Shipbucket

Boeing 747-100:

The most represented aircraft type in service with Koutei koku is the Boeing 747. During its long years of service -now 47 since its introduction- the airline owned 126 airframes (another 7 are currently on order), with 83 of them being in service at the same time in 1994-95. Of them, 17 were of the -100 series.

Koutei ordered seven 747-100 in 1968, its first widebody aircraft ever. The huge aicraft represented a valuable investment for the airline to deal with its fast-growing domestic traffic, as it represented a 150% capacity increase over every other aircraft in the fleet. Delivered between late 1970 and 1975 the Jumbo jets replaced the DC-8-10s and allowed to further expand the destinations served by them, adding the cities of Minatogawa and Chiyoko in addition to the already served Taniguchi, Kumoi, Hoshiguma and Toumachi. For most of their service, the huge aircrafts were fitted to seat 448 passengers in a two-class configuration. Overall, their capacity was second only to their flawless service, none of Koutei koku's -100s was involved in mishaps. four airframes were retired in the early 90s, the other three survived until the Asian economic crisis of 1997, and were retired by 1999, being replaced by 777-300s.


In addition to the -100s Koutei koku also ordered ten 747-100BSR in 1977, a variant of the standard 747 specifically designed for domestic service with kokoan and Japanese airlines. Delivered between 1978 and 1982, they were fitted with 498 seats and further expanded widebody services on domestic routes. One suffered a bad tailstrike in 1992, while repaired the airframe was not put back in service and sold to other airlines. Of the other nine, three were retired in 1999, while the last six left the fleet between 2003 and 2005.

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-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

Boeing 747-200:

The most represented aircraft type in service with Koutei koku is the Boeing 747. During its long years of service -now 47 since its introduction- the airline owned 126 airframes (another 7 are currently on order), with 83 of them being in service at the same time in 1994-95. Of them, 27 were of the -200 series.

Six 747-200 planes were delivered in 1971-75 to serve the airline long range rountes by adding extra capacity over the DC-8s, they served destinations such Hong-Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York. Eight more, this time powered by General Electric engines intead of Pratt&Whitney were delivered in 1979-1983 with another four following in 1986-87. One last airframe -this time second-hand- was added in 1990. The aircrafts progressively serviced more Asian and the US west coast routes replacing most of the DC-8 fleet. The six P&W-engine aircrafts were retired in two batches: the first two in 1997 and the other four in 2001, both dictated by traffic downturns caused by the Asian economic crisis and the post 9/11 slump in traffic. Two were converted into freighters with another one stored and used for spare parts. The thirteen GE-powered airframes lasted a bit longer, they left the fleet between 2006 and 2008, replaced by 777-300ER.


Koutei koku enstablished a dedicated freight division in 1978 following increased cargo demand in the pacific market. The first aircraft, a 747-200F was delivered in 1979 and served the Toumachi-Narita route to Japan. Between 1983 and 1990 the airline added five more aircrafts to its cargo division -called Koutei Kamotsu, or Emperor Airlines Cargo-, with thwo used airframes added in 1992 and 1994, opening extra destinations to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Hong Kong, Esperance, Shanghai, Clianmehail and Los Angeles among others. On september 1st 1995, one of those aircrafts was involved in what is, to date, the last fatal accident involving Koutei Koku. In anticipation of the arrival of Typhoon Mark, which was approaching the Archipelago from the southwest, a 747-200F departed Ryujin International airport bound for Anchorage. On board there was a crew of five, three on the flight deck, one relief pilot and a loadmaster. Less than an hour into the flight the plane entered a thunderstorm area experiencing heavy rain and prolonged turbulence. When the n°4 engine failed the crew elected to return to Toumachi. The plane, now flying on three engines, then encontered unexpected extreme turbulences over mount Yashima. The crew soon lost control of the aircraft, which then broke up in flight. The other seven aircrafts remained in service for another decade, retired between 2006 and 2009, replaced by both 747-400F and -400BCF.


Two former 747-200 passenger airframes were converted into freighters in 1997 and 2001, They augmented the pure freighters until 2006 when they were retired and replaced by 747-400F.

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My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

McDonnell-Douglas DC-10:

To expand international routes that had no need for the 747 capacity Koutei koku ordered 24 McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 in the early 70's, with deliveries starting in 1973 and lasting until 1978. The trijet flew long-range routes to Australia, Recherche, the Middle-east, the US (expcuding the west coast and New York), Canada, Europe (excluding London) and South America. worth of mention, the DC-10 were the last aircrafts that Koutei purchased from MDD. None were lost in service if vicious actions intentionally perpetrated are not counted. On april 16th 1985, a Koutei DC-10 was Hijacked shortly after takeoff from Athens by five armed Palestinian men of the Abu Nidal Organization. The aircraft was forced to fly to Merowe, a small airport in Sudan where the hijackers demanded the releases of affiliated prisoners in exchange for the hostages. Four days into the hijacking Kokoan special forces stormed the aircraft and killed the hijackers, all passengers and crew survived. The aircraft was deemed damaged beyond repair. During the second half of the 80s Koutei converted sixteen of its DC-10s into the ER versions by adding a fuel tank in the aft cargo section, this allowed to operate routes to South America with a single stopover (usually Mexico City). Thiaria, for example, was served exclusively by DC-10ERs until the advent of the 747-400 in the early 90s. Koutei Koku retired all its non-ER airframes in 1990-93 in favour of the aforemetioned new 747s, some beign sold to minor kokoan airlines like Megami Koku. Two ERs were retired in 1999, although their replacement 777-200ER didn't actually joined the fleet until the next year. The remaining 14 airplanes were finally retired between 2002 and 2005, replaced by Airbus A330-200s.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

Airbus A300:

During ther late 70s Koutei koku also looked for a new type of aircraft for the domestic market, filling the capacity gap between the 727s and the 747s. THe airline considered at first about ordering the DC-10-10, which offered commonality for parts and engines -General Electric- with the DC-10-30s already in service. By that time however, there was another player in the market, the new european built Airbus A300, which also offered GE engines and had a slightly smaller capacity that better suited the airline requirements. To test the new aircrafts in service, Koutei leased two A300-B4-200s directly from Airbus in 1980-81. The A300 turned out to fit perfectly its requirements, other than being a much more economical plane to operate than a DC-10. As a consequence, the airline decided to purchase the two leased airframes and ordered fourteen more, which were delivered between 1982 and 1985. In addition to them, Koutei also added six more second-hand planes for a total of 22 machines in service by 1987. The A300s were the first non-US manufactured airplanes the airline had ordered in 14 years, and the first jet overall. Koutei retired the used airframes in 1997-99, replacing them with the A330-300. The factory built ones were retired between 2002 and 2005. The extra A330-300 that were to superseede them were deferred because of the early 2000s air traffic slump, so for a few years their role on domestic routes was taken mostly by Narrowbodies of the A320/321 family.


The Airline's satisfacion with the Euroepan-built plane led it to order a staggering 34 A300-600 as soon as it made the first flight in 1983, with deliveries spread between 1987 and 1995. The first widebodies in the airline fleet with just a two-men flight crew, they served flawlessly well into the 2010s, being ultimately retired in 2011-2013, replaced by Boeing 787-8.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

This post makes we want to start my own AU airline
The two new liveries are very nice, but I personally feel like the blue-top livery could use a little red accent, and for a livery that rolled out in 2008, the straight line seems slightly dated. May I suggest a wavy red line like the new Boeing house livery?

Boeing 747-300:

The most represented aircraft type in service with Koutei koku is the Boeing 747. During its long years of service -now 47 since its introduction- the airline owned 126 airframes (another 7 are currently on order), with 83 of them being in service at the same time in 1994-95. Of them, 20 were of the -300 series.

In the early 80s, koutei Koku ordered sixteen Boeig 747-300, delivered between 1983 and 1990. The aircrafts were used exclusively for international routes to southeast Asia (Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia...), exploiting the higher capacity of the extended upper deck. The type suffered greatly from temproarily route cuts during the Asian economic crisis, when five unites were sold to PanAm in 1998-99 to adress reduced demand. The other eleven units served an extra decade in their intender role, finally withdrawn between 2010 and 2011.


In addition to the international airframes, Koutei also ordered four -SR versions of the 747-300. Designed for domestic operations like the -100BSR, the -300SR had extra seating in the upper deck -reflected by the extra windows. The airline recieved the planes between 1989 and 1991, withthe two units delivered in 1991 beign the last -300s in Boeing production line. Koutei fitted them with 532 seats in a two-class configuration and had them replacing the oldest 747-100s on domestic service. They were retired in 2009.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

Like keeping a (thin) red cheatline between the white and blue? Or by giving a red border to the airline name and seagull on the tail (like on the national flag)? Or something else? I actually wanted to avoid the red-blue duality on at least a livery. (Although it is also true that the 1995-2008 livery is a bit like KLM meets Korean Air with a twist.. kinda. But i like it).
I get the feeling it would look a bit too much like a ripoff of GDs Atlantach since it would involve a wave down aft of the wings and a wave up forward. Maybe I'm just too much of a classic livery guy. (But who knows for the new livery that will debut in 2020... ).

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

Hi everyone

I actually thought for a moment about including a lawsuit into the Atlantach thread where Coca-Cola tries to prevent Atlantach from using its current livery, claiming copyright infringement...

Anyway, this is an excellent series of aircraft, and IMHO all liveries fit the time they were supposed to be used in. Not everything modern needs be curvy.

Greetings
GD

Boeing 747-400:

The most represented aircraft type in service with Koutei koku is the Boeing 747. During its long years of service -now 47 since its introduction- the airline owned 126 airframes (another 7 are currently on order), with 83 of them being in service at the same time in 1994-95. Of them, 39 were of the -400 series.

Eighteen 747-400s were delivered between 1990 and 1993 to replace older DC-10s and expand international routes, flying to Europe (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome...), Middle East (Tel-Aviv, Dubai, Karachi...), North and South America (Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Mexico city, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Clianmehai...) and beyond (Johannesburg). A second order was made in the mid 90's, with deliveries between 1998 and 2000, bringing the total count to 26 airframes. Four were retired relatively early in 2008/2009 -three were converted into freighters and one kept for spares-, while the others 22 served on to 2016. Currently the 747-400 is the oldest model in Koutei Koku fleet, and it is fitted with a four-class configuration and a capacity of 311 passengers (8 First, 75 Business, 24 Premium Economy, 204 Economy). The airline is in process of retiring all airframes of the first batch: Currently 20 units are in the fleet after two planes were retired in 2017, another twelve are to go by 2020 when only eight will be left. the 747-8 and 777-300ER orders still unfilled will cover the retirement. The last eight units are to serve until the first half of the 2020s, when its planned to ultimately replace them with 777-9 aircrafts.


Parallel to the international version, Koutei also ordered seven 747-400D for domestic service. Deliveries began in 1992 and lasted until 1995. The planes were fitted with 532 seats in a two-class configuration just like the -300SRs. After nearly 20 years they were retired between 2011 and 2013.


To renew the freighter fleet, Koutei ordered six 747-400ERF which were delivered between 2004 and 2007. Capable to carry 112.600kg of payload up to 8.200km away they serve all cargo destinations of the ariline, including Fairbanks, Alaska, the only exclusive freight destination of the airline. All are still in service as of 2017 and they are all expected to serve another 5 to 7 years under koutei colours. Replacement timeline and aicraft have not been discussed yet.


In addition to the factory-built 747 Freighters Koutei Koku also converted to cargo-only configuration three of the four passenger 747s retired in 2008/2009. They shared the same cargo cpacity and range of their pure-freighter siblings and only lacked the nose cargo door. Given their older age they were retired between 2014 and 2016, replaced by 747-8F and A330-200F.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

Airbus A320 Family:

Over the years, Koutei owned 74 airframes of the Airbus-built A320 family, the second most represented model in the airline history after the Boeing 747. It operates, or operated, 19 A-319-100, 35 A320-200, 4 A320Neo and 16 A321-100. 74 more airframes of the Neo family -8 A319, 21 A320 and 45 A321- are currently on order

Koutei ordered ten A320-200 in 1989 for domestic service, deliveries were spread for over a decade, lasting from 1991 to 2003, as the airline placed further orders for 20 and 5 more airframes in 1993 and 1998 for a grand total of 35. The planes are fitted with a domestic two-class configuration for 166 passengers (8 Premium Economy, 158 Economy). Recently, starting in 2014, the airline has started retiring the older airframes -replaced by some 737-800 and the first A320neos-, so that now there are 23 of them left in service. All are planned to be retired in the next six years and replaced by A320Neo and A321Neo.


Sixteen A321-100 were ordered in 1993 as a higher-capacity supplement to the A320s, with deliveries starting in 1995 and lasting ultil 2002. They are fitted for 194 passengers in two classes (8 Premium Economy, 186 Economy). Service-wise, The A321 made the news in 2014 for beign the first operating hull loss suffered by the airline in 20 years (the previous was the loss of the freighter 747 in 1994) when one plane overshoot the runway in wet conditions at Fuyuki airport. Passengers and crew evacuated the airplane with only light injures reported, but the plane itself was destroyed by fire. Another A321 was withdrawn from service and stored in 2016, it was the very same 21-years-old first airframe delivered to the airline in 1995- so that now there are 14 currently in service. The A321s are planned to be retired between the next 5 to 10 years and replaced by A321Neos.


To serve some thinner domestic routes Koutei also ordered nineteen A319-100 in 2001, recieving them between 2004 and 2011. Like their larger siblings they are fitted with a two-class configuration with 130 seats (4 Premium Economy, 126 Economy). Although their A319neo and A320neo replacement are already on order, koutei A319s are planned to serve to the early-mid 2020s before their retirement starts.


Starting in October 2017 Koutein began recieving its newer Airbus A320Neo fitted with their updated CFM Leap turbofans. While passenger capacity remains the same, the new Neos offer 1.200km more range and improved fuel efficency compared to the standard 320s. Currently four are in service, with 21 more on order. Oustanding 45 A321Neos on order are pplanned to begin delivery between 2018 and 2019, There is no definite date for the 8 A319Neos on order yet.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation