Air Transport World has the story of a new Ghana-based airline, Goldstar Air, that is planning on launching flights between Accra and Baltimore in the first quarter of 2017.
Per the article:
New Ghanaian carrier Goldstar Air plans to start services to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) in 1Q 2017, according to CEO Eric Bannerman.
The small West African nation has lacked a national long-haul carrier since Ghana Airways, one of Africa’s oldest airlines, ceased flying in December 2015.
The new carrier, which anticipates an air operator’s certificate in December, plans to start services in February or March 2017, Bannerman said.
I had never heard of this airline before, so was intrigued. I started by looking at their Wikipedia page, and then by looking at their website. The (poorly) photoshopped picture the airline uses on their website certainly doesn’t instill much confidence. 😉
Apparently the airline will operate three 767-300 aircraft and two 737-300 aircraft… so it’s a bit odd that the other picture on Goldstar’s website is of a photoshopped 777, which they apparently don’t plan on operating. I’ve read some reports suggesting that they’ll also eventually get a 777, though I haven’t seen that officially confirmed from the airline yet.
Goldstar Air apparently has lofty expansion goals beyond Baltimore. In addition to short-haul destinations, they want to fly to Guangzhou, Dubai, London, Baltimore, and beyond. Based on the below map, it looks like they’re confusing the location of a few places, including Guangzhou, Senegal, and Liberia.
Perhaps even more crazy than the airlines’ initial plans is that they eventually want to operate flights from Baltimore and London to the Caribbean:
Our European hub will be Stansted airport which will service flights going to Accra and the Caribbean, making some pick ups in some European cities before its destination in the Caribbean. Our hub in the Caribbean will service flights to Baltimore and Stansted. whiles the Accra hub services West Africa, Dubai and Guangzhou, Baltimore hub will as well service flights to Accra and the Caribbean.
I sort of feel like we’re being trolled here… maybe?
Hmm.....can you say EU blacklisting waiting to happen? Assuming that it's not the airline equivalent of a Nigerian email scam.
Regardless, I only travel to Africa for work and we're not allowed on any airline based in sub-Saharan Africa except Kenyan, Ethiopian and South African. I have always just connected through on Air France or British Airways.
IGNORANT and BASELESS COMMENTS:
An image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. (Photoshop) is one of the leaders in photo editing software's. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct color on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers, so what point? To those of you who are making issues out of this, how do you suggest we advertise without the use of...
IGNORANT and BASELESS COMMENTS:
An image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. (Photoshop) is one of the leaders in photo editing software's. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct color on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers, so what point? To those of you who are making issues out of this, how do you suggest we advertise without the use of Photoshop? there might be errors since computer is the only confidential medium or platform to use Photoshop and if have sturdy the fundamentals and the basics of computer you would have leant of the disadvantages and advantaged of computer of which errors are key factor in its uses in terms of input and output.
Yet I appreciate your comments, at least you have alert us on some few errors which have to be addressed and we will do our best to resolving it correctly Thank you.
IGNORANT and BASELESS COMMENTS:
An image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. (Photoshop) is one of the leaders in photo editing software's. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct color on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers, so what point? To those of you who are making issues out how do you suggest we advertise without Photoshop? there might be errors...
IGNORANT and BASELESS COMMENTS:
An image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. (Photoshop) is one of the leaders in photo editing software's. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct color on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers, so what point? To those of you who are making issues out how do you suggest we advertise without Photoshop? there might be errors since we are using it on a computer and using it on computer is the only confidential medium to use and if have sturdy the fundamentals, the basics of computer you would have leant of the disadvantages and advantaged of computer you will know error is a key factor in the uses of computer.
Yet i appreciate your comments, at least you have alert us on some few errors which have to be addressed and we will do our best to resolving it corrections Thank you.
It's been quite interesting reading your comments, quite a few alleged issued by some of you is only to mislead the world and to tannish the image of Goldstar Air since we are aware at Goldstar that all these comic comments are doing of competitive airlines using the same Baltimore route and are very much secured of our coming because we have already taken the airways.
It's amazing, At point in time, I thought...
It's been quite interesting reading your comments, quite a few alleged issued by some of you is only to mislead the world and to tannish the image of Goldstar Air since we are aware at Goldstar that all these comic comments are doing of competitive airlines using the same Baltimore route and are very much secured of our coming because we have already taken the airways.
It's amazing, At point in time, I thought it wasn't so necessary to respond to your lousy comments, because we are busy doing a lot and working so hard to be able to meet the deadline as we promised our honorable patrons to taking off early next year, January 2017.
But what concerns me most and prompt me to respond is the dust i feel you through into people’s eyes and oblique impact it might make on the minds of our honorable patrons, the concern citizens of Goldstar Air and the world as a whole.
To our honorable patrons, and particularly to SEAN M who made the comments before the last one, Goldstar is coming for real, you lousy comments will not set us back, statement on Google, reference to Barbados 2008, did not indicate any fraudulent activities or Human trafficking association with Mr. Eric Bahaman the CEO of Goldstar Air, We know you have turned the story other way round since you but it does not matter at all.
At the moment the Airline (Goldstar Air) have all the necessary, documentation, qualification and License
To operate as a Ghanaian base international airline. Funny enough, you started pulling as down a long time ago yet we kept rising night after night and by the grace of the God, we've gotten to the top, so all your doings never worked and still would never work.
Goldstar is here for real an airline where you can experience more and spend less on tickets.
God Bless Goldstar Air.
M. Adjei
Publication Coordinator Goldstar Air.
Interesting observations by you lot!!!! Maybe the Plane is still under construction
I need to be careful what I say here for legal reasons.
I have had prior dealings with this group. The last time I met Eric Bannerman was at Accra police headquarters where I had to give a statement and identify him in a police cell as he was charged with human trafficking and fraud. Google his name and Barbados for more info about the 2008 incident there (you'll see a fair bit about...
I need to be careful what I say here for legal reasons.
I have had prior dealings with this group. The last time I met Eric Bannerman was at Accra police headquarters where I had to give a statement and identify him in a police cell as he was charged with human trafficking and fraud. Google his name and Barbados for more info about the 2008 incident there (you'll see a fair bit about me as well, but I was never charged and completely cleared after investigation).
Eric and Goldstar are about as legitimate as a $3 bill.
They can't even spell Côte d’Ivoire correctly. Seems more like an exotic Jet America to me.
They are also showing a photo of IAD and listing it as BWI.
IIRC, Ghana Airlines served BWI for a bit?
@Raoul
Good try but it is a 777. Quick google search of 4X-EAK shows this. Door L2 and the fact that there aren't six wheels on each undercarriage in the middle of the plane show it's a 777. Something tells me Goldstars photo shopping ability doesn't extend to creating extra doors, different wing tips and altering undercarriage configurations ;-)
Could well be a 777 of El Al though hence the 4X rgistration.
Gold Horseshoe Loves GoldStar Airlines
The west african community in the DMV takes advantage of the SAA IAD-DKR/ACC-JNB route. Also since IAD is a UA hub, there is significant Star Alliance presence. Many Africa-bound folks like to fly via Brussels on SN due to the very good timings and great African network of SN.
With DL doing JFK-ACC & JFK-DKR, ET doing EWR-LFW-ADD & IAD-ADD-FCO-IAD, and SAA doing their stopovers, I think West Africa is covered really well for the moment.
I'd like to point out that the badly photoshopped "777" is registered as 4X-EAK, which is in actuality a 767-300 belonging to El Al Israel. Way to save money on hiring a middle school student to do all the photoshop design
Someone at Goldstar Air sure knows how to rock it with Microsoft Paint but failed geography.
None of those map pins are in the right location except for Dubai
Sounds like another BALTIA to me. Illegitimate and only made public to scam investors out of their money
FWIW, there's a sizable West African population in the Baltimore Washington area, and there hasn't been a carrier on this route since ~2008, based on this article http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2008-02-21/business/0802210025_1_flights-to-africa-north-american-airlines-ghana. In that regard, this singular route makes sense. The rest of the route network I won't comment on, but they'll certainly have some interest in this route. Enough to be profitable any time soon? Not so sure, but I'm not surprised someone is giving it a shot.
FWIW, there's a sizable West African population in the Baltimore Washington area, and there hasn't been a carrier on this route since ~2008, based on this article http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2008-02-21/business/0802210025_1_flights-to-africa-north-american-airlines-ghana. In that regard, this singular route makes sense. The rest of the route network I won't comment on, but they'll certainly have some interest in this route. Enough to be profitable any time soon? Not so sure, but I'm not surprised someone is giving it a shot.
That photoshopped pic of their plane (with only two sets of landing gear and the engine coming out of the back) is amazing.
I'll be interested to see how they're going to have a STN hub when their route map shows them flying to LGW.