Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (1997–2003)

Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (1997–2003)
Founded	1997
Commenced operations	1997
Ceased operations	2003
Hubs	N'djili Airport;
Headquarters	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) (English: Congolese Airlines) was the flag carrier of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1997 to succeed the folded Air Zaïre. Halting operations in 1999, it was reactivated for a short period in 2002, only to fold operations permanently in 2003.

History

The airline was set up in 1997, and started operations the same year.[1] It was a reorganisation of Air Zaïre.[2]

In 1999, a contract with the Belgian carrier City Bird to wet-lease a Boeing 767-300ER was signed.[3] Under this agreement, the airline would serve the Kinshasa–Brussels route, with the Belgian carrier codesharing the service.[4] Although the agreement came into being as of April 1999 for a five-year period, it was scrapped in November the same year.[5]

Destinations

Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) served the following destinations all through its history:[1]

City	Airport code		Airport name	Notes
City	IATA	ICAO	Airport name	Notes
Belgium
Brussels	BRU	EBBR	Brussels Airport
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kinshasa	FIH	FZAA	N'djili Airport	Hub
Lubumbashi	FBM	FZQA	Lubumbashi International Airport
Nigeria
Lagos	LOS	DNMM	Murtala Muhammed International Airport
South Africa
Johannesburg	JNB	FAJS	OR Tambo International Airport
Togo
Lomé	LFW	DXXX	Lomé-Tokoin Airport
Zimbabwe
Harare	HRE	FVHA	Harare International Airport

Codeshare agreements

There was a short-lived agreement between City Bird and LAC to codeshare the Kinshasa–Brussels route, operated by LAC but with City Bird aircraft.[6][7] Since late 2000, LAC codeshared the Harare–Lubumbashi–Kinshasa route, actually operated by Air Zimbabwe; the same agreement enabled Air Zimbabwe to place its code on the Kinshasa–Brussels service, operated by LAC.[8]

Fleet

An Iceland-registered Boeing 767-200ER in Lignes Aériennes Congolaises livery at Zaventem Airport in 2002

Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises operated the following aircraft all throughout its history:[9]

Accidents and incidents

Accidents involving fatalities

10 October 1998: A Boeing 727-30, registration 9Q-CSG, that was due to operate a non-scheduled domestic Kindu–Kinshasa passenger service, was shot down by rebel forces near Kindu shortly after takeoff, killing all 41 occupants on board.[10]

Non-fatal hull-losses

1 January 1999: A Boeing 737-298C, tail number 9Q-CNK, experienced an emergency landing at Kilimanjaro Airport due to an engine failure; the aircraft was ferried to N'djili Airport in March that year, and it has apparently been out of service since then.[11]

References

"World Airline Directory—LAC – Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises". Flight International: 95. 27 March – 2 April 2001. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
Emizet Francois Kisangani; Scott F. Bobb (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scarecrow Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-8108-6325-5.
"Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 31 March 1999. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Brussels-based Société Générale de Gestion et de Transport (SIGT) has been appointed general sales agent for cargo by Congo airline Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) to help redevelop activities between Europe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Government owned LAC, which succeeds former Air Zaire that went bankrupt, has contracted Brussels-based long-haul low-cost airline City Bird to provide a Boeing 767-300ER on wet-lease, initially to begin scheduled services between Kinshasa and Europe (Brussels). City Bird will also operate freight services using an Airbus A300-600F.
"Routes". Flightglobal. Airline Business. 1 April 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. City Bird in Kinshasa - City Bird has inked a five-year codesharing agreement with Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises between Europe and Kinshasa using LAC flight codes but Citybird aircraft.
"City Bird suspends Kinshasa service". Flightglobal. Flight International. 3 November 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
"Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 1 December 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. City Bird has ceased operations between Kinshasa and Brussels on behalf of Lignes Aériennes Congolaises. The Belgian airline says the political climate in the Democratic Republic of Congo makes "it impossible" to invest there.
"CityBird threatens Sabena". Flightglobal. Flight International. 14 July 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. The Brussels-Kinshasa weekly service began on 17 May, offering competition on what has been a high-yield route for Sabena.
"Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Air Zimbabwe is operating a Boeing 767 under a codesharing agreement with Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) on the Harare-Lubumbashi-Kinshasa route. The flight then continues with an LAC flight number to Paris and Brussels.
"SubFleets for: Lignes Aériennes Congolaises". AeroTransport Data Bank. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
Accident description for 9Q-CSG at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 October 2011.
Accident description for 9Q-CNK at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 October 2011.

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[FI2001-1] "World Airline Directory—LAC – Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises". Flight International: 95. 27 March – 2 April 2001. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.

[2] Emizet Francois Kisangani; Scott F. Bobb (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scarecrow Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-8108-6325-5.

[routes-49728-3] "Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 31 March 1999. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Brussels-based Société Générale de Gestion et de Transport (SIGT) has been appointed general sales agent for cargo by Congo airline Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) to help redevelop activities between Europe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Government owned LAC, which succeeds former Air Zaire that went bankrupt, has contracted Brussels-based long-haul low-cost airline City Bird to provide a Boeing 767-300ER on wet-lease, initially to begin scheduled services between Kinshasa and Europe (Brussels). City Bird will also operate freight services using an Airbus A300-600F.

[routes-49958-4] "Routes". Flightglobal. Airline Business. 1 April 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. City Bird in Kinshasa - City Bird has inked a five-year codesharing agreement with Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises between Europe and Kinshasa using LAC flight codes but Citybird aircraft.

[City_Bird_suspends_Kinshasa_service-5] "City Bird suspends Kinshasa service". Flightglobal. Flight International. 3 November 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.

[routes-59052-6] "Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 1 December 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. City Bird has ceased operations between Kinshasa and Brussels on behalf of Lignes Aériennes Congolaises. The Belgian airline says the political climate in the Democratic Republic of Congo makes "it impossible" to invest there.

[CityBird_threatens_Sabena-7] "CityBird threatens Sabena". Flightglobal. Flight International. 14 July 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. The Brussels-Kinshasa weekly service began on 17 May, offering competition on what has been a high-yield route for Sabena.

[routes-123959-8] "Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Air Zimbabwe is operating a Boeing 767 under a codesharing agreement with Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) on the Harare-Lubumbashi-Kinshasa route. The flight then continues with an LAC flight number to Paris and Brussels.

[9] "SubFleets for: Lignes Aériennes Congolaises". AeroTransport Data Bank. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.

[10] Accident description for 9Q-CSG at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 October 2011.

[11] Accident description for 9Q-CNK at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 October 2011.