Air Côte d'Ivoire

Air Côte d'Ivoire
IATA ICAO Callsign
HF VRE COTE D'IVOIRE
Founded 15 May 2012 (2012-05-15)
Commenced operations 12 November 2012 (2012-11-12)
Hubs Port Bouet Airport
Frequent-flyer program sMiles[1]
Fleet size 9
Destinations 25
Company slogan Notre plus beau voyage, c'est vous (English: Our best trip is you)[2]
Parent company Government of Ivory Coast (65%)
Headquarters Port Bouet Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Key people
Website aircotedivoire.com

Air Côte d'Ivoire is the national airline of Ivory Coast,[4] based in Abidjan. The company succeeded the former country's flag carrier Air Ivoire,[5] which went bankrupt in 2011.[6] It started operations on 12 November 2012.

History

The airline was set up on 15 May 2012,[7] as a private-public entity, partially owned by Air France —which intended to make Port Bouet Airport a regional hub[8]— and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).[9][10] Air Côte d'Ivoire had an initial capital of CFAF2.5 billion, majority-owned by the government of Ivory Coast (65%), with the balance held by Air France Finance (20%) and Aérienne de Participation-Côte d'Ivoire (15%), an airline holding company of AKFED.[7] The Ivory Coast had had no national carriers since the collapse of Air Ivoire in March 2011.[11]

The airline will have "technical, commercial and operational synergies" with Air Mali and Air Burkina, two other airlines associated with the AKFED.[11][12]

As of November 2012, it was planned for the new company to have 13 flight captains, 12 first officers and 37 cabin crew.[13] The company projects to have a passenger capacity of 330,000 per year.[14] It carried 253,000 passengers during 2013.[15]

Corporate affairs

Key people

As of November 2014, Air Côte d'Ivoire's CEO position was held by Rene Decurey.[16]

Ownership

As of June 2013, the parent entities of the shareholders are:[17]

Shareholder Interest
Government of Ivory Coast 65%
Air France-KLM20%
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development15%
Total100%

In June 2013, it was reported that the AKFED will withdraw from Air Côte d'Ivoire as other investors increase their shareholdings in the company.[17]

Business trends

Air Côte d'Ivoire does not appear to have published annual accounts as yet, but some figures have been made available via press reports and other publications (figures shown for years ending 31 December):

2012 2013 2014
Turnover
Net Profits/Losses after tax
Number of employees (at year end) 290
Number of passengers (m) 0.25 0.40
Passenger load factor (%)
Number of aircraft (at year end) 2 4 6
Notes/sources [15] [18] [18]

Destinations

As of September 2012, from its hub in Abidjan the airline had initial plans to operate scheduled services on a network covering nine international destinations in West and East Africa, yet some of them would be flown by sister companies Air Burkina and Air Mali; cities served with Air Côte d'Ivoire own aircraft expected to include Accra, Conakry, Cotonou and Dakar.[5] Operations commenced on 12 November 2012,[19] with the carrier's maiden flight linking Abidjan with Dakar.[20]

As of April 2016, Air Côte d'Ivoire serves the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
BeninCotonouCadjehoun Airport—[2]
Burkina FasoOuagadougouOuagadougou Airport—[2]
CameroonDoualaDouala International Airport—[2]
CameroonYaoundéYaoundé Nsimalen International Airport—[2]
ChadN'DjamenaN'Djamena International Airport—[2]
Democratic Republic of the CongoKinshasaN'djili Airport—[2]
GabonLibrevilleLibreville International Airport—[2]
GhanaAccraKotoka International Airport—[2]
GuineaConakryConakry International Airport—[2]
Ivory CoastAbidjanPort Bouet AirportHub[2]
Ivory CoastBouakéBouaké—[21]
Ivory CoastKorhogoKorhogo—[22]
Ivory CoastManMan—[23]
Ivory CoastOdiennéOdienné—[24]
Ivory CoastSan PédroSan Pédro—[25]
LiberiaMonroviaRoberts International Airport—[2]
MaliBamakoBamako–Sénou International Airport—[2]
NigerNiameyDiori Hamani International Airport—[2]
NigeriaAbujaNnamdi Azikiwe International Airport—[26]
NigeriaLagosMurtala Muhammed International Airport—[2]
Republic of the CongoBrazzavilleMaya-Maya Airport—[2]
Republic of the CongoPointe-NoirePointe Noire Airport—[2]
SenegalDakarLéopold Sédar Senghor International Airport—[2]
Sierra LeoneFreetownLungi International Airport—[2]
TogoLoméLomé–Tokoin Airport—[2]

    Fleet

    An Air Côte d'Ivoire Airbus A319 at the Airbus factory in Toulouse.

    The carrier took delivery of its first aircraft, an ex-Air France Airbus A319 manufactured in 2004, in October 2012 on lease from Macquarie AirFinance.[27] During the 2013 Dubai Air Show, it was announced the carrier placed a conditional order for up to four Bombardier Q400s.[28][29] Worth US$69 million,[nb 1] a firm order was announced in December 2013.[31][32][33] African Export-Import Bank will finance 95% of the acquisition.[30] The carrier plans to use one of these aircraft to replace the E-170 on regional services.[34] The first Dash 8-Q400 was delivered in late 2014.[35] An additional order for two more aircraft of the type was placed in April 2015.[36]

    An order comprising two Airbus A320neos and two Airbus A320ceos was placed in April 2016.[37]

    Current

    As of April 2016, Air Côte d'Ivoire operated the following aircraft:[38]

    Air Côte d'Ivoire fleet
    Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
    C Y Total
    Airbus A319-100 4[39][40] — 12 96 108
    Airbus A320-200 1 2[37] 12 138 150
    Airbus A320neo — 2[37] TBA
    Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 4[41] — 7 60 67
    Total 9 4

    Retired

    The airline operated the following aircraft:

    Notes

    1. ↑ Reuters informed the value of the transaction to be US$120 million.[30]

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "Air Cote d'Ivoire - Home". frequentflyer.aero. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Réseau Sous-régional". Air Côte d'Ivoire. Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
    3. ↑ "Arik Air, Air Cote d’Ivoire explore partnership opportunities". Centre for Aviation. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
    4. ↑ "Bombardier to sell eight Q400 NextGen aircraft to Palma Holding". Reuters. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    5. 1 2 "Air Côte d’Ivoire plans Oct-2012 launch with international network of nine cities". Centre for Aviation. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012.
    6. ↑ "Air Cote d'Ivoire To Launch With Two Airbuses". Airwise News. Reuters. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012. The airline will replace the former Air Ivoire, which collapsed last year.
    7. 1 2 "The airline Air Côte d’Ivoire becomes reality" (Press release). Air France. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
    8. ↑ Buyck, Cathy (29 February 2012). "Air France revisits plans for Ivory Coast airline partnership". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012. AF’s goal is to build Abidjan Port Bouet Airport (ABJ) as a regional hub and secure a regional feed in West Africa.
    9. ↑ Rivers, Martin (22 May 2012). "New Ivory Coast flag carrier set for take-off". Flightglobal (London). Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    10. ↑ "Air Côte d’Ivoire ne ressemblera pas à Air Ivoire" [Air Côte d’Ivoire will not resemble Air Ivoire] (in French). Air Journal. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
    11. 1 2 Paylor, Anne (21 July 2012). "New airline in Ivory Coast to launch in July". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
    12. ↑ "New national Air Côte d’Ivoire plans domestic and international route launches this year". Centre for Aviation. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
    13. ↑ Hofmann, Kurt (5 November 2012). "New Ivory Coast Air Cote d`Ivoire set to launch". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
    14. ↑ Edmond, Gomon (18 May 2012). "Air Côte d’Ivoire/Les premiers vols régionaux en juillet 2012" [Air Côte’Ivoire/First regional flights in July 2012] (in French). Abidjan.net. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
    15. 1 2 Duclos, François (15 January 2014). "Air Côte d’Ivoire: 253 000 passagers en 2013" [Air Côte d'Ivoire: 253,000 passengers carried in 2013]. Air Journal (in French). Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
    16. ↑ "Air Cote d'Ivoire picks Airbus to renew and expand fleet -CEO". Reuters. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015.
    17. 1 2 Mieu, Baudelaire (3 June 2013). "Aga Khan Fund to Pull Out of Ivory Coast Airline in Capital Move". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    18. 1 2 "’’Le Mag’’ January/February 2015". Air Côte d’Ivoire. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
    19. ↑ "Ivory Coast's National Carrier Takes Off". Airwise News. Reuters. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012. Ivory Coast's new national airline Air Côte d'Ivoire launched operations on Monday following months of delays, the company said.
    20. ↑ "Premiers vols commerciaux pour Air Côte d’Ivoire" [First commercial flight for Air Côte d’Ivoire] (in French). Air Journal. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
    21. ↑ http://www.aircotedivoire.com/en/reseau-et-horaires/notre-reseau-domestique/
    22. ↑ http://www.aircotedivoire.com/en/reseau-et-horaires/notre-reseau-domestique/
    23. ↑ http://www.aircotedivoire.com/en/reseau-et-horaires/notre-reseau-domestique/
    24. ↑ http://www.aircotedivoire.com/en/reseau-et-horaires/notre-reseau-domestique/
    25. ↑ http://www.aircotedivoire.com/en/reseau-et-horaires/notre-reseau-domestique/
    26. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2016/01/05/hf-abv-feb16/
    27. ↑ Bonnassies, Olivier (11 October 2012). "Air Côte d’Ivoire leases A319 from Macquarie AirFinance". Flightglobal (London). Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    28. ↑ "Bombardier and Air Côte d’Ivoire Sign Agreement for up to Four Q400 NextGen Aircraft" (Press release). Bombardier Aerospace. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    29. ↑ Taylor, Ellis (18 November 2013). "DUBAI: Air Cote D'Ivoire conditionally orders two Q400s". Flightglobal (Dubai). Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    30. 1 2 "Air Cote d'Ivoire agrees $114 mln aircraft loan from Afreximbank". Reuters. 10 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
    31. ↑ Dron, Alan (18 December 2013). "Air Cote d’Ivoire firms Bombardier Q400 order". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013.
    32. ↑ "Air Côte d’Ivoire Firms Bombardier Q400 Order". Aviation Today. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
    33. ↑ "Bombardier and Air Côte d’Ivoire Reach Firm Purchase Agreement with Options for up to Four Q400 NextGen Aircraft". Bombardier Aerospace. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
    34. ↑ Moores, Victoria (25 November 2013). "Air Cote d’Ivoire plots growth course". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013.
    35. ↑ "First Q400 for Air Cote d'Ivoire". Airliner World: 12. December 2014.
    36. ↑ Blachly, Linda (13 April 2015). "Air Cote d'Ivoire orders two more Bombardier Q400s". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015.
    37. 1 2 3 Dron, Alan (28 April 2016). "Ivory Coast carrier orders two Airbus A320ceos, two A320neos". Air Transport World. Archived 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
    38. ↑ "Notre Flotte" [Our Fleet] (in French). Air Côte d’Ivoire. Archived 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
    39. ↑ http://www.lemondedudroit.fr/deals-profession-avocat/215393-stephenson-harwood-conseille-air-cote-divoire.html
    40. ↑ http://www.journal-aviation.com/actualites/32712-air-cote-d-ivoire-poursuit-son-developpement
    41. ↑ http://www.air-journal.fr/2016-04-29-air-cote-divoire-commande-deux-a320neo-et-deux-a320-5162173.html
    42. ↑ "Notre Flotte" [Our Fleet] (in French). Air Côte d’Ivoire. Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.

    External links

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