Surinam Airways, wholly owned by its country's government, is the flag carrier of Suriname. It has been flying for over 65 years, with a varied fleet of Boeing, Airbus, Douglas, and other aircraft. It has operated a limited number of long-haul routes to Europe. However, it has primarily focused on local connections.

Starting domestic services in 1953

The airline was founded in 1953 by two Dutch entrepreneurs Ronald Kappel and Herman van Eyck. It was initially called the Kappel-Van Eyck Aviation Company and started service in 1955 with two Cessna 170 aircraft operating domestic routes from Paramaribo.

The Surinamese government purchased the airline in 1962 and renamed it Surinam Airways. They remain the owner today. Flights in the early years were primarily domestic, served with a fleet of up to four DC-3s. It took its first DC-3 in 1963 and amazingly kept its last DC-3 (with registration PZ-TAM) right up to 2005. Fleet expansion through the 1970s saw the airline adding the DC-6 in 1975 (it operated three in total).

It did jointly operate one international route to Curacao from 1964. This was together with ALM Antillean Airlines (and for a short while, KLM as well). Surinam Airways provided crew and marketing, though, not aircraft.

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Starting long-haul routes

There were no long-haul services in the early days of Surinam Airways. KLM offered these connections, and Surinam Airways was founded to operate domestic feeder routes.

Surinam Airways first operated long-haul flights after the country's independence in 1975. It began operating flights to Amsterdam that year, using a DC-8 leased from KLM. The DC-8 went on to be a main part of its fleet during the 1980s, with six aircraft in total (all leased), based on data obtained from ATDB.aero.

The airline operated the Boeing 707, but only for a short time in 1985. Like much of the rest of the fleet, these aircraft were leased in - in this case, two aircraft were leased from Air Arctic Iceland.

The A340, 747, and 777

Long-haul services picked up with the acquisition of a Boeing 747 aircraft in 2004. This carried registration PZ-TCM and had previously flown with KLM since 1986. The 747-300 was used for flights to Amsterdam and was named Ronald Elwin Kappel in honor of a Surinamese commercial pilot. The aircraft mainly flew to Amsterdam until its eventual withdrawal in 2009.

Surinam Airways then began operating an Airbus A340-300 registered as PZ-TCP in 2009. This was previously operated by Air France. It was retired in 2015 and replaced by another A340-300, registration PZ-TCR, previously operated by Air China. Following the retirement of the A340s, it took on one 777-200ER, registered as PZ-TCU. This was leased from the Boeing Aircraft Holding Company.

Switching short-haul to the Boeing 737

Surinam Airways' fleet has seen plenty of different aircraft over the years. After the DC-3 and DC-6, it also operated the Dash 8, Twin Otter, DC-9, and MD-80.

More recently, however, Boeing 737s have dominated Surinam Airways' shorter routes. The airline leased a 737-200 as early as 1983, and from 2009 to 2018, it operated three 737-300s (all leased). In 2018, it took on two 737-700s.

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Minimal activity since following 2021

The pandemic hurt many airlines, and Surinam Airways was undoubtedly one of them. For example, the carrier returned its one 777 aircraft to Boeing in March 2021, with it needing extensive repair work.

According to ch-aviation.com, there has been a shift in 2023. An A340-300 leased from V2 Aviation, a Boeing 737-800 leased from AerCap, and a wet-leased Privilege Style 777-200ER are now relied upon.

The A340-300 secured is part of a lease deal that is for at least eight months. Still, the carrier could extend the term.

Privilege Style is a charter airline based at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport. Its 777-200ER operating for Surinam Airways holds registration EC-MUA. This plane has been spotted at Paramaribo and Amsterdam for Surinam Airways over the last week. It has also been flying to Cabo, Rhodes, Malaga, and Ibiza Manchester for Iberia and TUI.

The airline will be hoping for brighter prospects in this next chapter. Last year, it was sued over the failure to pay a £4.1 million settlement over a lease breach involving a previous A340. With another widebody currently at its disposal, it can balance both short and long-haul operations to rebuild stronger.

What are your thoughts about the history of Surinam Airways? What do you make of the airline's overall journey over the years? Let us know what you think of the carrier and its operations in the comment section.

Sources: ATDB.aero; ch-aviation.com