Khalifa Airways

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Khalifa Airways
IATA
K6
ICAO
KZW
Callsign
KHALIFA AIR
Founded 1999
Hubs Houari Boumedienne Airport
Focus cities Oran Es Senia Airport
Frequent flyer program Khalifa Group
Member lounge Algiers Lounge
Alliance NA
Fleet size 37
Destinations 72
Parent company Air Algerie
Headquarters Algiers, Algeria
Key people Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa

Khalifa Airways (Arabic الخطوط الجوية الخليفة) was a passenger and cargo airline based in Algiers, Algeria which was founded in June 1999 by Rafik Khalifa and ceased flying in 2003.

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[edit] History

Khalifa Airways had stopped most flying by mid-March 2003 after it failed to meet lease payments. In the Arab press that month it was reported that the airline was only operating "a dozen aircraft at the most," out of the 30 it previously had in its fleet. Lufthansa and Pegasus (4 Boeing 737s) reclaimed their leased aircraft, and aircraft on order were cancelled. The Bank of Algeria had appointed an administrator to manage the affairs of Khalifa Bank (also owned by Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa), thus denying funds to the airline to meet lease and insurance payments. By April 2003, the 8 remaining aircraft were grounded as insurance contracts expired. The airline was liquidated by a French court on 10 July 2003 after it failed to make a 5 million Euro payment to creditors.

Khalifa Airways is also known for having been the sponsor of the Olympique de Marseille from 2001 to 2003.

On March 22, 2007, the International Herald Tribune reported that the company's founder had been convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the 2003 failure of Khalifa Bank and associated companies, including Khalifa Airways. [1]

[edit] Services

In 2002 services included:

  • Algiers-Amman-Dubai.
  • Algiers-Barcelona.
  • Algiers-Basle-Mulhouse.
  • Algiers-Casablanca.
  • Algiers-Johannesburg.
  • Algiers-Lille.
  • Algiers-London
  • Algiers-Lyon.
  • Algiers-Madrid.
  • Algiers-Marseille.
  • Algiers-Mumbai (in project).
  • Algiers-Moroni.
  • Algiers-New York-Montreal (in project).
  • Algiers-Nantes.
  • Algiers-Nice.
  • Algiers-New York-Toronto.
  • Algiers-Paris.
  • Algiers-Seoul.
  • Algiers-Tokyo (in project).
  • Algiers-Tripoli.
  • Algiers-Tunis

And domestic destinations.

[edit] Fleet

In 2002 the airline fleet was as follows:

[edit] External links