Air Côte d'Ivoire
A big step for the company
The flag carrier is now targeting intercontinental destinations.
Flights to international destinations symbolise a giant leap forward. If all goes according to plan, the Ivorian flag carrier Air Côte d'Ivoire will launch its first long-haul international flights in the first half of 2025. With the necessary aircraft, two Airbus A330-900neos, expected to be delivered by April 2025. This is a major development for the Côte d'Ivoire's national airline, which is now aiming for Paris, of course, with a route scheduled to open mid 2025 – with the possibility of other stopovers in London, Brussels, Geneva, etc. – but also, in the long term, Washington and even Beirut. Johannesburg (opening in June 2022 via Kinshasa) is expected to see increased capacity.
This strategy signifies a major wager for the company, a ‘big step’ that many African airlines have already stumbled over. The business plan is based on Abidjan's status as a business centre, but also on the endeavours undertaken since 2012, when Air CI was founded at the behest of President Alassane Ouattara. In a decade, the flag carrier has succeeded in capturing 52% of the regional market share, with 6.7 million passengers. It has been showing a positive operating result since 2021 and aims, by 2031, to establish routes to at least 35 destinations and to carry 12.5 million passengers annually. The expansion of Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, already at full capacity, must go hand in hand with this king-size ambition. On this high-flying trajectory, Air CI will be up against some strong competitors, starting with Ethiopian Airlines and its numerous affiliated carriers such as Asky. Above all, it will have to negotiate a revision of the ‘open skies agreement’ signed with Paris in March 2016, in order to limit competition from French carriers (Air France and Corsair) in Abidjan. These are tough discussions – the destination is particularly profitable – but they are essential to the Ivorian airline winging its way to the French capital. In any case, future passengers are waiting to board one of the very first HF flights (the company's IATA code) between Paris and the Pearl of the Lagoons!