Template:Short description Template:Infobox airline
Tunisair (Template:Langx) is the national airline of Tunisia.<ref name="Tunisair CEO fired after dispute with union" /> Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to four continents. Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International Airport. The airline's head office is in Tunis, near Tunis Airport.<ref>"Tunisair Tunis Template:Webarchive." Tunisair. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. "Head Office Agency Tunisair BD du 7 Novembre 1987 2035 Tunis Carthage"</ref>
HistoryEdit
The carrier was formed by the government of Tunisia as Société Tunisienne de l'Air in late 1948. The initial investment was FRF 60 million, with shareholding split between the government (35%), Air France (35%) and another interests (30%).Template:Sfn Air France transferred some of its DC-3s and routes (which included Tunis–Bone–Algiers, Tunis–Ajaccio–Nice, Tunis–Bastia–Nice, Tunis–Rome and a cargo flight between Tunis and Marseille)Template:Sfn to the new airline for it to start operations;Template:Sfn these commenced on 1 April 1949.<ref name="FI2000-109" /> The first managing director of the company was Rene Lefevre.Template:Sfn
The route network was expanded along the coast during the early 1950s. In 1951, Casablanca, Ghudamis and Tripoli were incorporated as destinations. In Template:MONTHNAME that year, a Tunis–Tripoli–Sabhah service was launched; it was routed via Sfax and Djerba in Template:MONTHNAME. The Ghudamis route was terminated in 1952, and the Casablanca run was taken over by Air France the same year. In 1953, the service to Marseille was extended to Paris. In 1954, a Douglas DC-4 was leased from Air France and used on the route to Paris.Template:Sfn At March 1955, the fleet comprised three Douglas DC-3s, one Douglas DC-4 and a SNCASE Languedoc.<ref name="Flight1955-308" /> During 1955, the carrier transported 92,344 passengers. At year end, the number of employees was 140. The airline had a revenue of £620,000 for 1955, and costs totalled to £550,000.<ref name="Flight1957-615" /> In 1957 the Tunisian government became the largest shareholder (51%) and the stake held by Air France was reduced to 15%.Template:Sfn
The carrier took delivery of its first jet-powered aircraft, a Sud Caravelle III, on 31 August 1961. A new service to Frankfurt was inaugurated in October but it was terminated in March the following year due to poor economical performance. A second Caravelle was ordered in 1963 and entered service in March 1964. In cooperation with Lufthansa, flights to Frankfurt were restarted in April 1966 using Caravelle equipment.Template:Sfn The Nord 262 was first put into service in 1969.<ref name="FI1969-695" /> The introduction of this aircraft into the fleet along with the airline already having two Caravelles in operation allowed the carrier to phase out a DC-3 and two DC-4s.Template:Sfn
The number of employees had grown to 888 by March 1970. At this time, they had four Caravelles, two Cessna 402s, a DC-3 and a Nord 262, which were used on domestic services and international routes to Algeria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands,<ref group="nb">″Holland″ is the name of the country served included in supporting source.<ref name="FI1970-507" /></ref> Italy, Libya, Morocco and Switzerland.<ref name="FI1970-507" /> Tunis Air took delivery of its first Boeing aircraft, a Boeing 727-200, on 12 March 1972;<ref name="FI1972-401" /> it was put on service on the Tunis–Paris run.<ref name="FI1972-262" /> On 1 April 1972, a Boeing 707 that was leased from Sabena inaugurated the Tunis–London link.<ref name="FI1973-572" /> The same day, new services to Luxembourg and Jeddah were launched.<ref name="FI1972-48" /> Late in the year, a second Boeing 727s was ordered for delivery in July 1973.<ref name="FI1972-262" /> In 1973, a third Boeing 727 was ordered for handover in Template:MONTHNAME that year.<ref name="FI1973-914" /> A fourth and fifth 727 were ordered in 1974 and 1975.<ref name="FI1974-516" /><ref name="FI1974-589" /><ref name="FI1975-725" /><ref name="FI1975-442" /> The gradual incorporation of the Boeing 727s permitted Tunisair to replace the Caravelles and to retire the remaining DC-3s.Template:Sfn
For the first time in its history, in 1995 the carrier started trading its shares at the Tunis stock exchange when 20% of the stake was floated.<ref name="A tough task in Tunisia" /> Ahmed Smaoui took over as president and director general of the company in March 1997.<ref name="State grip on Tunisair slips" /> In January 1999, Abdelmalek Larif became the new president. Also in 1999, flights to Amman and Beirut were launched.<ref name="A tough task in Tunisia" /> By April 2000 the airline had Template:Cardinal employees. At this time the fleet comprised one Airbus A300B4-200, two Airbus A319-100s, ten Airbus A320-200s, four Boeing 727-200 Advanced, three Boeing 737-200 Advanced, four Boeing 737-500s and three Boeing 737-600s that served the following destinations: Abu Dhabi, Algiers, Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Berlin, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Cairo, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Dakar, Damascus, Djerba, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gafsa, Geneva, Graz, Hamburg, Istanbul, Jeddah, Lille, Linz, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Lyon, Madrid, Malta, Marseille, Milan, Monastir, Munich, Nice, Nouakchott, Palermo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Salzburg, Sfax, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Tabarka, Toulouse, Tozeur, Tunis, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich.<ref name="FI2000-109" />
In 2007, Nabil Chettaoui was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO).<ref name="Executive appointments in brief" /> In June 2011, Hamadi Thamri replaced Chettaoui as president and CEO of the company.<ref name="Thamri named as new CEO of Tunisair" /> In July the same year, Moscow was first served by the carrier with flights to Domodedovo Airport.<ref name="Tunisair opens Moscow service" /> The airline's first transatlantic service, Tunis–Montreal, was launched in July 2016.<ref name="Airline Routes-July 11, 2016" />
Corporate affairsEdit
Ownership and managementEdit
Template:As of, Tunisair is owned 64,86% by the Tunisian state, 9.56% by three state-owned national funds (CNSS, CNRPS, CNAM) , and 5,58% by Air France.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The remaining 20% of the stake is floated under the ticker TAIR. The position of CEO was replaced by a head of general management, and a chairman of the board of directors. Montassar Bnouni and Habib Mekki were appointed respectively.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Habib Mekki also holds the position of Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Business trendsEdit
Annual reports for Tunisair do not appear to be regularly published; figures can also appear to be inconsistent in industry and press reports. Figures for the Airline (as opposed to the Group) seem to be as shown below (as at year ending 31 December):
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover (TND m) | 1,130 | 1,147 | 1,114 | 857 | 995 | 1,280 | 1,570 | |||||||||
| Net profit (TND m) | 33 | 60 | Template:Ifsubst style="color:red">−125.8 | Template:Ifsubst style="color:red">−205.3 | Template:Ifsubst style="color:red">−196.6 | |||||||||||
| Number of employees | 3,709 | 3,747 | 3,579 | 3,765 | ||||||||||||
| Number of passengers (m) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | |||||||
| Passenger load factor (%) | 70.5 | 71.8 | 74.4 | 74.5 | ||||||||||||
| Number of aircraft (at year end) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | ||||||||||||
| Notes/sources | <ref name=Profits/> | <ref name=Profits>Template:Cite news</ref> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
<ref name=perf/><ref name=CAPA>Template:Cite news</ref> | <ref name=AFRAA2014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=CAPA/> <ref name=NAfricaPost/> |
<ref name=NAfricaPost>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=econostrum>Template:Cite news</ref> | <ref name=econostrum/> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name=Zawya>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
<ref name=AfricanManager/> | <ref name=2018results>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Head officeEdit
Tunisair's head office is located on Route X near Tunis–Carthage International Airport in Tunis.<ref>"Tunis Template:Webarchive." Tunisair. Retrieved on 16 March 2010.</ref>
DestinationsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Tunisair flies to destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International Airport.
As of November 2023, the airline serves 24 countries on 68 routes.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Edit
Tunisair has Codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- Emirates<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Middle East Airlines<ref>https://www.mea.com.lb/english/about-mea/news-and-press-releases/code-share-agreement-between-middle-east-airlines-and-tunisair</ref>
- Royal Jordanian<ref>https://www.rj.com/it/meet-rj/our-media-center/news/2018/09/02/royal-jordanian-tunisair-sign-code-share-agreement#:~:text=Royal%20Jordanian%20and%20Tunisair%20concluded%20a%20free,four%2Dweekly%20flights%20are%20now%20open%20for%20sale.</ref>
Interline agreementsEdit
- Air Canada<ref name="CanadaPartners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Air Burkina<ref>https://air-burkina.com/en/the-company/partner-airlines#:~:text=Interline%20Partners,Asky</ref>
- Kuwait Airways<ref name="KuwaitPartners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Westjet<ref name="WestJetPartners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FleetEdit
Current fleetEdit
The Tunisair fleet consists of the following aircraft, Template:As of:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 2 | — | 12 | 102 | 114 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Airbus A320-200 | 11 | — | 32 | 114 | 146 | ||
| — | 162 | 162 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||
| Airbus A320neo | 5<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> | — | 12 | 138 | 150 | <ref name=":2" /> | |
| Template:Nowrap | 2 | — | 24 | 242 | 266<ref name="PICTURE: Tunisair takes delivery of first A330-200" /> | ||
| Total | 30 | 0 | |||||
Historical fleetEdit
- Airbus A300-600<ref name="Historic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Boeing 737-500<ref name="Historic" />
- Boeing 737-600<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Boeing 747<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Recent developmentsEdit
Tunisair became the first Airbus A319 customer in both the Arab World and Africa when it ordered three aircraft in October 1997, along with four Airbus A320s.<ref name="Tunisair is first Arab customer for A319" /> Another order followed the same year when the carrier acquired four Boeing 737-600s that were initially slated for delivery starting in May 1999.<ref name="Tunisair follows Airbus order with 737-600s" /> The airline took options on three more aircraft but the specific variants were not informed at that time.<ref name="Tunisair follows Airbus order with 737-600s" /><ref name="Tunisair Selects Next-Generation 737s for Fleet Expansion" /> The aircraft included in both orders were aimed at replacing the ageing Boeing 727s and 737s in the airlineTemplate:'s fleet.<ref name="Tunisair follows Airbus order with 737-600s" /> The company took delivery of its first A319 in August 1998.<ref name="Marketplace" /> Tunisair subsequently added three more Boeing 737-600s, taking delivery of the seventh one in April 2001.<ref name="Tunisair takes delivery of seventh and last Boeing 737-600 on order" />
Two second-hand General Electric CF6-powered Airbus A300-600R were purchased in 2000;<ref name="marketplace-64382" /> A third aircraft of the type joined the fleet in 2001.<ref name="Tunisair to sell A300s" /> An extended range A319 was ordered in 2006.<ref name="Tunisair to increase range of Airbus A319 fleet" /> In July 2008, Tunisair ordered three Airbus A350 XWBs, along with three Airbus A330-200s and ten Airbus A320s.<ref name="PICTURE: Tunisair takes delivery of first A330-200" /><ref name="FARNBOROUGH 2008: Tunisair firms order for A350s, A330s and A320s" /> The order was partially amended in mid-2013, when the airline cancelled the order for the A350.<ref name="Tunisair appears to cancel A350-800 order" /> The airline took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 in June 2015.<ref name="PICTURE: Tunisair takes delivery of first A330-200" /> The Airbus order was amended again in 2016, removing an A330 and four A320s and including four Airbus A320neos.<ref name="Tunisair orders A320neos after rejigging backlog" />
Incidents and accidentsEdit
Tunisair has never experienced a fatal accident since its founding in 1948, but has experienced three hull losses:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- On 12 January 1979, a Boeing 727 was hijacked and diverted to Libya after the hijackers demanded the release of Tunisian trade unionist Habib Achour. In Tripoli, the hijackers surrendered. There were no fatalities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- On 11 February 1992, a Boeing 727 rolled out of its hangar at Tunis–Carthage International Airport during an engine test due to technicians forgetting to set the aircraft's brakes. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- On 6 February 2013, an Airbus A320 operating as Flight 712 excursed from the runway while landing at Tunis–Carthage International Airport. All 83 people on board survived, but the aircraft was declared a hull loss.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Navboxes Template:Subject bar Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English