National Airways
Corporation and
Streamline Aviation
bought
SAFAIR, THE wholly owned subsidiary of the Imperial Group, has purchased control of the giant National Airways Corporation (NAC) from Lonrho as well as Streamline Aviation from private owner Attie Niemann, both for undisclosed sums.
The new combination means that Safair has now established a R1billion-a-year aviation leasing division, with some of the major airfreight operations worldwide.
The new division will be headed by Ralph Boettger, Safair's c.e.o., while Niemann joins NAC's executive team. According to Tak Hiemstra, Imperial's executive director for the group's aviation, banking and life assurance interests, the group now represents a similar breadth of services for aircraft in this country as it does for commercial and passenger vehicles. This includes sales, leasing, servicing, rental, financing and operating for freight and passengers.
NAC, which is the largest general aviation company in southern Africa, operates a nationwide network from its Rand Airport headquarters. Established in 1947, it boasts an annual turnover of approximately R400million.
Safair is Africa's largest specialist leasing and charter company. It operates its own 25 aircraft, including Boeing 727-200s, MD80s and Hercules aircraft for clients such as British Airways/Comair, Sun Air, SAA, DHL and United Nations World Food Programme.
It is also the world's largest Hercules operator, currently flying the giant freighters in the UK, Singapore, Chile, Australia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In recent times these have performed aid and relief assignments to Kosovo and the Sudan.
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