Safi Airways
Encyclopedia
Safi Airways Co. is an Afghan
airline. The airline Safi Airways - IATA-Code 4Q - was founded in 2006 by Abdul Qudos Safi, an Afghan Businessman. This private airline has its headquarters in the Safi Airline Center in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul
and an administrative office in Deira
, Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
.
As the first airline in the history of Afghan aviation, Safi Airways has been re-organized to meet the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) rules for a scheduled airline. In an audit by ICAO inspectors on all Afghan airlines, Safi Airways has been certified as the first Afghan airline to be ICAO compliant.
The flights to Dubai twice a day are timed to reach most European, Asian and North American connections from the airport. On 15 June 2009, Safi Airways opened the first non-stop connection from Kabul to Frankfurt, Germany. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Safi Airways uses its 767-200ER for the direct flight, which arrives in Frankfurt in the afternoon, in time to reach all European connections. The 767 has a two class configuration. The return flights to Kabul depart Frankfurt in the evening, arriving in Kabul early the next morning. The Frankfurt departure time is again chosen to have an easy connection in Frankfurt from all departure airports in the world.
As the first Afghan airline, Safi Airways is now available in the Amadeus Global Distribution Systems, Galileo and Worldspan - Sabre will follow soon. Its flights can be therefore booked from anywhere in the world. Safi Airways uses Hahn Air to sell electronic tickets by every travel agent around the world. A traveler can now book tickets from his home town all the way to his Afghan destination and back, which was not possible so far.
President Hamid Karzai uses Safi Airways for his flights to visit foreign countries: since 2009 all flights of the President abroad are flown by the B 767-200 of Safi Airways.
Safi Airways plans to start flights to Moscow
in the future. On 15 June 2009, Safi Airways commenced operations between Afghan capital Kabul
and Frankfurt
in Germany. This service was temporarily suspended from 24 November 2010 as all Afghan carriers are banned from flying to EU member states till issues related to safety are resolved, Safi have since wet-leased a single Boeing 757 from Madrid based Privilege Style
and resumed operations on the route. Safi expects to expand in 2011-2012.
Afghanistan
India
Spain
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
In 2011, Safi Airways replaced their Boeing 737-300 aircraft with Airbus A320
. They also intend on getting an Airbus A330
aircraft for long haul routes..
On 5 November 2009, Safi Airways took delivery of an Airbus A340-311 aircraft, which was phased out after suspension of Frankfurt route.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
airline. The airline Safi Airways - IATA-Code 4Q - was founded in 2006 by Abdul Qudos Safi, an Afghan Businessman. This private airline has its headquarters in the Safi Airline Center in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and an administrative office in Deira
Deira
Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. Itextended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
Fleet & History
Safi Airways currently operates A320-212, A340-311, and Boeing 767-200ER . The executive team of Safi Airways is made up of airline executives from Germany and Belgium. The flight crews are also European and North American.As the first airline in the history of Afghan aviation, Safi Airways has been re-organized to meet the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) rules for a scheduled airline. In an audit by ICAO inspectors on all Afghan airlines, Safi Airways has been certified as the first Afghan airline to be ICAO compliant.
The flights to Dubai twice a day are timed to reach most European, Asian and North American connections from the airport. On 15 June 2009, Safi Airways opened the first non-stop connection from Kabul to Frankfurt, Germany. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Safi Airways uses its 767-200ER for the direct flight, which arrives in Frankfurt in the afternoon, in time to reach all European connections. The 767 has a two class configuration. The return flights to Kabul depart Frankfurt in the evening, arriving in Kabul early the next morning. The Frankfurt departure time is again chosen to have an easy connection in Frankfurt from all departure airports in the world.
As the first Afghan airline, Safi Airways is now available in the Amadeus Global Distribution Systems, Galileo and Worldspan - Sabre will follow soon. Its flights can be therefore booked from anywhere in the world. Safi Airways uses Hahn Air to sell electronic tickets by every travel agent around the world. A traveler can now book tickets from his home town all the way to his Afghan destination and back, which was not possible so far.
President Hamid Karzai uses Safi Airways for his flights to visit foreign countries: since 2009 all flights of the President abroad are flown by the B 767-200 of Safi Airways.
Safi Airways plans to start flights to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in the future. On 15 June 2009, Safi Airways commenced operations between Afghan capital Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
in Germany. This service was temporarily suspended from 24 November 2010 as all Afghan carriers are banned from flying to EU member states till issues related to safety are resolved, Safi have since wet-leased a single Boeing 757 from Madrid based Privilege Style
Privilege Style
Privilege Style is a charter airline based in Madrid, Spain, a division of . It operates passenger charter services throughout Europe. Its main base is Madrid, Barajas Airport.-External links:**...
and resumed operations on the route. Safi expects to expand in 2011-2012.
Destinations
Safi Airways serves the following destinations (as of November 2011):Afghanistan
- KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
- Kabul International AirportKabul International Airport-Facilities:The airport has two terminal buildings, the modern for international flights and the Soviet built one for domestic flights. Several hangars along the runway are for military aircraft...
Base
India
- DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
- Indira Gandhi International AirportIndira Gandhi International AirportIndira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, situated in West Delhi, 16 km southwest of New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, it is the busiest airport in India in...
Spain
- MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- Barajas International Airport [begins 10 January]
Turkey
- IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- Ataturk International AirportAtatürk International AirportAtatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...
[begins 5 January]
United Arab Emirates
- Abu DhabiAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
- Abu Dhabi International AirportAbu Dhabi International AirportAbu Dhabi International Airport is an airport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the world in terms of passengers , new airline operators, and infrastructural development...
[begins 5 January] - DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
- Dubai International AirportDubai International AirportDubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...
Codeshare agreements
Safi Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:- Air ChinaAir ChinaAir China is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern...
- Emirates
- LufthansaLufthansaDeutsche 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...
- Qatar AirwaysQatar AirwaysQatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...
- United AirlinesUnited AirlinesUnited Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
Fleet
As of November 2011, the Safi Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 20.6 years:| Aircraft | In Service | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (First) | (Business) | Total | |||
| Airbus A320-200 | 2 | 12 | 132 | 144 | First Afghan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... operator of the type |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 1 | 18 | 196 | 214 | |
| Total | 3 | ||||
In 2011, Safi Airways replaced their Boeing 737-300 aircraft with Airbus A320
Airbus A320
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...
. They also intend on getting an Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
aircraft for long haul routes..
On 5 November 2009, Safi Airways took delivery of an Airbus A340-311 aircraft, which was phased out after suspension of Frankfurt route.