Cham Wings Airlines

Cham Wings Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
6Q SAW SHAMWING
Founded 2007
Hubs Damascus International Airport
Fleet size 2
Destinations 12
Company slogan "Fly Beyond The Limits"
Headquarters Damascus, Syria
Key people Issam Shammout, (Chairman)
Website www.chamwings.com

Cham Wings Airlines (Arabic: أجنحة الشام للطيران, previously known as Sham Wing Airlines) is a private Syrian airline with its head office in Damascus, Syria.[1]

History

Cham Wings Airlines was established on 9 July 2006 as the first private airline in Syria by an independent Syrian businessman Issam Shammout. The main hub for the airline is Damascus International Airport. The company obtained officially an Aircraft Operators Certificate (AOC) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) on 23 September 2007.[2] Although the AOC hold number 2 that comes after the main national carrier of Syria Syrian Air, the AOC authorised the company to operate non scheduled charter flights only. The company leased one MD aircraft and commenced its first flight from Damascus to Baghdad International Airport on 3 March 2008.

In 2008, a new comer entered the market under name Syrian Pearl Airlines of ownership: Cham Holding 69% (Rami Makhlouf major shareholder), Syrianair 25%, Aqeeq Aviation/Aquila Holding 6%, (Aqeeq and Al Deshtei Kuwaiti).[3] The partnership with Syrian Air gave Syrian Pearl the opportunity to operate scheduled flights[4] unlike Cham Wings which struggled in operating charter flights to destinations that Syrian Air hardly approves. Even though Syrian Pearl never started its operations, Cham Wings could not turn profitable operating only charter flights. The company terminated its operations in 2012 following the unrest in Syria.

In 2013, Kinda Airlines was established as the first private airline in Syrian to operate scheduled flights. The company never commenced its operations.

In 2014, Cham Wings Airlines obtained the approval to operate scheduled flights becoming the second national carrier in Syria. It then recommenced its operations to serve destinations like Beirut, Kuwait, Baghdad, and Qamishly.

In 2015, FlyDamas entered the market as the third national carrier.

Ownership

Cham Wings Airlines is 100% privately owned by Syrian businessman Issam Shammout where it seems the funding comes from his family business Shammout Groups which operate in automotive, steel and freight sectors.[5]

Destinations

Cham Wings operates the following services (as of March 2016):[6]

Terminated Destinations

Fleet

The Cham Wings Airlines fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of August 2016):[7]

Cham Wings Airlines
Aircraft In fleet Order Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-211 1 0 156 Registration YK-BAB
Airbus A320-212 1 0 174 Registration YK-BAA
Total 2 0

    References

    1. "Contact Us". Cham Wings Airlines — Fly Beyond The Limits. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
    2. "Our Company". Cham Wings Airlines — Fly Beyond The Limits. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
    3. "Arab Aviation > Country Briefs > Syria > Syrian Pearl". www.arabaviation.com. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
    4. "شركة طيران سورية خاصة تواجه منافسة محتدمة". صحيفة الوسط البحرينية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2016-05-22.
    5. "http://www.syriandays.com/finance/?page=show_det&select_page=2&id=2524"
    6. https://www.chamwings.com/en/destinations/
    7. "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2016): 33.

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.