Golden Wings Aviation South Sudan was a privately owned airline based in Juba, South Sudan. The carrier operated as a regional affiliate of South African carrier, Golden Wings Aviation, under a South African Air Operator's Certificate.
History Golden Wings Aviation was founded in 2014 by Obac William Olawo, a South Sudanese businessman from Upper Nile state as a South Sudanese start-up. The company successfully launched domestic flights between the South Sudanese capital of Juba and Wau, the capital of the Western Bahr el Ghazal state, using a Fokker 70 wet-leased from South Africa's SKA Aviation. Managing director Obaj William Olau said the route would operate four times weekly.
At the time of opening, the new airline intended to establish additional domestic flights to Malakal, Yei, and Aweil with regional services to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, also planned in the future. The present turmoil in the country is seen as a bonus to local airlines, as travelers opt for air transport over road transport to avoid ambushes, besides many of the key trunk roads across the South Sudan still being in a poor state.
Company news On July 16, 2015, it was announced that Golden Wings would lease a Yak-42D Skyliner Aviation from Moldovan ACMI/charter specialist MEGAviation, to expand service. At that time, the airline had expanded charter and scheduled services to Palouch, Malakal, Wau, Yaida, Aweil, Yambio, and Rumbek, all in South Sudan. Services to Khartoum in neighboring Sudan were also available.
In July, Golden Wings Aviation also announced that it had been named as the official franchise holder for Million Air, an award-winning fixed-base operator in the United States. Talks are now underway that could see the firm utilize the Million Air name and brand for various projects at various airports in South Africa and across the continent as a whole that could see the firm utilize the Million Air name and brand for various projects at various airports in South Africa and across the continent as a whole.
On February 15, 2016, it was announced Golden Wings was expanding their operations from originally focusing on South Sudan to exploring new opportunities in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda amongst various other African countries. At this point, Golden Wings Aviation’s fleet has grown rapidly and now consisted of 12 aircraft. The company possesses a Fokker F70, a 75-seater regional jet liner powered by two Rolls-Royce TAY 620-15 engines, two Beechcraft 1900Ds, regional turboprop airliners powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A67Ds and two de Havilland Dash 8 Q300s. A C-208 Caravan was later added to their fleet, and Golden Wings also manages a Boeing 727 Freighter for SKA International and was expected to add a 100-seater VVIP aircraft, as of February 2017.
On May 25, 2016, the company announced it was closing down operations in Bor, Panyangor, Pibor, Yei and Yambio following the rising inflation rates. Other destinations which were discontinued included Asmara, Cairo and Nairobi.
In July 2016, the airline began services to Entebbe International Airport in neighboring Uganda.
Destinations , Golden Wings Aviation served the following destinations:
Current destinations HubHub¤Focus cities[T]International destinations Country City Airport NotesRefs South Sudan Juba Juba International Airport *Main HUB *Founding destination South Sudan Wau Wau Airport *Focus city *Founding destination South Sudan Aweil Aweil Airport *Opened in 2015 South Sudan Malakal Malakal Airport *Opened in 2015 South Sudan Paloich Paloich Airport *Opened in 2015 South Sudan Rumbek Rumbek Airport *Opened in 2015 Sudan Khartoum Khartoum International Airport *Opened in 2015 Uganda Entebbe Entebbe International Airport *Opened in 2016
Future and discontinued destinations ^Future destinations[T]Terminated destinations Country City Airport NotesRefs South SudanBor Bor Airport Closed operations in 2016 South Sudan Pibor Pibor Airport Closed operations in 2016 South Sudan Yambio Yambio Airport Closed operations in 2016 South Sudan Yei Yei Airport Closed operations in 2016 Egypt Cairo Cairo International Airport Closed operations in 2016 Eritrea Asmara Asmara International Airport Closed operations in 2016 Kenya Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Closed operations in 2016
Fleet As of October 2017, the Golden Wings Aviation fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
+ Golden Wings Aviation fleet Aircraft In service Orders Passengers NotesFokker F70 1 — 75 Beechcraft 1900Ds 2 — Havilland Dash 8 Q300s 2 — C-208 Caravan 1 — Yak-42D 1 — 100-120 LeasedBoeing 727 1 — Freighter for SKA International TOTAL 8 — 0
The GWASS – Golden Wings Aviation South Sudan fleet previously included the following aircraft (as of 9 October 2017):
1 Fokker 50 - 58 max cap. Leased from SKA South Africa.
References
External links Website of Golden Wings Aviation South Sudan