Air Côte d’Ivoire (HF), the flag carrier of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, has signed a firm order for two Airbus 330neos to support its long-haul expansion strategy. Let’s look closely at the airline’s fleet and network expansion strategy.
Two brand-new Airbus 330neos for Air Côte d’Ivoire
Today marks an important date for Air Côte d’Ivoire, the national carrier of the African Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, as it has signed a firm order with Airbus to receive two Airbus 330neos.
The deal was signed at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France. The agreement was announced in the presence of Amadou Koné, Minister of Transport of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Loukou, CEO of Air Côte d’Ivoire, General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, President of Air Côte d’Ivoire board, and Philippe Mhun, Airbus Executive Vice President Programmes and Services.
Photo: Airbus
Air Côte d’Ivoire: a faithful Airbus customer
The fact that Air Côte d’Ivoire has opted for Airbus to support its fleet expansion strategy may not come as a surprise. Indeed, the African airline is a long-standing Airbus customer.
Currently, Air Côte d’Ivoire operates a fleet of short/medium-haul Airbus 320-family aircraft. Particularly, Air Côte d’Ivoire flies an Airbus 320neo, two Airbus 320ceos, and three Airbus 319s. According to ch-aviation, the carrier also owns three De Havilland Canada (DHC) Dash 8-Q400, of which one is, however, inactive. The only aircraft Air Côte d’Ivoire leased are the three Airbus 319s. The total estimated value of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s fleet amounts to $136.31 million. The carrier’s fleet is relatively young, with an average fleet age of just 7.3 years.
Photo: Airbus
Expanded network and enhanced comfort
With the addition of the two Airbus 330neos, Air Côte d’Ivoire will boast an even younger and more efficient fleet.
Thanks to the latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000, the Airbus 330neo lowers fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 25%. Lower fuel consumption will support the airline in safeguarding its revenues while adopting an environmentally-friendly growth strategy. Additionally, the Airbus 330neo has a maximum range of 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km), enabling Air Côte d’Ivoire to plan a bold network expansion strategy. With such a flight range, Air Côte d’Ivoire could potentially add destinations anywhere in South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and almost all of Oceania, North, and Central America.
Photo: Getty Images
For the joy of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s passengers, the two new Airbus 330neos will feature Airbus’ signature Airspace Cabin, providing a high level of comfort, ambiance, and design. The new Airspace cabin offers more personal space, larger overhead bins, a new lighting system, and the ability to provide the latest in-flight entertainment system along with full connectivity.
Some facts about Air Côte d’Ivoire
Air Côte d’Ivoire was founded in May 2012. The airline counts 625 employees, of which 79 are pilots, 165 flight attendants, 60 airplane technicians, and 321 on the ground.
According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the carrier’s capacity in 2022 will amount to 1,343,740,450 Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs). The most capacity is deployed to/from the airline’s primary hub, Abidjan (ABJ) airport. Between 2012 and 2018, Air Côte d’Ivoire’s capacity dramatically increased, as the graph below shows. However, in the pre-pandemic year, the carrier’s growth came to a stop, to then suffer a massive decline in 2020. Nonetheless, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier has progressively increased capacity and, in 2022, it will be slightly lower than what it was in 2019.
Graph: Simple Flying I Data: OAG
Simple Flying reached out to Air Côte d’Ivoire for further comment. We will update the article with any additional announcements from the airline.
Source: simpleflying.com
