« From past to present,
    Once upon a time there was Air Affaires Gabon »

About Air Affaires Gabon, a marvellous story that we shall tell you and show you pictures from those years to help you better understand this airline company rich with its 33 years of existence, and which comforts us in the idea of going back to the reaffirmation of the past: « Air Affaires Gabon, probably the first airline company sought by the African continent »

The Bellangers have been builders for several generations. Raymond Bellanger was in the construction industry, he chose to settle down and invest in Gabon, a new experience for this pioneer who came in 1972, a suitcase in his hand one day, at the age of 33.(photo)

3 years later he created the Construction & Building Company (SOCOBA), then the Dragages Company and the Lowé Public Works Company and developed still other companies in various sectors.

The majority of the employees in the Bellanger Group were working in the Construction sector, with 4,500 workers, including 220 Europeans. Among his numerous accomplishments we can include the Presidential Palace of the President of the Republic El Hadj Omar BONGO.

« A Hand on the gear shift! »

Raymond Bellanger came into aviation quite naturally, since it was the only way of getting around the country quickly. We should be reminded that he was a pilot qualified to fly a King Air E90.

Indeed there are roads that go through the tropical forest, but driving on them can be a trying experience, as we can see in these few lines taken from the daily newspaper – The Union, April 25, 1979 : « It has been pouring down rain for several weeks, and in Bifoun the heavy rains have made the road network turn into a real trap. The dirt roads truly suffer during these storms and have become deep mud holes. Road blocks have been set up in Bifoun and when it rains, no vehicle can get through. You have to wait until the sun dries out the road before you can drive on them. The passengers on buses are sometimes obligated to spend several hours or days in Bifoun while waiting for the possibility to get through. In spite of the preventive road blocks, a few daring individuals venture out on the road during the rain and then get completely stuck in the mud. This situation is a big problem for traders who go to Ngounié and Nyanga during this period of the year to gather cassava and plantain bananas. »

Members of the government, business leaders, technicians, workers or individuals therefore travel by plane. For Raymond Bellanger, it’s already an old custom going back a dozen years, for he had hardly begun to rent planes from a local company, when he also wanted to fly a plane!

From that time on, he developed an insidious process of always having « his hand on the gear shift » : with a piloting licence, bimotor qualifications, he purchased a « King Air E 90 » (I love beautiful planes, he said)

Moreover, a series of circumstances favoured the creation of Air Affaires Gabon in 1974, and the signing of a protocol agreement with Transair France to represent Beechcraft in Gabon.

Raymond Bellanger endowed his little company, also called « 2AG », with a « Bonanza » 36, two « Baron », a « Queen Air », and his own « King Air ».

« Beech, it’s the most expensive make but also the best », he observed. With 3 or 4 pilots, his air fleet was off the ground, plus 1 administrator, 1 accountant and 1 secretary. Maintenance was done outside the company.