African International

African International Airways (Pty) Ltd (AIA), a privately owned cargo airline is licensed by South Africa Civil Aviation Authority as an international all cargo airline.

The company commenced flying operations with a single DC8 aircraft and has now expanded its fleet to three DC8-62F (Chapter III) aircraft. For a number of years AIA was principally engaged in the role of a contract air carrier, by providing supplementary capacity to scheduled airlines on whose behalf AIA would operate the airline’s scheduled cargo routes. This included a period of nearly 12 years operating for Alitalia and in excess of 4 years for British Airways World Cargo. A number of other airlines use AIA’s services for this purpose, albeit for a shorter period including South African Airways, Air Gabon, KLM, Lufthansa and Air Mauritius to mention but a few.

Progressively scheduled airlines expanded their belly hold capacity with wide-bodied aircraft and reduced their demand for supplementary capacity, resulting in AIA focusing on alternative niche markets. From the mid nineties, in collaboration with their UK based GSA Intavia Ltd, AIA has progressively developed an internationally recognised identity as a global air cargo operator performing many categories of flights between numerous territories covering a wide variety of different types of cargo ranging from animals of all type, for which AIA can provide specialist equipment, to dry cargo including security printing, produce, flowers, motor car spares, humanitarian relief goods for governments and the United Nations and a wide variety of all other traffic when air freighting is an appropriate option.

AIA has operated to every one of the 56 countries of the African continent except for Lesotho and is licensed by the USA D.O.T. for cargo operations between Africa and America.

http://www.aiaflycargo.com