LAM Mozambique Airlines explained

Airline:LAMMozambique Airlines
LAMLinhas Aéreas de Moçambique SARL
Fleet Size:4
Destinations:12
Parent:Government of Mozambique
Iata:TM
Icao:LAM
Callsign:MOZAMBIQUE
Founded: (as DETA - Direcção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos)
Headquarters:Maputo, Mozambique
Subsidiaries:Moçambique Expresso (100%)
Frequent Flyer:Flamingo Club[1]

LAM - Mozambique Airlines, S. A. (LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, S. A.) or Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, Ltd., operating as LAM Mozambique Airlines (Portuguese: LAM Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique), is the flag carrier of Mozambique. The airline was established by the Portuguese colonial government of Mozambique in August 1936 as a charter carrier named DETA - Direcção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos, and was renamed in 1980 following reorganisation. LAM Mozambique Airlines is based in Maputo, and has its hub at Maputo International Airport. It operates scheduled services in Southern Africa. The company is a member of the International Air Transport Association, and of the African Airlines Association since 1976.[2] [3]

History

Early years

The airline was established on 26 August 1936 as DETADirecção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos, as a division of the Department of Railways, Harbours and Airways of the Portuguese colonial government of Mozambique. Charter flights were operated for a short period of time; a regular airmail service commenced on 22 December 1937 using a Dragonfly, a Hornet and two Rapides. Shortly afterwards, these services started carrying passengers, most of them government officials. Flown with Rapides, the Lourenço MarquesGerminston route was one of the company’s mainstays in the early years; it was operated on a twice-weekly basis, and connected with Imperial Airways services to London. In April 1938, the eight-hour-long domestic Lourenço Marques–InhambaneBeiraQuelimane coastal route was opened. DETA passengers that were flown along the Mozambican coast could also connect with Imperial services at Lourenço Marques. At that time, Imperial Airways ran a service between Cape Town and Cairo that called at Lourenço Marques. Early in 1938, DETA had signed a contract with Imperial for the provision of such feeder services. During the spring, another Hornet was incorporated into the fleet. Also in 1938, the airline acquired three Junkers Ju 52s and two more Rapides. The coastal service was extended farther north in, reaching Port Amelia. At April 1939, one Drangonfly, one Hornet, three Junkers Ju 52s and six Rapides were part of the fleet. Most of the operations came to a halt following the outbreak of World War II.

A Beira–Salisbury route was launched in February 1947, with scheduled services to Durban and Madagascar also starting by the end of that year. By March 1952 the carrier was operating a 2000miles long route network that included domestic services as well as international ones to Durban, Johannesburg and Salisbury, served with a fleet of six Doves, five Rapides, three Douglas DC-3s, two Lockheed Lodestars, a Lockheed L-14 and a Junkers Ju 52.[4] A new MoçambiqueNampulaVila Cabral run that called at three more intermediate stops was opened in 1954. The last leg of this service was temporarily suspended when Vila Cabral was excluded from the airline's list of destinations, but flights to the city were later reinstated after Vila Cabral got linked with Beira via Vila Pery, Tete and Vila Coutinho. At March 1955, the carrier's fleet included three DC-3s, six Doves, one Dragon Fly, four Dragon Rapides, two Junkers Ju 52/3s, one Lockheed 14H, two Lodestars and two Horner Moths.

The airline was one of the last worldwide to operate the Junkers Ju 52s on scheduled services. Two of these aircraft were still in its fleet in April 1960, along with three DC-3s, four Doves, three Lodestars and four Rapides that operated a domestic network plus international services to Durban, Johannesburg and Salisbury. DETA started a fleet modernisation in the early 1960s, when three Fokker F27-200s ordered in June 1961, making the airline the customer for the type, had already been handed over to the company by August 1962; the first of them was named "Lourenço Marques" after the capital city of Portuguese East Africa. DETA and Air Malawi inaugurated the Beira–Blantyre service in 1964; it was operated in a pool agreement between the two carriers. In 1965, Nova Freizo was added to the route network; in that year, a service linking Beira with Lourenço Marques was launched. In March 1966, DETA and Swazi Air commenced flying the Lourenço Marques–Manzini run on a joint basis. Two Boeing 737-200s were ordered in 1968 both to complement the three F27s, six DC-3s, one Dove, and one Beaver already in the fleet, and to support the company's regional expansion, that had grown up to five destinations regionally served with the addition of Blantyre and Manzini to the network. The first of these machines entered the fleet in 1969. The airline would order two more Boeing 737-200s in the forthcoming years, taking possession of the fourth one in 1973.

Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Intercontinental services started in 1976 serving the Lourenço Marques–Beira–Accra–Lisbon route, at first with a Boeing 707-320, and then with a Boeing 707-320C leased from Tempair International Airlines.[5] [6] In 1979, a Douglas DC-8 was ordered.

Renaming

DETA was Mozambique's flag carrier until 1980. Following allegations of corruption, the airline was restructured and renamed LAMLinhas Aéreas de Moçambique early that year. Four more Boeing 737-200s were ordered in 1981. The Douglas DC-8-62 that had been ordered at the end of the DETA era arrived in 1982. In 1983, a Douglas DC-10-30 was ordered. Also in 1983, a Maputo–Manzini–Maseru service that was flown using Fokker F27 aircraft was launched in cooperation with Lesotho Airways. The DC-10-30 joined the fleet in 1984, and new services to East Berlin, Copenhagen and Paris were started. At March 1985, the carrier had 1,927 employees. At this time, the DC-10-30 and three Boeing 737-200s (including a convertible one) worked on a route network radiating from Maputo that served Beira, Berlin-Schonefeld, Dar-es-Salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Lusaka, Manzini, Maseru, Nampula, Paris, Pemba, Sofia and Quelimane. TACV Cabo Verde Airlines leased the DC-10 in the weekends during 1985.

The first Boeing 737-300 entered the fleet in 1991. By that year, employment was 1,948, and the fleet consisted of two Boeing 737-200s (including a convertible one), one Boeing 767-200ER (plus another one on order) and four CASA 212-200s. The company had returned the 737-300 to the lessor in 1995 because of its inability to afford the leasing costs of the aircraft, and a Boeing 767-200ER would follow the same fate late that year. An ex-Royal Swazi Fokker 100 was leased in October 1996. On 23 December 1998, LAM became a limited company and rebranded as LAMMozambique Airlines.

EU ban

Like all airlines with an AOC issued in Mozambique, the carrier is banned from operating into the European Union. The ban dates back to April 2011. At that time, the company claimed the Mozambican Civil Aviation Institute was responsible for the actions taken by the European Commission against all Mozambican carriers, and argued that it was an airline with an excellent safety record. Prior to EuroAtlantic Airways launching Boeing 767-300ER operations to Lisbon on LAM's behalf in April 2011, the Lisbon–Maputo–Lisbon run was operated by TAP Portugal as a codeshare with LAM. The Maputo–Lisbon–Maputo route, originally launched in November 2011, was discontinued from late that year, ahead of the constitution of a new autonomous division aimed at operating intercontinental routes., Lisbon was served with Airbus A340 aircraft., the list of airlines banned in the EU still included LAM.In May 2017, the European Commission removed all airlines certified in Mozambique from their list of banned airlines after an audit confirmed that aviation safety had improved in the country.[7]

Corporate affairs

Ownership and subsidiaries

, the state holds 91% of the shares and the employees hold the balance. The company Moçambique Expresso, set up in September 1995, is 100% owned by LAM.[8]

Business trends

The airline has been loss-making for many years. Full annual reports do not appear to have been published, although financial results are now being released. Otherwise, the main sources for trends are industry and press reports, as shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

20102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Turnover (MZMm)5,2715,3826,1954,465
Profit before tax (MZMm)
Number of employees715909695865831831
Number of passengers (000s)612684788640539589
Passenger load factor (%)707366.47370
Number of aircraft (at year end) 796652
Notes/sources[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
[20] [21]

Key people

Américo Muchanga was appointed CEO of the company on 10 July 2024.[22]

Destinations

, LAM Mozambique Airlines serves nine domestic and three international African routes mainly from its home base at Maputo International Airport.[23]

Codeshare agreements

LAM Mozambique Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[24]

Fleet

Current fleet

The LAMMozambique Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft :[27]

LAMMozambique Airlines fleet
AircraftIn fleetOrdersPassengersNotes
CW YTotal
Boeing 737-70021 12120132
Bombardier Dash 8 Q40027272Operated by Moçambique Expresso
Boeing 777-200ER01 3024239[28] 304Leased from EuroAtlantic Airways[29]
Total42

Fleet development

The newest aircraft in LAM's fleet is the Embraer 190, the first of which the airline took possession of in August 2009. The carrier received the second aircraft of the type a month later. LAM Mozambique Airlines took delivery of a Boeing 737-500 on lease from GECAS in November 2012. Three Embraer 190s were in operation until November 2013, when one of them crashed in Namibia. In early, a Boeing 737 was leased to fill the capacity shortage created by the crashed airframe. An order, that had been signed in November 2013, for Boeing 737-700s valued at  million, was announced in February 2014.

Historical fleet

The airline previously operated the following aircraft:[30]

Accidents and incidents

, Aviation Safety Network records seven hull-loss events for the airline. Three of these events occurred in the DETA era, while the other four correspond to LAM. As of November 2013 there has been one fatal accident for LAM proper.[33] [34] Following is a list of these events.

DateLocationAircraftTail numberAircraft damageFatalitiesDescriptionRefs
QuelimaneLockheed L-14CR-AAVW/O/13Crashed on takeoff at Quelimane Airport.
Lagoa PátiJu 52CR-AAJW/O/15Force landing.
Lourenço MarquesF27-200CR-AIBW/O/3Crashed on a training flight at Lourenço Marques Airport.
QuelimaneC9-BABW/O/110Undercarriage failure after landing some short of the runway at Quelimane Airport.
LichingaC9-BADW/O/108Overran the runway on landing at Lichinga Airport.[35]
Boeing 747SPZS-SPFW/O/66Emergency landing, following an engine failure at that led to a fire. The aircraft, leased from South African Airways, was due to operate the Maputo–Lisbon route.[36]
Embraer 190C9-EMCW/O/33Preliminary evidence indicates the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the pilot.[37]

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Flamingo Club. LAM Mozambique Airlines. 15 December 2011.
  2. Web site: Membership. International Air Transport Association. 15 December 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111213015054/http://www.iata.org/membership/pages/airline_members_list.aspx. 13 December 2011.
  3. Web site: AFRAA Members. AFRAA. 19 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110425203634/http://www.afraa.org/membership.htm. 25 April 2011. dead.
  4. The World's Airlines – DETA (Divisao de Exploracao des Transportes Aereos). Flight. 16 May 1952. 593. PDF. 5 January 2012.
  5. World airline directory – DETA Mozambique Airlines (Linhas Aereas de Mocambique). Flight International. 10 April 1976. 923. PDF. 7 January 2012.
  6. World news – Tempair serves Mozambique. Flight International. 3 January 1976. 4. PDF. 7 January 2012.
  7. News: 16 May 2017. Aviation Safety: Commission clears all airlines from Benin and Mozambique from EU Air Safety List. European Commission. 2021-08-29.
  8. Web site: Moçambique Expresso. 5 October 2017.
  9. News: Mozambique: National Airline's Operating Profits Up By 15 Per Cent. AllAfrica.com. 5 March 2012.
  10. Web site: Mozambican airline LAM carries 612,000 passengers in 2012. 9 January 2013. 17 March 2016.
  11. News: Annual Report 2014. African Airlines Association. 2014. 17 March 2016. 23 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160323192055/https://issuu.com/charleskamau/docs/aw_ar2014. dead.
  12. Web site: Mozambique's flagship airline carries more passengers in 2014. 4 March 2015. 17 March 2016.
  13. News: Mozambique's LAM airline gets new CEO. Zitamar News. 9 February 2016.
  14. Web site: AFRAA Annual Report 2017. AFRAA. 2017. 22 February 2020. 15 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023117/https://afraa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AFRAA-Annual-Report-2017-1.pdf. dead.
  15. Web site: AFRAA Annual Report 2018. AFRAA. 2018.
  16. Web site: Demonstrações Financeiras - 31 de Dezembro de 2018 (in Portuguese)(Financial Statements to 31 December 2018). 29 July 2019. 2 December 2019.
  17. Web site: AFRAA Annual Report 2019. AFRAA. 2019.
  18. Web site: Demonstrações Financeiras - 31 de Dezembro de 2019 (in Portuguese)(Financial Statements to 31 December 2019). 28 July 2020. 21 December 2021.
  19. Web site: AFRAA Annual Report 2020. AFRAA. 2020.
  20. Web site: Demonstrações Financeiras - 31 de Dezembro de 2020 (in Portuguese)(Financial Statements to 31 December 2020). 13 October 2021. 21 December 2021.
  21. Web site: AFRAA Annual Report 2021. AFRAA. 2021. 21 December 2021.
  22. Web site: Mozambique: LAM warns of flight reschedulings . Club of Mozambique. 15 July 2024. 15 July 2024.
  23. https://www.lam.co.mz/en/LAM-Destinations lam.co.mz - Destinations
  24. Web site: Profile on LAM – Mozambique Airlines . CAPA. Centre for Aviation. 2016-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20161031190830/http://centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/lam--mozambique-airlines-tm . 2016-10-31. live.
  25. News: LAM Mozambique launches codeshare service with Ethiopian from Feb 2017. Routesonline. 2017-02-21. en-GB.
  26. Web site: Mozambican airline LAM and Fastjet sign partnership – Macauhub . Macauhub.com.mo . 2022-03-20.
  27. Web site: LAM Fleet (Airfleets). airfleets.net. 2023-07-22.
  28. Web site: EuroAtlantic Airways Boeing 777-200ER Seat Map. SeatMaps. 1 November 2023.
  29. Web site: LAM MOZAMBIQUE RESUMES LISBON SERVICE FROM DEC 2023. Aeroroutes. 1 November 2023.
  30. Web site: LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique Fleet. ch-aviation GmbH. https://web.archive.org/web/20141211143003/http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/aircraft/search?search=1&cha=TM. 11 December 2014 .
  31. Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part One). Airliner World. October 2017. 21.
  32. Web site: Aircraft Fleet / Company History / About LAM / Home - LAM. www.lam.co.mz. 2016-09-23.
  33. Web site: Accident record for LAM Mozambique Airlines. Aviation Safety Network. 7 January 2012.
  34. Web site: Accident record for DETA Mozambique Airlines. Aviation Safety Network. 7 January 2012.
  35. 1989 airline safety so far – Non-fatal accidents/incidents: scheduled passenger flights. Flight International. 22 July 1989. PDF. 13 January 2012.
  36. Airline safety review – Non-fatal accidents and incidents: scheduled passenger flights. Flight International. 13–19 January 1999. 32. 10 January 2012.
  37. News: LAM 190 probe details pilot's actions during fatal descent . David . Kaminski-Morrow . . . 9 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141209172717/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lam-190-probe-details-pilot39s-actions-during-fatal-406904/ . 9 December 2014 .