ARABIAN AIRWAYS

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In 1936, Antonin Besse saw the need for faster links between Aden and Hadhramaut as to travel by dhow or one of Cowasjee Dinshaw's 'miserable little' steamers was tediously slow, and uncomfortable. He envisaged also a weekly service from Addis Ababa and another to Sanaa. 

 

Besse, who also owned the Halal Shipping Company which took cargoes to Mukalla and Shehr as and when required, saw the obvious potential for a contract with the Aden Post Office on the Mukalla route. Further reading on the mail services here.

 

The first aircraft purchased was a 4-seat Monospar ST.25 registered G-AEJB. After the closure of Arabian Airways the Monospar was given to the Free French movement, but it crashed just a month after.

 

The next plane added in 1937 was a Short Scion registered G-AEJL. By the end of 1937 the business was still operating at a loss.  On December 18 the Short Scion was written off in a crash at Tarim and was replaced with a reconditioned Short Scion costing £2,000 in January 1938.

 

Besse formed a limited liability company with a paid up capital of £5,000 and named it Arabian Airways Ltd. He reasoned that the subsidies earned from a mail service linked with Imperial Airways in Khartoum would provide a profitable edge to the business and futile steps were taken by his London office to seek the necessary government approval. Approvals had also not been forthcoming for the various air links he had wanted.

 

By the end of 1939 Arabian Airways Ltd with it's two aircraft was closed down and it's 2 pilots and ground engineer entered service with the RAF.

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The venture had run at a continuing financial loss and could in this sense have been considered a failure. However, only 10 years later in 1949 Aden Airways would emerge as a subsidiary of BOAC and prove Besse's predictions correct. He had been right all along and like so many entrepreneurs was merely ahead of his time. It is interesting to note that he was invited to become chairman of Aden Airways, a role he did not accept.

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He kept the Short Scion in Aden which he used for week-end trips to Mukeiras. Returning from such a trip in 1940, the plane crashed on takeoff and Mr. Besse suffered spinal injuries. He was taken to hospital where he was fitted with a body cast; most uncomfortable in the oppressive Aden heat. He was transported to France where he spent several months convalescing at his 'Le Paradou' property.