page_title: East African Safari Air
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: East African Safari Air / History
caption_attribution_description: English: East African Safari Air Boeing 767 300 ER
context_page_description: East African Safari Air is an airline based in Kenya. Its international operations were suspended in September 2004, by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, but the airline still maintained scheduled regional and domestic services through its subsidiary East African Safari Air Express. In December 2010, East African Safari Air Express was ostensibly purchased by the parent company of another Kenyan airline Fly540 and was rebranded as Fly SAX.
context_section_description: East African Safari Air Limited was founded by Anthony A Kegode, a well-known African entrepreneur and aviator. The airline was derived from a company known as Car Hire Services (Aviation) Limited, which was incorporated on or about 16 May 1989 in the Companies Registry as No. C. 40158. The company later changed its name to East African Safari Air Limited on 27 February 1998.
  At the time of incorporation of Car Hire Services (Aviation) limited the shareholders were Mr. Kegode, M/s William Henry Boyd Parkinson, Pritam Singh Panesar and Samuel Gakuru. On 27 November 1990, Mr. Mohammed Aslam Khan was appointed managing director of CHS Aviation, and in December 1990 East African Safari Air (then CHS Aviation) was granted a license from the Civil Aviation Board to operate scheduled and coach services to the Maasai Mara. Additionally, CHS Aviation operated 2 Cessna 310s and 1 Cessna 402B. In 1990 East African Safari Air (then CHS Aviation) borrowed US$247,000 from Barclays Bank Kenya and purchased a de Havilland Twin Otter from Sataircraft in Denmark registration 5Y-KEG (after the first three letters of the founder's last name KEGODE) and leased it to Air Kenya Aviation Ltd.
  In 1992 CHS Aviation became the first privately owned Kenyan carrier, if not in the East African region, to be licensed by the Kenya Civil Aviation Board to operate charter flights to and from South Africa to Mombasa using a Boeing 707 aircraft. Kenya Airways attempted to have the designation withdrawn as it faced the prospect of competition for the first time from the private sector.
  12 November 1992 CHS Aviation was licensed by the Kenya Civil Aviation Board and the Italian Civil Aviation Authorities to operate charter flights to and from Italy and Mombasa. CHS aviation flew from Milan to Mombasa wet leasing two Boeing 767 300ER from Air Europe (Italy). As East African Safari Air the company ferried 1,320,000 tourist passengers to and from Italy to Kenya between 1992 and 2002.
  In October 1992 there was an ownership change and the Managing Director Aslam Khan left CHS Aviation to start his own charter company Aircraft Leasing Services Ltd. In February 1993 CHS Aviation was granted permission to operate charter flights from Nairobi to Paris and Mombasa to Paris. CHS Aviation used a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 of 167 pax to operate the route twice a week. In October 1993 CHS Aviation added two Cessna 208 Caravans and a Beechcraft B200 King Air to its general aviation fleet, to provide charter services to Southern Sudan for the South Sudan Liberation Movement. At the end of October 1993 CHS Aviation had three Cessna Caravans, and two King Air B200s operating flights to Southern Sudan.
  In February 1998 Anthony Kegode and Uhai Ltd bought out all the shares of WHB Parkinson and PS Panesar. Uhai Ltd was then owned 100% by Anthony Kegode and Elizabeth Kegode.
  When the company later changed its name to East African Safari Air Limited on 27 February 1998, it saw the exist of the other founder shareholders, with Uhai Limited and Mr. Kegode acquiring 100% of the shares of East African Safari Air. Mr. Pritam Singh Panesar remaining on the board of the company as a non-shareholding Director; by a special resolution passed on 2 July 1998, Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Kegode was appointed as a member of East African Safari Air, Anthony Kegode became the carriers' Executive Chairman.
  In 1998 East African Safari Air applied to the Kenya Government and was the first privately owned local airline to be granted designation on Bilateral Air Service Agreements to all Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Countries, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. The company was also granted permits to operate scheduled flights to Mombasa, Lokkichoggio, and Kisumu from Nairobi.
  In or about the year 2001, East African Safari Air acquired all (99%) but one of the shares in Flying Jetpet (Kenya) limited, which was incorporated as Company No. c. 82314. The said company later changed its name to East African Safari Air Express Limited. In 2001 East African Saf
caption: East African Safari Air's Boeing 767 300 ER 'Elizabeth' Lands In Ibiza Spain
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