Khalifa Airways was a passenger and cargo airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 based in Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 which was founded in June 1999 by Rafik Khalifa

Rafik Khalifa

Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa is an Algerian businessman living in London. He was condemned in Algeria to a life sentence, charged of criminal association, corruption, abuse of trust, and forgery...

 and ceased flying in 2003.

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

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...

 and Pegasus

Pegasus

Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...

 (4 Boeing 737

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

s) reclaimed their leased aircraft, and aircraft on order were cancelled. The Bank of Algeria

Bank of Algeria

The Bank of Algeria , is the central bank of Algeria. The bank is located in Algiers and its current governor is Mohammed Laksaci.The organization of the bank includes the Conseil de la Monnaie et du Crédit, the Commission Bancaire and the Bank of Algeria itself.-See also:*Algerian dinar,...

 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

Olympique de Marseille

Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

 from 2001 to 2003.

On March 22, 2007, the International Herald Tribune

International Herald Tribune

The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...

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. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/22/africa/AF-GEN-Algeria-Bank-Trial.php

Services

In 2002 services included:

• Algiers-Amman-Dubai.
• Algiers-Barcelona-El Prat.
• Algiers-Basle/Mulhouse.
• Algiers-Beijing-Capital (in project)
• Algiers-Lahore
• Algiers-Johannesburg.
• Algiers-Karachi
• Algiers-London-Gatwick
• Algiers-Peshawar
• Algiers-Madrid-Barajas.
• Algiers-Marseille.
• Algiers-Mumbai (in project).
• Algiers-Moroni.
• Algiers-New York-Montreal (in project).
• Algiers-Nantes.
• Algiers-Islamabad
• Algiers-New York-Toronto.
• Algiers-Paris-CDG.
• Algiers-Seoul-Incheon.
• Algiers-Tokyo-Narita (in project).
• Algiers-Tripoli.
• Algiers-Tunis

And domestic destinations.

Fleet

In 2002 the airline fleet was as follows:

• 2 × Airbus A300-600F
  Airbus A300
  The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
  
   (Cargo)
• 10 × Airbus A310-300
  Airbus A310
  The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
  
  
• 4 × Airbus A319-100
  Airbus A320 family
  The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
  
  
• 4 × Airbus A320-200
  Airbus A320 family
  The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
  
  
• 5 × Airbus A330-300
• 3 × Airbus A340-300
• 4 × ATR 42
  ATR 42
  -Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
  
  
• 6 × ATR 72
  ATR 72
  The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
  
  
• 4 × Boeing 737-400
  Boeing 737 Classic
  The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
  
  
• 2 × Boeing 777-200ER
• 2 × Boeing 747-400
  Boeing 747-400
  The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
  
  
• 1 × Canadair CRJ-200