.avif)
DALLAS — Today, in 1958, The flag carrier of Ghana, Ghana Airways (GH), commenced operations.
The airline had been founded earlier that month to take over the services of West African Airways Corporation (WT). The country's government invested £400,000 for a 60% shareholding and joined forces with the British Overseas Aircraft Corporation (BOAC), which held the remaining 40%.
GH operated two Vickers VC-10s between 1965 and 1980. Photo: Christian Volpati (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons.
Early Years
The deal was signed for seven years, after which BOAC would be brought out. This occurred on February 14, 1961, when the Ghanian government stumped up a reported £160,000 for the British carrier's shareholding.
A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser adapted with BOAC colors with the Ghanian flag operated the airline's inaugural flight from Accra to London. Ghana Airways received its first aircraft, a de Havilland Heron, on December 30, 1958.
The airline entered the jet age in January 1961 when it ordered two Boeing 707-400s and three Vickers VC10s. However, the order for the 707s would subsequently be canceled owing to financial difficulties. The first VC10 arrived in 1965.
A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was leased from World Airways (WO) to operate the New York (JFK) route. Photo: Torsten Maiwald (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons.
Close Relationships
Along with the initial partnership with BOAC, GH had close ties with various other airlines throughout its history. This included pool agreements with Nigeria Airways (WT) and Alitalia (AZ), aircraft leases with KLM (KL) and Swissair (SR), and an alliance with South African Airways (SA).
Despite steady expansion during the 1990s and 2000s, financial difficulties were growing for the airline. A DC-10 was seized at London Heathrow (LHR) in June 2002, after which the airline's then Chairman, Sam Jonah, said that the airline was some US$160m in debt.
Rescue negotiations with Nationwide Airlines (CE) of South Africa in 2002 and Ethiopian Airlines (ET) in early 2005 failed, and Ghana Airways was liquidated in June 2005.
The featured image shows a Ghana Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (9G-ANE).
Find out more in our latest issue. Explore all the subscriptions plans that Airways has for you. From thrilling stories to insights into the commercial aviation industry. We are a global review of commercial flight.
Exploring Airline History Volume I
.webp)
David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.
Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!
December 2024
