''Société Nationale Malgache de Transports Aériens S.A.'',REGLEMENT GRAND TIRAGE AU SORT AIR MADAGASCAR
" Air Madagascar. Retrieved on 3 February 2011. "La Société Nationale Malgache de Transport Aérien, Société Anonyme au capital de 33 885 440 000 Ariary ayant son siège social au 31, Avenue de l’Indépendance Analakely 101 Antananarivo" operating as Air Madagascar, is an airline based in

Antananarivo Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...

, Madagascar. It is the

national airline A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

operating services to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and neighbouring African and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

island destinations, from its main base,

Ivato International Airport Ivato International Airport is the main international airport serving Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, located northwest of the city centre. Ivato Airport is the main hub for Air Madagascar and is located in the commune of Ivato. ...

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...

27 March 2007 It also operates an extensive domestic network. The airline was formed in 1947 to feed into flights by ''

Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux was a private French airline, based at Orly Airport, Paris. In 1963, it was merged with Union Aéromaritime de Transport on 1 October 1963 to form UTA French Airlines. Operations In the early 1950s its ro ...

'' and

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

, and upon the independence of Madagascar, it became the national airline. Initially operating services on domestic routes, the airline saw expansion in the late 1960s and 1970s, when it began international flights to destinations such as France and South Africa. In recent years the airline has been a subject of failed privatisation measures. These are now on hold and the loss making airline is majority owned by the Malagasy government.

History

Formative years

Air Madagascar was formed in March 1947 by ''

'' (TAI) in order to feed into flights by TAI and

. The airline began operations with two Air France Douglas DC-3s and six de Havilland D.H.89 Dragon Rapides. In 1957 TAI and ''Messageries Maritimes'' acquired shares in the airline, and in 1958 a third DC-3 was added to the fleet. In 1961 the Malagasy government, Air France and TAI reorganised the airline. In April 1961 the airline was renamed Madair and became the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

for the newly independent republic. On 23 August 1961, the status of Société Nationale Malgache des Transports Aériens, MADAIR was approved by decree.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.78 On 20 October 1961 a service from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, via

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

, with a

Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earl ...

leased from TAI was inaugurated.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.45 Société Nationale Malgache des Transports Aériens, MADAIR was created on 13 November 1961, with a working capital of 400 million

CFA Franc The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight We ...

s, 447 employees, and a fleet comprising two

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1 ...

s, seven DC-3s and four Dragon Rapides. The government held 20%, Air France 44% and TAI 36% shareholdings, and the government held an option to increase its shareholding to some 65%. Madair_Douglas_DC-7_Manteufel

On 1 January 1962, Madair took over service to some 58 points in Madagascar, and on 14 October the name of the airline was changed to Air Madagascar, because of a negative image of the name Madair. In 1962 Air Madagascar carried 103,000 passengers, 7,500 tons of freight and 375 tons of mail and flew a distance of . On 31 December 1962, the company was renamed to ''Société Nationale Malgache des Transports Aériens — Air Madagascar''.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.46 A DC-3 of the airline crashed at

Farafangana Farafangana is a city (commune urbaine) on the south-east coast of Madagascar and capital of the Atsimo-Atsinanana region. Location Farafangana is the capital of the region Atsimo-Atsinanana located approximately 400 kilometres south of the c ...

on 15 July 1963, killing five people. Flights to the

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwes ...

with DC-4s began in 1963. On 14 May 1963, the Malagasy government increased its share capital to 460 million CFA francs, and its shareholding from 20 to 30.44%.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.47

Jet age

In October 1963 the airline signed an agreement with Air France, which saw Air Madagascar beginning a service to Paris, via Djibouti, in July 1964 with a Boeing 707, which was painted in Air Madagascar livery, and operated by Air France crews. In 1965 the Dragon Rapides began to be replaced by light aircraft, mainly Pipers, and a

Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televis ...

was ordered in 1966. On 19 July 1967, an Air Madagascar DC-4, on a scheduled flight from Antananarivo to

Tamatave Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

and

Diego Suarez Diego Suarez or ''Diego-Suarez'' may refer to: * Antsiranana, a city in Madagascar formerly known as Diego-Suarez * Diego Suarez (navigator) or Diogo Soares, 16th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer * Diego Suárez (soldier) (1552–1623), Sp ...

, crashed after take-off from

, killing 42 people, including

Albert Sylla Albert Sylla (18 February 1909 – 19 July 1967) was a Malagasy medical doctor and politician. Early life Sylla was born to an unknown French father and a Creole mother, Louisa Sylla on 18 February 1909 in Tuléar. As a child he was educat ...

, the Malagasy Foreign Minister.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.49 The airline began scheduled flights to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1968, and the airline acquired its first

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

in September 1969.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.50 The aircraft was maintained by South African Airways, and on 15 October, Air Madagascar began flights to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, and in December began flights to Dar es Salaam and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

via

Majunga Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: Rép ...

. On 14 February 1970, flights to Johannesburg operated via

Lourenço Marques Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...

, and on 1 November, the 737 replaced the DC-4 on flights to the Comoros. Air_Madagascar_Boeing_747-200

In 1971 four de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters were acquired, allowing the airline to retire some DC-3s which were transferred to the Malagasy military. By 1972, the airline was operating 737s on domestic flights to

Nosy Be Nosy Be (formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be) is an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist resort. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisional results of ...

and

Sambava Sambava is a city and commune (commune urbaine; mg, kaominina) at the east coast of northern Madagascar. It is the capital of Sambava District and Sava Region. The population of the commune was 84,039 in as of the 2018 commune census. Infrast ...

, allowing for the retirement of two DC-4s. A second 737 was delivered in December 1972, seeing the expansion of routes and frequencies on the airline's network. In April 1974, service with the 737s was extended to

Mananjary Mananjary is a city located in Vatovavy, Madagascar with a population of 25,222 inhabitants in 2018. It is the chief city of the Mananjary district. It contains a town of the same name, situated on the southern part of the east coast, where the M ...

, Tuléar and Fort Dauphin. In the late 1970s, services to Johannesburg were suspended as a result of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in South Africa. In 1979 the airline acquired its first wide-body aircraft when a Boeing 747-200B Combi was delivered, with maintenance being handled by Air France. In early 1986 the airline joined the International Air Transport Association, and in the same year placed an order for ATR 42 to replace the

HS-748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley. ...

s, which had been delivered to the airline in January 1980. Services to Johannesburg were resumed in 1990.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.56 In 1994, the airline leased a

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

from

ILFC The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was an aircraft lessor headquartered in the Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California, US. It was the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General El ...

, which was delivered on 12 September, and was introduced on routes from Antananarivo to Johannesburg, Comoros, Mauritius, Nairobi, Réunion and Seychelles. Air Madagascar lost its monopoly on domestic flights in 1995, when the government liberalised the market, although few competitors have yet emerged. Flights to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

began in 1996. In September 1997, the airline ordered an additional three ATR 42 for delivery in October. Services to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

began in October 1998, and were suspended in 2002.Pénette; Lohau ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation malgache'', pp.58

Towards privatisation

As part of reorganisation plans to get the airline ready for privatisation, in January 1998, the airline announced that it would replace the Boeing 747-200 Combi with a Boeing 767-300ER. The airline purchased a new 767-300ER from

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

with an April 1999 delivery date, and leased another aircraft from

GE Capital Aviation Services GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021. GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company ...

from March 1998. Government plans for privatisation of the airline in 1999 to a consortium which include Air France was suspended when the

Central Bank of Madagascar The Central Bank of Madagascar ( mg, Banky Foiben'i Madagasikara; french: Banque Centrale de Madagascar, BCM) is the central bank of Madagascar. The bank's mission is to, in collaboration with the general government, and in observation of the law ...

defaulted on payments to Exim Bank for the airline's Boeing 747. In 2002,

Lufthansa Consulting Lufthansa Consulting is an international aviation consultancy for airlines, airports and related industries. The company is an independent subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group and provides services to the air transportation industry worldwide. The h ...

was awarded a management contract with Air Madagascar, with a view to improving the airlines' efficiency and making it an attractive enterprise for privatisation. The airline's creditors in November 2002 agreed to forgive half of the company's debts and rescheduled the rest over a three-year period. Because of the political crisis, the first half of 2001 saw a 66% drop in passenger traffic and a 71% drop in freight, which damaged the airline's revenues. The airline resumed flights to Paris from Antananarivo on 27 April 2003, taking over from

Blue Panorama Airlines Blue Panorama Airlines S.p.A. was an Italian airline headquartered in Fiumicino operating scheduled and charter flights mostly to domestic and international leisure destinations. As of late 2021, the airline was in the process to change its bran ...

which had been operating on its behalf since the crisis began. Air_Madagascar_Office_Analakely_Antananarivo_Madagascar

The first

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

was delivered to the airline on 14 November 2005; the second was delivered to the airline at the

Dubai Air Show The Dubai Airshow ( ar, معرض دبي للطيران) is a biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in ...

a few weeks later. On 17 June 2009, the airline introduced non-stop flights between

and Paris. In 2011 Air Madagascar was put on the

list of air carriers banned in the European Union The European Union (EU) publishes a list of air carriers that are banned from entering the airspace of any of its member states, usually for failing to meet EU regulatory oversight standards. The first version of the list was published in 2006, ...

for safety concerns with their ageing fleet of

Boeing 767-300 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

thus prompting the airline to charter a Euro Atlantic Airways Boeing 777-200 for their flights to France. In 2012 an agreement was reached with

for long-term

wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

(ACMI or Aircraft Crew Maintenance and Insurance) of 2 surplus

Airbus A340-300 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wit ...

. The first aircraft (F-GLZL) was delivered in April 2012 and was originally crewed by Air France (it is now crewed by

Air Atlanta Icelandic Air Atlanta Icelandic is a charter and ACMI airline based in Kópavogur, Iceland. It specialises in leasing aircraft on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crews, Maintenance, Insurance) and wet lease basis to airlines worldwide needing extra passenger and c ...

) and on the Iceland registry as TF-EAB, and the second aircraft (F-GLZT) arrived in July 2012, re-registered 5R-EAA, and is damp-leased with a domestic cabin crew. Despite being 14 and 12 years old respectively and having questionable fuel efficiency, these aircraft permit Air Madagascar to resume flights to Europe under its own colors and with better service.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

, the airline is majority-owned by the Malagasy state (89.56%), with other shareholders being ARO (an insurance company)(5.53%), SONAPAR (or ''Société Nationale de Participations'', the government's national shareholding company) (2.53%),

(1.65%), NY Havana (0.32%) and staff (0.39%).

Business trends

Air Madagascar has been reported as making heavy losses, requiring government support to keep trading. Full formal accounts do not seem to be regularly published; recent available figures (largely from AFRAA reports, although these have inconsistencies) are shown below (for years ending 31 December):

Destinations

Air Madagascar serves destinations in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Codeshare agreements

Air Madagascar has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with the following airlines (as of June 2018):https://www.airmadagascar.com/sites/default/files/Press%20release%20MD_HM.pdf *

Air Austral Air Austral is a French airline, based at the Roland Garros Airport, in the Indian Ocean. It operates scheduled services from Réunion to metropolitan France, South Africa, Thailand, India and a number of destinations in the Indian Ocean. The c ...

Air Mauritius Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, with its hub based at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. The company was placed in voluntary administration on 22 April ...

Air Seychelles Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles. Its head office is located at Seychelles International Airport on the island of Mahé and it operates inter-island and international flights and charter flights. History E ...

* Etihad Airways *

Thai Airways Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...

Fleet

Current fleet

As of April 2020, the Air Madagascar fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Fleet development

During the mid-2000s, Air Madagascar was looking to renew their fleet. The two ageing

(delivered new to the airline in 1970), which had an average age of 36.7 years, were scrapped in 2006 and replaced by more modern

. The airline then replaced its four Boeing 767-300ER and one

Boeing 767-200ER The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...

with a

Boeing 777-200ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

. The middle-age 777, though, was replaced with two

wet-leased from

from March 2012 till 2018 when a replacement aircraft is required (the wet leases have since been converted to one damp lease and one sublease of an operating lease)

Historical fleet

Air Madagascar has previously operated the following aircraft: *

ATR 42-300 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and A ...

ATR 42-500 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

* Boeing 707 *

* Boeing 747-200M *

* Boeing 767-300ER *

* Douglas DC-3 *