Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945 by the Ethiopian government with the assistance of Western Airlines. With a fleet of war-surplus Dakotas, the airline took to the sky. At first, only domestic and regional destinations were served, forcing the airline to build makeshift airstrips. However, in 1957, Douglas DC-6s and a Lockheed Constellation were obtained and flights to Europe commenced. In the 1960s, Ethiopian entered the jet age with the purchase of Boeing 720s, later supplemented with 707s. Despite various political, economic, and social obstacles, Ethiopian Airlines continued to invest and grow, expanding to other African countries and further abroad. As passenger transport has declined, as a result of the global pandemic, it currently utilizes its cargo business to transport medical supplies. Illustrated with over 100 images, this book shows how Ethiopian Airlines has remained the powerhouse of African aviation.

Ethiopian Airlines: The African Aviation Powerhouse (Airlines Series)

History

Mols, Jozef

Military

Key Publishing

Turkish Airlines’ origins go back to 1933, when the Turkish government established the State Airlines Administration with a fleet of just five aircraft and a staff of 24 people. Initially, the route network only included domestic destinations, but it was soon followed by flights to Nicosia (which has a large Turkish population), Beirut (the financial heart of the Middle East) and Cairo (the political epicenter of the region). In 1956, the airline was restructured and transformed into the current Turkish Airlines. From that moment, the airline started a rapid international expansion. At first, many destinations in Germany were served because of the large number of Turkish workers in that country, but other major European cities were soon added to the network.\nOf course, the airline has faced many challenges, such as the deregulation of air transport in Turkey, the devaluations of the Turkish currency and domestic political unrest. Geopolitical factors such as the tensions with Russia and the war in Syria may also have caused some issues for the airline’s management. With 150 images, this book charts Turkish Airlines’ history, showing how it has become one of the largest airlines in the world.

Turkish Airlines: The Istanbul Superconnector (Airlines Series)

Business & Money

Biography & History

Aero Oy, which was later rebranded as Finnair, is one of the oldest surviving airlines in the world. The airline was established in 1923 and started up domestic flights alongside routes to the Nordic and Baltic regions. In the beginning, Aero Oy used German Junkers F 13 aircraft, as Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG was a shareholder of the airline. The airline continued to use Junkers aircraft, such as the G 24 and Ju 52, even after Finnish shareholders had bought back Junkers’ shares. During World War Two, Finland was occupied by Russian troops, followed by the Germans and then the Allies. Still, Aero Oy managed to continue its operations. After the war, thanks to its geographic location, Finnair was able to start up several routes to the Soviet Union. Later on, the airline was the first carrier in the world to connect Europe with Asia via a polar route, which is considerably shorter than the conventional routes via Russia or the Persian Gulf. Both passenger and cargo flights to Asia became Finnair’s main source of income at a time when China was opening up the ‘new Silk Road’. Of course, Finnair was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic like most other airlines around the world. While this is an ongoing problem, Finnair is taking steps to guarantee the further growth of the airline once the pandemic is over. With over 140 images, this book charts Finnair’s history from the very beginning and shows how it has survived through the years.

Finnair (Airlines Series)

Aerolot was the first regular airline in Poland. It was formed in 1922 by three co-owners of the largest oil producing company in former Austria-Hungary with the main intention being to offer transportation between the different oil fields. In 1928, Aerolot, together with two other Polish airlines (Silesian Air Society and Aero), was nationalized and merged to form LOT Polish Airlines. Before the start of the World War II, the airline had carried 218,000 passengers. Services were suspended after the outbreak of the war and many aircraft were evacuated to Romania, Baltic States and Great Britain. After the liberation of Poland by Soviet troops, the Polish Air Force maintained some basic transportation in the country, and in 1945, LOT was recreated by the government as a state-owned enterprise. In 1997, LOT established its subsidiary Eurolot to take over domestic routes, and in 2003, the airline would join the Star Alliance. By that time the airline carried some 3 million passengers per year. In 2004, LOT created a low-cost subsidiary Centralwings but after just five years of operations, the subsidiary was dissolved and reincorporated in LOT. In 2010/2011, the airline started its 'East meets West' policy, adding many destinations in Asia to its network, thus taking advantage of increased passenger numbers of flights between Europe and Asia. Since then, the airline has obtained modern equipment like the Boeing 737Max 8 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Illustrated with over 140 photographs, this book details the history of LOT from its inception to the present day.

LOT Polish Airlines: Wings of Central Europe (Airlines Series)

The first Iranian airline was started in 1924 by German Hugo Junkers. When the Junkers company closed in 1936, Iranian military pilots had to guarantee the delivery of mail, packages and, occasionally, some passengers. The first truly Iranian airline - Iranian Airways - took to the skies in 1946. In the 1950s, other private airlines were established by Iranian investors, but in 1963, they were all merged and taken over by the government. During the reign of the Shah of Iran, this airline became a modern carrier, able to compete on the international aviation scene.However, with the revolution in 1979, Western relations were cut off and it was impossible for the airline to buy new aircraft or spare parts. Only creativity and self-sufficiency made it possible for the airline to survive. In 2016, Iran agreed to reduce its nuclear capabilities and Iran Air was able to place massive orders with Boeing, Airbus and ATR to rejuvenate its obsolete fleet. Although Airbus and ATR were able to deliver a few aircraft, the re-instated sanctions against Iran brought all outstanding orders to an abrupt halt. With over 130 images, this book covers the fascinating Iran Air story from the beginning to the current day, exploring its history and the challenges its faced.

Iran Air: Flying the Homa (Airlines Series)

Middle East

China Airlines (Airlines Series)

Asia

Alitalia (Airlines Series)

Europe

On January 26, 1949, Garuda Indonesia was officially established as Indonesia's government-owned flag carrier. To begin with, the airline focused on domestic and regional travel. However, in 1962, the Dutch-occupied island of Dutch New Guinea was added to the Indonesian territory and Garuda faced the huge challenge of starting up flights to the very remote and isolated settlements of Irian Jaya. Fortunately, the airline had the assistance of another Indonesian government-owned airline, Merpati, which would later become a feeder and subsidiary of Garuda.In the mid-1980s, a massive reorganization led to Garuda offering international flights, which required the modernization of the entire fleet. The late '90s saw a new management having to cope with the disastrous effects of the Asian financial crisis closely followed by the deregulation of the aviation industry in 2000, which greatly increased competition in the domestic market. Over subsequent years, Garuda has faced many more challenges, from the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Bali bombings to the 2003 SARS epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite these setbacks, it has successfully transitioned from a small domestic carrier to a player on the international stage. This fully illustrated volume looks at Garuda's turbulent history from its involvement in Indonesia's postwar struggle for independence to operations during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Garuda Indonesia (Airlines Series)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mols, Jozef. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mols, Jozef