Zambia Airways

The beginning and the end of a great airline - Zambia Airways Corporation Ltd (QZ)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• zambia
• airways
• nkwazi
• dc10

[malombola]

The Zambia Airway DC 10 christened Nkwazi reg. N3016Z flew for Zambia Airways from 1984 up until the company ceased operations in 1994. It last flew in 2001 for Monarch Airlines in UK. It is currently stored... at Manchester's Ringway International Airport.

[freedomairwaves]

@malombola It was stored some long time ago. It has been scraped and the only part remaining now is the nose section on display :(

[luswishi]

in 1978 I sat at Southdowns Airstrip waiting for that HS748 to take me and my family to Luangwa for a vacation. After 4 hours we were told that Presidenty Kaunda had taken the plane to the western Province. I guess fee paying tourists did not count in his Lordships eyes. I drove through the night but all the other paying passengers were SOL. Way to run an Airline? What a banana joke!

[freedomairwaves]

@luswishi Sorry to hear that this happened to you, It happened to me too, 3 times! The airline was there for the president, as you may know or not know, Zambia was a one party state and the president back then who was elected in 1964 was on up to 1991. It was difficult times back then for everyone, especially those of us having to live in Zambia. In 1991 Zambia had multi party elections and is now a democratic state. The airline was shut down by the new government in 1994.

[galan98]

I look forward to the day when Zambia again has a national flag airline, and I can fly on it directly from the United States to Lusaka, Livingstone, Ndola or Mfuwe.

[malombola]

I have discovered that our Nkwazi DC 10 has since been stripped and the forward section of this once fantastic airliner is now preserved and used as a classroom at Manchesters Aviation Viewing Park.

[keithmwana]

@freedomairwaves Just seen your reply from 7 months ago! Iam putting together my website it will have all my published articles online for all to read. I have done a few more on african airlines that you might find interesting. keep in touch

[walrasiad]

I rode on probably every one of those planes many times. It suffered a lot from ambition - too many flights, not enough passengers. I remember flying 737s to Harare frequently - they were three-quarters or more empty. I couldn't imagine how they made money on all of trips. DC-10 benefited from the international sanctions on South Africa in the 80s, carrying intercontinental passengers that couldn't fly there directly. When the sanctions were lifted, that reliable money-maker was gone.

[freedomairwaves]

@mesixpence I thought I did answer your question. You asked how could a country as poor as Zambia afford to fly KK around and I told you that Zambia was never a poor country, in fact Zambia was and still is a very rich country! Your second question was for him to catch scheduled flights to save money and I ask you how many presidents around the world do you know that catch scheduled flights especially dictators?

[mesixpence]

@freedomairwaves you didn't answer my question.

[freedomairwaves]

@mesixpence My friend, Zambia was never a poor country believe me, in fact Zambia has so many resources like very few countries in this world. This airline was born because of former president Kaunda, the airline went millions of dollars under ever year yet was bailed out all the time, there was lots of money around to keep an unprofitable airline flying. After the dictatorship went in 1991 and the capitalists came in it was not long till they closed the airline.