2 Boeing 707's of Zambia Airways (9J-AEB and 9J-AEC).

03/12/2021

Many thanks to Muyamwa Twyler Kwandu for providing this photo and sorry for the delayed upload.
As she told us, “Ms. Nelly Mumba, one of the Ground Hostesses adorned in a Zambia Airways uniform. She always says that those were her best and memorable moments... The Zambia Airways Era.”

01/12/2021

So people the new is here at long last! It almost feels like a dream come true which was just too good to be true but no, it's here. The thing is I don't know where to start. I'm very eager to read everyone's comments so here we go.

Touch down at Lusaka with the first aircraft to the fleet of the all new Zambia Airways is a Bombardier Dash 8 - Q400 turbo prop aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines with new colour scheme that looks like it was picked up from a primary school competition... The aircraft was first delivered to Ethiopian Airlines on July of 2010. The big titles look great and from afar but what's up with the eagle on the tail? For sure who ever designed it could have done a much better job instead of grabbing the eagle off the flag and slanting it to the side. What was wrong with the previous eagle that was shaped as a Z? Even other airlines such as Lufthansa have kept their birds almost the same for many decades.

Routes… For the beginning it will fly between Lusaka, Ndola and Livingston. Specifically 5 weekly flights between Lusaka and Livingston (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and 6 weekly flights between Lusaka and Ndola (2 flights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday). So keep in mind that on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays no flights between Lusaka and Ndola. This means that if for some reason your business plans change, then you can't change your ticket to come back the next day. You have to stay a second night. And if it's a Friday then you have to wait until Monday to get back home. These are the routes so far that will be operated by the turbo prop Dash-8 aircraft. At the same time a route from Lusaka to Harare also exists that operates on behalf of Zambia Airways by Ethiopian with an Airbus A350-900 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Coming routes… Probably from 2022 there will be an addition of Solwezi and Mfuwe routes to be followed by Johannesburg. No mention of Intercontinental routes such as flights to London, Frankfurt and Rome or perhaps the far east such as to Mumbai and Hong Kong or Beijing. These flights have been absent for many years and it is such flights that bring the tourist directly to Zambia. Let me know your thoughts about this.
Closing off we would like to wish the New Zambia Airways happy and safe flights. Don’t forget to visit their website for more information and flights at zambia-airways.com

26/11/2021

Sent to us by his daughter Tisha. Seen here is Captain Stanley Peter Mulela. Many thanks Tisha.

13/08/2021

Zambia Airways has set 30th September 2021 as the planned date for start of commercial operations and has now dispatched five local pilots to the Ethiopian Aviation Academy for training.

Zambia Airways has set 30th September 2021 as the planned date for start of commercial operations and has now dispatched five local pilots to the Ethiopian Aviation Academy for training. According to the country’s industrial development corporation, all selected crew for the training are Zambian n...

13/08/2021

30/07/2021

The 4 Boeing 707's of Zambia Airways. 9J-ADY, AEB, AEL & AEQ. Seen below in London Heathrow, Rome, Tenerife & Amsterdam.
If you notice closely you can see a big cargo door in front of the airframe. These 707's could be converted from/to passenger and cargo. 2 of these later went on to be with NAC (National Air Charters) a cargo subsidiary of Zambia Airways.

Did you know: Zambia Airways operated a series of weekly charter flights between Rome and Tenerife during the summer of 1986 - 1987.

17/06/2021

He was the father of the nation the father of Zambia Airways!...he was an uncle and he was a grandfather, he was my grandfather... He brought the people together, United as one we stand under the flag.... As the national anthem says. It's not by chance that the Zambian people are the most friendliest people in Africa today!

He united the people of Zambia. In other countries the tribes are at war....
May his soul rest in peace and may we too reach his age. One World! One Africa! One Africa! One Zambia! One Zambia! One Nation!!!!

21/12/2020

At long last after some 32 years we have managed to get this video up on youtube from VHS video tape. Watch now this full documentary of Zambia Airways first flight to New York JFK. Enjoy!

Zambia Airways takes off from Lusaka to New York JFK via Monrovia on the 25th April 1988. Full documentary of the DC10-30 named "Nkwazi". This video was firs...

17/10/2020

Just look at that domestic network from 1976! That's what we call connecting Zambia. A nice weekend to everyone.

11/06/2020

It was on the 7th of June 1976, exactly 44 years ago when Zambia Airways received this Boeing 737-200 from the Boeing factory.
5 years later in 1981, Captain Alick Sakala landed the 737 in Johannesburg. It was Captain Sakala’s first international flight on the Zambia Airways Boeing 737 and that day he became one of the first Africans to fly the 737 to Johannesburg during the era of apartheid in South Africa.
When he parked the plane in Johannesburg, a white man who was an employee at the airport in South Africa entered the plane and asked for the captain.
Captain Sakala introduced himself, leaving a priceless expression on the white man’s face.
Word soon went around the airport that there was a Zambian who had landed with his Boeing Jet plane and when Captain Sakala went to a shop at the airport to buy a newspaper, a black South African woman ran up to him and embraced him… One can just imagine the pride. What a day it must have been.

13/08/2019

35 years ago this beautiful bird was delivered to Zambia Airways in July 1984 from McDonnell Douglas. Received by then MD Mr Oliver Chama and Chief Pilot Capt M. G Mulundika among others.

We have reached 5000+ likes and we thank you all. Please do send in your old photos from the QZ era!

15/07/2019

Timetable from 1977 sent by Edmundo Sales.
Many thanks and apologies for the delayed upload.

22/03/2019

Tsolos Travel

Hi everyone. Sorry for being absent for so long... soon again we will start publishing some more info and photos! We also get a lot of emails concerning flight requests. Please feel free for flight bookings and hotels to check out this site: www.flytsolos.com
Just click on the plane and choose to book your flights. Cheers!

Tsolos Travel in Mytilene, Lesvos Island - Greece. Airline & Maritime travel agency.

20/11/2018

Thanks Mr. Edmundo Sales for this wonderfull picture of the 748 inflight.

QZ HS 748.