Airline: | Filipinas Orient Airways |
Destinations: | 18 |
Iata: | FE |
Icao: | FE |
Founded: | 1964 |
Commenced: | 1965 |
Ceased: | 1972 (merged into Philippine Airlines) |
Headquarters: | Manila, Philippines |
Key People: | Caram Family |
Hubs: | Manila International Airport |
Filipinas Orient Airways, Inc. was an airline founded by the originally Lebanese refugee family Karam (later Caram) in the Philippines in 1964, under Republic Act No. 4147.[1] FOA was granted the franchise to provide air transport service in the Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries on June 20, 1964, despite legal opposition by Philippine Airlines.[2] The company slogan was The Nation's Flag Carrier.
FOA—also known as "Fairways"—started their domestic flight operations in the Philippines on January 5, 1965, using DC-3 aircraft http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch=Filipinas%20Orient%20Airways&distinct_entry=true.Their early days appear to have been crash-ridden with the loss of four DC-3 and one DC-6 within the first 4 years of operation. They went on to operate Sud Aviation Caravelles http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1048631/ and Nord 262, later to be replaced by NAMC YS-11. Their flight operations were ended after the declaration of Martial Law by then Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972.[3] Philippine Airlines eventually took over the planes and routes of FOA.
On April 23, 1969, Douglas DC-3A PI-C947 was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Roxas City Airport. All 31 passengers and crew survived.[4]